Bleak History

Only characters trained in history know anything but the most vague facts and trends in history.

A student of history can see the origins of the modern world in its past. The origins of the modern class structure, Kazaelic Economy, and relationships between the tribes can all be seen forming as the years went by.

Prehistory, Early and Late Antiquity
In prehistory, Tonis was divided into many hundreds of roaming tribes of humanoids. Over many centuries these tribes integrated, learned the ways of agriculture and urbanism, and formed nations. It is important to know that in the time before the ravaging, Tonis was a verdant and lush landscape with thousands of square miles of farmland and long stretches of forests and many might rivers. In early antiquity the races had cemented themselves and lived quite separate from one another. The Dwarves lived in the north of the island, the humans in the middle and the elves in the south (though elves remained primarily nomadic). In late antiquity, all the nations unified under a single government. It is known that at this time, civilization was far more advanced and peaceful than it is now. Then came the Ravaging and a long period with no records.

1 AR is the first year following the Ravaging from which there are written records. It is estimated to be between 750 and 1,000 years after the World Seal was broken. The only surviving document from this time is a recording of oral traditions, which explains the origins of the Ravaging and the functions of the World Seal. Unlike many oral traditions, which are transmitted across generations, this oral tradition is said to have been started by a powerful sorcerer or shaman who learned it while in a deep trance, in tune with the magic of the world. His words were passed down rote for many hundreds of years until writing was re-invented, and the history transcribed in 1 AR.

At around 1 AR there was no feudal system as exists now in Jerar, but instead a purely tribal system. Near the Shards of Grace there were some small settlements, though few buildings were over 15 feet high and the settlements had to be small enough that the length of about one day's walk was sufficient to hunt and harvest enough food to feed all those inside.

At this time, much of the greenery on Tonis had been lost. To be sure, there were still a few thin forests and many grassy plains. It was neither verdant landscape it had once been, nor the endless desert wastes of today.

Deodonus the Longbearded has written a semi-accurate account of this time from old transaction records and oral histories that describes that era as a time of great unkowing. There was, at the time, no known distinction between Elekin and Tempeters. There is no mention of vampires or draghuls. Furthermore, there seems to be no knowledge of Kazael and thus no mention of the Kazaelic Stammen. Deodonus wrote, inaccurately, that Magic was not viewed with the suspicion that it is today. This is incorrect, it was actually considered yet more dangerous and blasphemous, but the only literate ones whose writings he could reference were those of the mages themselves.

The Old Sea Period (110-265 AR)
As Tempeter and Eleken pushed in from the north and west, the Chroma Straight, though dangerous, continuously looked more inviting to the tribespeople of Tonis. The technology of shipbuilding was known to those on Tonis because of the discovery of fragments of ancient elven ships. In late antiquity, it is thought that elven ships were so advanced and magically imbued that they were incapable of capsizing. This sort of technology is what seafarers in the Old Sea period tried to recapture, though sadly they fell far short. Their efforts, however, are to be commended for the abundance of effort. Ships during this time increased in tonnage, speed and survivability (almost 15 percent made it more than 5 years). They were, by most accounts, about half as good as modern ships. Many technologies had not yet been rediscovered, such as the rudder, the triangle sale and complex rigging.

Sea exploration gave tribespeople access to an abundance of food below the surface, enabling costal areas to thrive (as a relative term). Salted fish meats, following ritual purification, could be transported inland and sold. The first true city to arise following the Ravaging was Naktu-Ur (modern day Nakulu), built around the largest Shard of Grace on Tonis. The citizens of Naktu-Ur were fed by fish from the sea and dried fruits and vegetables obtained through trade with the inland tribes. In 110 a long, 30 meter stone pier was constructed out into the ocean to allow larger ships to be built than had been constructed before, and thus began the Old Sea period.

Society in Naktu-Ur
Naktu-Ur's government was a council of wise-men and -women who made decisions and directed a force of soldiers, the Kazali-Fam (Those who carry out the Will). Whenever a member of the council passed away, the remaining members would choose a replacement. In theory, anyone could be elevated to the status of Counselor, but in practice the council chose those who essentially bribed their way in. The only ones among the people who could afford such bribery, which usually came in the form of food and celebrations, were ship captains and caravan leaders (who traded with the tribes).

Below the council members were the wealthy: traders, merchants, and captains. They bought the goods of the artisans and employed the lower classes for manpower. Artisans could be wealthy, but rarely as individuals. Typically an artisan would support himself and slowly grow his business and then take on apprentices, who worked for him for some time, and over the years a master artisan could accumulate quite a staff of younger craftsman. The lowest class were the workers, who did not own businesses or have the skills or means to employ themselves. They were essentially at the mercy of the upper classes.

Over a number of centuries the council grew greedier and they began to increase the number of council seats so as to solicit more 'gifts' from those seeking power. As the council grew in numbers it also grew ineffective at governance. The Kazali-Fam were given unclear directives and contradictory orders and the Counselors squabbled among each other. In 265, Captain Dakrian of the Kazali-Fam orchestrated a plan whereby the entire council was sent out to see for a grand new-years celebration. Captain Dakrian arranged for all of the ships to tragically sink, and then took power himself, becoming the first king in Tonis.

The Tribes at Sea
In 135 AR the Chieftain Daruzial of the Aduial Orod went by boat into the Chroma Straight to hunt an Elekin who had come up on land and attacked his people. He did not return and thus the Spear of Hate was lost. The Legend of Skya was written down for the first time by a shaman who encountered the mourning Aduial Orod, fearful that the legend would be forgotten. Once the spear was lost the Aduial Orod lost their place as a prominent tribe, and over time they slowly dispersed over the landscape and were absorbed into a number of other tribes. For another seventy years the tribe declined, and then vanished from record for hundreds of years.

Leading up to this point, the Kazelic Stammen, then unkown to those on Tonis, were experimenting with seafaring technologies. Kazael had no such history of nautical exploration, and thus their first primitive rafts had little steering ability and couldn't last long in the Chroma Straight. By luck or chance, in 210 a raft from Kazael washed up on the shore of Tonis with a thri-kreen passenger. This creature and the strange woods that bore it across the ocean were unkown to Tonis, and so it was known that there must be more land elsewhere.Thus began the re-birth of nautical exploration from Tonis. Keeping in mind that fewer than 1,000 people had access to wood and the ocean during this time, it makes sense that it took them almost 100 years to reach Kazael. A journey that today takes a few weeks took them two or three times as long, depending on the weather and severity of acid storms and sea monsters.

The Coastal Period (265 - 355 AR)
Following the rise to power of King Dakrian, there ensues a period of growing power for the coastal towns. Sea-based settlements were able to effectively leverage their better diets and access to transportation up and down the coast against the inland tribes. The coastal settlements began holding their food supplies hostage, trading them at artificially high rates for inland goods. This process, over a number of decades, forced the inland tribes to make concessions to maintain a steady supply of food. Up and down the coast, towns would force the inlanders into a permanent, disadvantageous position of semi-servitude. In most cases, the inland tribes would be forced to give up virtually all of their harvested goods in exchange for food supplies. Some tribes, rather than submit to this form of subjugation, instead moved farther inland.

For a short period, low tribes would, when coastal tribes attempted to force them into being a lower class within the social order, seek out a different coastal tribe to deal with. In order to prevent the low tribes from playing the coastal tribes against each other, the coastal tribes created the Treaty of Dreaming Flame (the Inland Trading Treaty). This trade treaty established rules governing when and how many low tribes a coastal tribe could have subject to it. This treaty did a historically notable thing: it documented and established as fact the subjugation and lower status of the inland tribes. In its provisions, the treaty set a limit on the number of trade 'partners' each coastal settlement could have, based primarily on the ammount of excess food they generated (essentially, a coastal settlement could not attempt to feed more low tribespeople than it actually could supply, which prevented famine). An inland tribe was also only allowed to trade with one coastal settlement.

This resulted in (essentially) three types of tribes: High, Low, and Inland. The high tribes lived on the coast and oversaw an ever-inward expanding control over the land-based tribes. Those tribes who lived inland from the coast, close enough to the Shards of Grace to maintain permanent and semi-permanent settlements, became subjects of the coastal tribes. Those who fled farthest inland were too far from the coastal tribes to trade with them regularly, and thus were forced to find other sources of food than the sea. This allowed them to avoid the disadvantageous trade deals of the low tribes, but forced them to live with literally day-to-day threats from the Chroma. Among the inland tribes there arose a new cultural phenomenon, Nar Gurth.

Nar Gurth
Nar Gurth means literally, "death by fire," and is the precusor to the modern word "Nagath." Nar Gurth was an ideal sought after by the inland tribes, it was the idea that death, while combating the elemental powers (be they geists, elemental mutation or pure elemental power) is the most worthy and honorable form of death. A person's whole life should be dedicated to seeking Nar Gurth by perfecting the skills of combat versus the elements, learning to endure pain and to live without fear of death.

Discovery of Kazael
In 305 AR a ship from Naktu-Ur made landfall on the coast of Kazael and returned to tell about it. The ship, Resplendant Dawn, was indeed an exploration vessel designed with the then century-long goal of finding Kazael. It should come as no surprise that the crew and captain did not see any natives in their short few days they spent on land, as the Chroma does extend some distance onto the land in Kazael. The captain, once satisfied that they had actually made landfall on a new continent, sailed back to Tonis to report his findings. In the following years many coastal towns began to build their own ships to explore the new land, perhaps even to establish colonies, but little traffic reached Kazael before it all came to a stop. Society was changing, and with it, the desire for exploration died off.

Collapse of the Low Tribes
During the Coastal Period there is a strong tendency toward impoverished militarism inland and wealthy indulgence on the coast. In the middle, the low tribes found themselves increasingly at the mercy of the raids of the inland tribes and the oppressive fist of the coastal tribes. Starting in the years 335-355 there began a collapse of the low tribes. Many of the tribes found they were simply unable to fight against the beasts and inland tribes while bearing the burden treaties to the high tribes. The low tribes began to merge with one another, with one tribe pledging loyalty to another tribe in exchange for the benefits and protection of acting as a unified entity. It can be seen, however, how this process of tribal integration changed society forever.

Tribal Collapse
The collapse of the low tribes created a problem for the established way of life on the coast. The low tribes acted as subjects, lower class citizens, to the coastal tribes. However, any given low tribe would only be the subject of one coastal tribe. This became a problem as the low tribes combined, because who exactly did they owe alliegance to? In many cases, the smaller tribe simply abandoned its (unfair) responsibilites to its costal tribe. The number of low tribes quickly fell below the number of coastal tribes, resulting in an absence of inland resources. By the same token, the coastal tribes who were able to keep a subject low tribe found the quickly growing numbers of the inlanders under the influnce of their trade treaties to far outstretch the available food resources. The existing cultural order collapsed in less than a decade, undoing a hundred years of subjugation.

The Incursion (344 AR)
The collapse of Tonisian political structures did not go unnoticed by the Tempeters. Though at this time it is thought that humanoid Tempeters were rare, they seemed to have enough influence to call their elemental bretheren to arms. In 344 a horde of Tempeters and Elekin swarmed into Tonis from the edge of the world, scatering the inland tribes. They drove like a spear through the land, laying waste to settlements and burning the land. Before any of the squabbling coastal tribes could muster up a sizeable force the Tempeter were apon them. The Tempeter horde fell upon Naktu-Ur and sieged the city. In the second night of the siege, a host of the living dead issued forth from the waters of the Chroma Straight and penetrated the city. They stole the Shard of Grace and, with the largest ship in the port of Naktu-Ur, hauled it out to sea and cast it into the depths of the Chroma straight. Naktu-Ur was destroyed by the geists who were now able to take on elemental forms and the city was lost.

Much momentum was lost by the elemental host in the siege and destruction of the city, and in the meantime the leaders of the coastal tribes were able to gather enough forces to make the Tempeters' continued campaign all the more difficult. In a show of strategic thinking, the Tempeter army disbanded rather than continued on, and many live to this day to torment the tribes.

Lessons of the Incursion
Up to this point, undead had only been seen animated by the elemental powers in small numbers. It was realized during the incursion that the depths of the Chroma Straight are charged with negative energy. Just as North, South, East, and West have elemental biases, so too do Up and Down. Secondly, the Incursion showed that the Tempeter are capable not only of working together, but of deep planning, coordination, and gathering and understanding of intelligence about their enemies.

Desertification of Tonis
Prior to 344, Tonis was by no means a verdant landscape, but the desert wasteland seen today is not a good representation of its former self. With the loss of Tonis's main Shard of Grace, the geists (once again acting in an uncoordinated and self-interested manner) slowly sucked the life from the land. Over a span of about a century, Tonisian tribespeople changed from animal herders and hunters to desert survivalists.

Destruction and Resettlement of the Coast
As Tonis turned to a desert, the low tribes were forced into a tough situation not only by a need for food, but from the threat of violence from the inland tribes who needed more and more of the infertile land to sustain themselves.With no food to the support the low tribes that had grown so vast during the tribal collapse, they were forced to move to the sea for food. The coastal settlements, however, had no ability to support the massive demands for foodstuffs. In many cases they witheld food supplies alltogether, fearing that a bad fish harvest might ruin them if everything was traded to the low tribes.

The nomands turned violent, and with their often vastly superior number of fighters they ransacked and pillaged up and down the coast. The coastal tribes, still bitter at one another over the tribal collapse, would not come to eachothers aid and so each was destroyed in turn. Once their dominion was established the low tribes settled in the very coastal towns they had just destroyed. However, they quickly learned that they did not posess the skills or talents necessary to replace the coastal tribespeople. Sailing in the Chroma Straight is a tricky and deadly business, and ship construction is the sort of thing not best learned through trial-and-error.

The Revival Period (356 - 789 AR)
The revival period is characterized by the solidification of class structures on the coast, the expansion of the inland tribes, and in the later parts, contact with the Kazaelic Stammen. As the low tribes took root in the cities of those who had previously ruled over them a whole new social order came about. The coastal tribespeople were rebranded as the new low class, and the low tribespeople their superiors. Shipbuilding, carpentry, fishing, sea faring, these skills were unique to the coast and they came to be considered associated with the 'peasant professions.' In fact, these skills were so debased from their former glory that for a low tribesman to learn them was considered an insult to oneself. Fighting, leatherworking, and survivalism were the skills of the low tribes and thus became the skills of the 'noble professions.' Mercantilism and trade were were considered the domain of both classes, as overland travel requried survival skills and travel over the sea required naval skills.

New Class System
Where as previously social order was determined amongst the coastal nations almost entirely based on personal wealth and property, it became based on the social status of one's parents. This only seems fitting, for it was the low tribes who for so long were placed in a position of disadvantage merely by their birth as a tribesman. The lowest of the classes were the peasants, called "fish" in a derogatory fashion by the upper classes. Peasant's work all related around the sea: ship building, sailing, fishing, etcetera. For those born as peasants, there was essentially no upwards mobility in the social order.

Above the peasants were craftsman, merchants, and traders. These three professions were seen as working in a triangle to supply important goods throughout the lands. Craftsman in this social caste did not work with nautical items. They were everything from blacksmiths and weavers and stonecutters. Tradespeople traveled overland and oversea to transport the resources harvested by peasants and the good created by craftsman to see that there were no shortages in any areas. Merchants fulfilled the important role of purchasing goods from craftsman and re-distributing them to upper classes. This was important because many of those in the upper classes maintained an itinerate and often nomadic lifestyle. When a warrior or lord would come to town once every five years, he didn't want to bother finding every craftsman whose goods he needed. He could instead go to one merchant who had already acquired all the necessary goods, and for a small but reasonable markup, could provide them all to the noble.

Next in the social order were the soldiers. This does not refer to the town guard, but rather to trained fighters who acted as part of a force whose design was combative in ature. Soldiers provided the important role of a local force defending the civilians against elekin, tempeters, and bandits or raiders. As metal is hard to come buy and thus very valuable, it took a significant investment for a city to arm a soldiers. As a result, he was expected to be of respectable origins and to defend the city that had trusted him with such dear resources. Soldiers were supposed to be ideal citizens and served for as long as they were able bodied.

The Nagath Warriors were the lowest social order with a title, "Naith" (literally, "tip of the spear"). The vast majority of Nagath Warriors were itinerate, only a few number would be assigned (often considered 'confined') to a single city to watch over the soldiers. Nagath Warriors could not hone their skills through experience by sitting in a mud brick dwelling, they had to be out and fighting the elemental enemy. It was said that true Nagath Warriors had no masters, and could be master of no one, for both of those things precluded his perfection as a warrior. Although many nobles pursued the Nagath way of thinking, few were given the respect of itinerant Nagath Warriors. From this time there arose the saying, "give the noble taxes, but the warrior respect."

There were two distinct classes of nobles, local and itinerant. Local nobles were mayors and overseers who commanded the general affairs of the soldiers in the absence of the itinerant lord, oversaw tax collection, and stockpiled resources (typically dried foods) for the community and nobles in the event of a bad harvest or other disaster. These nobles often seen as 'middle management,' but the number who were loved by those they ruled over were not so few in number. The itinerant nobles were the highest of the lords. Traveling almost exclusively overland, they would make rounds through their territory with a sizable band of retainers, picking up supplies that were taxed from the locals, acting as judiciary for disputes that the local noble could not resolve or that involved the lower class nobles themselves, and often rendering aid to citizens who needed it. Itinerate nobles were often themselves excellent fighters, survivalists, and philosophers, embodying all the ideals of the low tribes. Nobles who were petty, or at least not good with a sword, often saw themselves replaced by their own retainers. It was vital for an itinerant noble to hold his position not merely through authority, but ability.

Nagath Amongst the Low Tribes and the New Classes
It is important to note that although in the modern day the itinerant warriors of the past are referred to as "Nagath Warriors," the actual adoption of the Nagath way of thinking took almost two centuries before it was ubiquitous. The change came about as the scales of power settled and the tribes and settlements fought each other less frequently. As a result, all the wandering warriors were able to focus themselves on combating the elemental enemies who preyed on tradesman and itinerant nobles. Nagath was an idea that was known, but not often pursued amongst the low tribes ever since it was invented by the inland tribes. The difference, after all between the two groups of tribes originally was simply that low tribes were bound to a coastal tribe and an inland tribe was not.

Expansion of the Inland Tribes
Many historians have inaccurately posited that the the collapse of the low tribes caused the expansion of the inland tribes. Deodonus the Longbearded has a different take on the matter,

"Many of my esteemed colleagues and forerunners have attempted to establish that the implosion of the low tribes, and the resulting vacuum, lead to the expansion of the inland tribes. I believe this is not so... [the inland tribes] had, for many decades prior to the collapse, applied increasing pressure on the low tribes in the form of raids and slave-taking. This pressure was one of the causes of the collapse, and so really we see that the expansion of the inland tribes was caused by their own actions. This view also gives credit where credit is due: it would be nigh dishonest to think that the inland tribes were merely acting opportunistically when they expanded their territory; it was rather the culmination of many generations of focused aggression designed to achieve the goal which it eventually did."

In the early years of the revival period, as the low tribes settled on the coast, there was an enormous vacuum in terms of population in the land beyond the coast. Naturally there were still members of the low tribes who lived there, but their numbers were too low to stop the aggressive expansion of the inland tribes. The expansion, as mentioned above, was driven by two factors: desertification and the ensuing need for more land to acquire the same level of resources, and the pressure placed on the inland tribes the elemental forces. Both of these influences were driven by the loss of the Shard of Grace that formerly laid in Naktu-Ur.

Nagath had up to this point acted as an idealic high-point that tribal warriors ought to aim for. Although many of them incorporated the tenants of Nagath into their lives, few became the ascetic warriors that Nagath asked. However, once the tribes expanded and groups found themselves needing to split into smaller and smaller tribal groups to prevent them from starving, Nagath became not only more appealing but necessary. Each tribal group would have a handful of truly Nagath-minded warriors, completely dedicated to the way of Nagath. This was the start of the modern Nagath movement.

See Nagath for more information.

Renewal of Kazaelic Exploration
As relative stability came over the land, many educated nobles found a renewed interest in exploring Kazael. Mostly following the year 700, there were several dozen expeditions to Kazael to see if there was suitable land for settlement.

What the explorers found was a land as harsh as inland Tonis. The coastal fringes of Kazael are Chroma, and even beyond them there is only a seemingly endless desert. The Kazaelic Stammen know of the civilization that lies at the heart of Kazael, which they call "Gross Staedte." Rumor has it that the inner Kazaelic civilizations are advanced in the fields of science, medicine, magic, and most important to the Tonisian lords: mettalurgy. Rumored too is their ability to create living creatures from inanimate matter, but there are no reliable records of this.

Explorers rarely made it as far as Kazaelic Civilization and returned, though an notable exception was Tide Father Egromane. His reports are shrouded in his odd dialect and religious imagery, making them hard to understand, therefore rarely reproduced, and thus very hard to find.

The Era of Spears (790 - 1030 AR)
The Era of Spears was the first extended period of warfare between the city states. At this time, Jerar and Votan expanded dramatically (towards the end), many of the modern geopolitical boundaries developed, and tribes and cities in all eras evolved unique cultures.

Spear Rattling
As the memory of the incursion faded from the common consciousness, strife between the civilized people increased. Quickly dimming were the grand ideas of cooperation and free travel, replaced by nationalism and greed. A brief few attempts were made to invade Kazael, little is known of what happened to these groups besides the fact that they were never heard from again. The civilization of Tonis then turned inwards, seeking to expand on already settled land, and the wars began.

Key to the building of aggression was the introduction of tariffs and fees for foreign travel through cities. In order for a noble to protect his interests (that is, the taxes on his own people), he had to insure that his people were wealthy. The best way to do this was income by trade, which was greatly hampered by foreign taxes. The first wars broke out on the Kaythen Peninsula, followed soon after by the Clay Cities.

War Breaks Out
Nobles quickly gathered armies and marched against one another, in some areas decimating the population. At times entire villages would be conscripted or put to the sword. There are over 30 recorded wars that lasted more than 20 years, though many of these included periods that lasted years were no engagements were fought.

The Nagath Exodus
Nagath warriors, being the paragons of fighters, were often conscripted to lead forces or fight on the front lines. This resulted in a great in land exodus of the Nagath warriors from the coastal lands. This return to the birthplace of Nagath greatly strengthened the inland tribes and created new traditions and refined fighting styles amongst the warriors. Conversely, much knowledge was lost to the coastal tribes and many of the Nagath traditions came to be viewed as odd or out of place after a period of centuries.

The Era of Tears (1030 - 1355 AR (Present))
The great wars came to an end with the Pact of Thunder (1030 AR). This treaty divided all the land on Tonis amongst the monarchs, even land that was uninhabited and uninhabitable or so far in land as to be unpoliceable by the ruler. The Pact of Thunder established specific kingdom borders and, to a large but accidental extent, the current dynasties.

The Nagath Return and Militarization of Society
Following the end of centuries of warfare, the Nagath warriors returned to once again protect the people against the ravages of the Elements. If there were any benefits to the seemigly endless fighting, it was that not only did the Nagath warriors get better at fighting in, but so did virtually ever member of society.

Militias are now common, and virtually everyone is trained to fight with a spear and shield. In many cities, soldiers also now hold a superior military and social rank above commoners, which was uncommon prior to the Era of Spears.

Nagath warriors also gained a certain mystique apon their return to the coastal lands. Prior to their leaving, there were many Nagath warriors, so many that they formed their own minor segment of society. Their common place nature made them unexceptional (though still respected). In the Era of Tears, so few Nagath warriors returned from their inland battles, and so many of those who did were forever changed by their experiences, that they are now a mysterious and secretive group.

The Divine Right of Votanian Kings
In 1184, Rikor, the King of Votan, declared that he had an absolute, divinely given right to rule all of civilization. This right, granted to him by Erathis and Pelor, he believed entiteld him to bring all of Tonis (and eventually Kazael) under his rule. Over the next 16 years he subjugated all of the cities and settlements near Votan, taking each one at a time. In 1200 his armies, its ranks swelling with recruits, stood before the gates of Beata Tembria and demanded surrender.

The wisened did not comply, and sending their Archons with the Urbana Hasta, laid waste to the army of Votan. It was here that King Rikor showed his divine blessings and struck down the Archons with a light from the heavens. Both armies severely weakened, the Wisened met with King Rikor and they agreed to a peace that lasts to this day, though the details are much debated.

Rikor died not long after his peace accord was struck, slain by a mighty Elekin. His detractors claim he had falled out of favor with his gods, others said his task was complete at it was simply time for his son to take power. For the next 110 years, the Kingdom of Votan thrived under the successive rule of Divine Kings.

The Amperis Plague (1333 to 1345 AR)
As kingdoms rise to power, the invariably must also be reaching their high point from which they must fall. The apex of the Kingdom of Votan was 1132 AR; the Kingdom was peaceful, the Nagath traditions were being revived, and Votanians believed that their nation was headed by an authority appointed by gods.

The causes of plague that took hold of the land in 1333 were not then certain, but in now it is known that it was brought about by the worship of elemental powers by subersive cults. For twelve years the Amperis plague ravaged the burgeoning population. The success of the Votanian dynasty and the ever growing population only fueled the spread of the plague, which found it easier to transfer from victim to victim in crowded cities.

Though eventually supressed, the plague can still be found around Tonis. One of its most dangerous qualities is its tenacity: amperis can lay dormant for weeks, months, or even years in a victim or one of their posessions. Thus the houses of the those affected by the disease are often burned and the ashes thrown into the sea or burried in large pots the desert.

The current date is 1350 AR.