According to the Scholars and official record keepers of Thalus, history is counted in three epochs, those being the Old Epoch which is only recorded in Dwarven and Elven Histories, and from which few artifacts remain, the Second, or Epoch of Folly, and the current, Dellenian Epoch, named so for Dellenian the Great, the first King of Thalus.
The Old Epoch
Dates occurring in the first epoch are rarely written, but the day that both the Y'tlashi and Humankind appeared is usually written as "Zed o.e." and signifies the end of the Old Epoch. The Dwarves and Elves both recount this epoch in song and story, with the Dwarven tales The Lament of Mountains, and Gamaulk's Children being the two most detailed of their histories, and Of Yendrylls Joy, The Turning of the Seasons, and The Long Sorrow being their Elven counterparts. Much of these songs are recountings of lineages and geneologies, with few events of importance to humankind. It seems the Halflings have no remaining histories of their own, but they are mentioned among the other histories from the earliest dates, as being a gentle, humble, and noble race without any mention of their savage nature as is seen today in their barbarian tribes. The tales of the coming of Man and Y'tlashi are described most strikingly in the cryptic passages of The Turning of the Seasons as "And the ships of gods-light sang in the skies the echoing songs of the coming long winter, the sorrowful tune of the waning of the Old Folk of Spring for the ascendancy of the New Folk of Autumn, the Rough and Eager, the Brash and Vile, and in their callous tones did the heavens chorus refrain." The Dwarven histories actually tell of the earth rumbling and causing the collapse of cities, and as they went to the surface, the sky outside turned a brilliant gold and thousands of "Big Folk" simply materialized in a blaze of light. The texts tell that the Y'tlashi "ships of light" first arrived in the western shore of Aenar while the Humans arrived on the east coast of Vesa in the land which is now the known as the Outlands.
The Second Epoch
Dates in the Second Epoch are recounted backwards from the beginning of the Third epoch for one thousand, four-hundred, and forty-four years, seven months and twelve days to "Zed o.e." The second epoch, The Epoch of Folly was so named because it saw the spread of war across the whole of the land, a one-hundred-years long war which ultimately ended in the near extermination of Humankind. Of this age much is known, but much has also been lost by the depredations of war and time.
In the beginning of the Second Epoch, the newcomers to the world of Nurea, the Y'tlashi and the Humans began in similar fashion. Both races began building small villages and towns, learning how to use the raw materials of the forests, lands and seas to survive. In these days the Elves and Dwarves shunned the new races, seeking to watch them to learn of their intentions and mannerisms. Soon it became evident that the Y'tlashi were a cruel race, the members of which reveled in senseless acts of aggression and bloodletting of animals, humanoids, and even their own kind. Initially humans were viewed in similar fashion by the Old Folk, but in time they came to realize that the humans had the capacity for kindness as well as barbarism.
As the new races grew in power, their natures became more divergent, with the Y'tlashi becoming more sinister and wicked, and the humans showing that they were a more benign, if not wholly honorable race. At the peak of their ascendancy in the Second Epoch, both races had become masters of the magical arts, with powers that far exceeded any of the subtle old magics of nature which the Elves used. As the two new races grew in their powers, the Old folk retreated from the lands of man; The dwarves into their deepest fortress-cities, and the Elves to their island home of Laeryaelle. Unfortunately for the Halflings, they refused to believe they were in danger until it was too late.
When the Y'tlashi first crossed the Siglerus Mountains into southeastern Aenar, and found the Halfling villages there, they set to slaughtering the Halflings immediately. Those Halflings left alive were either enslaved or used as subjects in brutal games of torture. The few that managed to escape the reach of the Y'tlashi escaped into the southern jungles where they lived as scavengers among the Lizardmen, Serpents, and Jaguars. As for the Humanoid races; the Orcs, Goblins, Ogres and their kin, the Y'tlashi initially took to enslaving them as well, but soon found them either too weak, stupid, or treacherous to make proper slaves, so instead often made of them minions, with promises of gold and Halfling blood.
When the Y'tlashi finally mastered sea travel, and crossed the Regal sea into Vesa, the war with the Humans finally began. One hundred years of war followed, with the mages and warriors on both sides drenching the land in blood and fire. When the Human forces finally began to crumble, and it appeared that the Y'tlashi had finally driven them back to the eastern sea to be slaughtered on the beaches, the Human war-wizards unleashed the most powerful magical spell ever conceived. They called it the Deathguard. No one knows what form the spell actually took, for there were no living witnesses. The only beings left alive in the whole of the continent were those few who had sought refuge deep underground, some in caves in the Northern Wilderlands, and a few thousands who had found refuge with the Dwarves in the last days before the casting of the spell. The Deathguard ended the war, and took with it the magic of the Old Epoch. For after the great spell ended, those few magicians who remained alive found their powers all but gone, being then able only to cast the slightest of spells with great trouble.
In the beginning of the Second Epoch, the newcomers to the world of Nurea, the Y'tlashi and the Humans began in similar fashion. Both races began building small villages and towns, learning how to use the raw materials of the forests, lands and seas to survive. In these days the Elves and Dwarves shunned the new races, seeking to watch them to learn of their intentions and mannerisms. Soon it became evident that the Y'tlashi were a cruel race, the members of which reveled in senseless acts of aggression and bloodletting of animals, humanoids, and even their own kind. Initially humans were viewed in similar fashion by the Old Folk, but in time they came to realize that the humans had the capacity for kindness as well as barbarism.
As the new races grew in power, their natures became more divergent, with the Y'tlashi becoming more sinister and wicked, and the humans showing that they were a more benign, if not wholly honorable race. At the peak of their ascendancy in the Second Epoch, both races had become masters of the magical arts, with powers that far exceeded any of the subtle old magics of nature which the Elves used. As the two new races grew in their powers, the Old folk retreated from the lands of man; The dwarves into their deepest fortress-cities, and the Elves to their island home of Laeryaelle. Unfortunately for the Halflings, they refused to believe they were in danger until it was too late.
When the Y'tlashi first crossed the Siglerus Mountains into southeastern Aenar, and found the Halfling villages there, they set to slaughtering the Halflings immediately. Those Halflings left alive were either enslaved or used as subjects in brutal games of torture. The few that managed to escape the reach of the Y'tlashi escaped into the southern jungles where they lived as scavengers among the Lizardmen, Serpents, and Jaguars. As for the Humanoid races; the Orcs, Goblins, Ogres and their kin, the Y'tlashi initially took to enslaving them as well, but soon found them either too weak, stupid, or treacherous to make proper slaves, so instead often made of them minions, with promises of gold and Halfling blood.
When the Y'tlashi finally mastered sea travel, and crossed the Regal sea into Vesa, the war with the Humans finally began. One hundred years of war followed, with the mages and warriors on both sides drenching the land in blood and fire. When the Human forces finally began to crumble, and it appeared that the Y'tlashi had finally driven them back to the eastern sea to be slaughtered on the beaches, the Human war-wizards unleashed the most powerful magical spell ever conceived. They called it the Deathguard. No one knows what form the spell actually took, for there were no living witnesses. The only beings left alive in the whole of the continent were those few who had sought refuge deep underground, some in caves in the Northern Wilderlands, and a few thousands who had found refuge with the Dwarves in the last days before the casting of the spell. The Deathguard ended the war, and took with it the magic of the Old Epoch. For after the great spell ended, those few magicians who remained alive found their powers all but gone, being then able only to cast the slightest of spells with great trouble.
The Dellenian Epoch
The current or, Dellenian Epoch began on the day Dellenian the Great claimed the throne in Thalus uniting the peoples of the region, ushering in an age of peace, and thereby bringing civility back to the world of man.
The Months of the Year
The months of the year, as reckoned in the royal archives of Thalus are as follows, from winter solstice:
- Darden
- Brendus
- Janus
- Langen
- Deenin
- Second Deenin
- The Long Month
- Harr
- Tharr
- Sendun
- Fell
- Polus
The names of the months have been inherited from the Dwarven histories, and are believed to be the names of the first ten Kings of the Dwarves.
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