"Before time, The Six created the world from a memory and a dream. Althwinn commanded it, Sibelius the Bright brought forth light, Rakshi the Kind gave life to it, Mendel the Swift laughed at the joy of it, Grayfoot hunted it and KrayVax the Destroyer ended it."

In the long ago, before the Hylurian Empire, before men, the raw world existed.

Fractured, the first races, the Drache, the Silva^tru, the Ur'Ku and the Zwergar (dragons, elves, orcs, dwarves) battled for thousands of years.

The world was scarred, ripped in two leaving the Spinward Marches (the Spin) to the west and the Ripwise Lands (the Rip) to the east, bracketed by Shirak wastes and frozen Islandia to the North and the Darak Wastes and Cerulia to the south.

The Drache (dragons) moved to the south, into the great M!tep desert and the Le'She Scrub.

The tribes of the Ur'Ku split; some headed to the north west (Skor'dash Scrub), some to the Le'She Scrub and some are rumoured to have crossed the Standish Ocean via the Zr^nbel Bridge into the Ripwise Lands.

The elves also divided, some moved north into the Great Kal^verthian Forest, the rest settled the province Be^lash on the east coast of the Spin.

The stout Zwergar went under the mountains in the Shirak and Darak Wastes, hidden from prying eyes, loath to contact the outside world.

Relations between the Chromatic and Metallic Drache were stretched to breaking point, leading to the Drache Wars. For a millennia the great beasts fought, finally seeing sense, ending the war and signing an accord leading relative harmony.

For a time, all was calm. Then a terrible evil reared its head, Zarg the Annihilator. It brought the Great Scourge, wreaking havoc upon the face of the world.

Only by the first races joining forces did they manage to send Zarg to the Outer Place, separated from the world and time.

The face of the world had changed. The Zr^nbel Bridge had been shattered and was now the Zr^nbel Steps. The Rip was lost to the Spin, the Standish Ocean a barrier to all communication.

Time passed, the first races returned to their homes, becoming more secluded.

Men, Urman as they became to be known, arrived on the coast of Be^lash. From where, no record has ever been found. They moved along the K^ren River and settled the fertile farmland of Tandive. Some went south, through the Le'She Scrub and the Mro'Gabtak belt to colonise Erilea.

From Tandive, the humans fought a bitter territory war with the Silva^tru of Be^lash. This was resolved with a peace accord and the forming of the Hylurian Empire (0 HE). Tandive later became a nation state of the Empire, paying taxes and receiving protection from the invading Ur'Ku from the Skor'dash Scrub.

Peace, of a sort, has existed in the Spin for centuries. Emperors come and go, but daily life changes little. Fields are sown, crops are grown and harvested, cattle sold, songs sung and mead is drunk.

-- Taken from "The Formal History of Hyluria" by Scholar Qi^ldor, 402HE.

Calendar

Since the advent of the Hylurian Empire, years are either negative or positive to show which side of the empire's creation they fall.

There are 216 days in a year, split into 6 Siexta, each with a duration of 6 weeks, each week has 6 days.

Each Siexta is associated with a deity and an associated celebration:

Siexta Name Deity
1st Siexta Deep Winter Althwinn
2nd Siexta Enlightenment Sibelius
3rd Siexta Flowering Rakshi
4th Siexta Joy Mendel
5th Siexta Leaf fall Grayfoot
6th Siexta Reaping KrayVax

An example date would be 402HE/DW28; the year 402, 28th day of Deep Winter (the date "The Formal History of Hyluria" was written).

Timeline

Date Event
Pre-time The Six bring the world into being
-300000HE The Drache arrive
-10000HE The Furistaz (First Races, Ur'Ku, ^Truar and Zwergar) arrive
-8000HE War of The Furistaz begins
-4000HE War of The Furistaz ends; The Furistaz (now incorporating the Drache) separate and settle their lands
-3800HE The Drache Wars begin
-2800HE The Drache Wars end with The Sz!rz!des of Sz!nes being signed
-2476HE Zarg rises and begins the Great Scourge
-1910HE The Furistaz joined forces to defeat Zarg the War of Annihilation.
-505HE The Urman arrive on the coast of Be^lash
-434HE The Urman settle Tandive
-201HE The War of the Nehwist (Next race) begins (Urman vs Silva^tru, Tandive vs. Be^lash)
0HE The War of the Nehwist ends, formation of the Hylurian Empire. Signing of peace accord between Urman and Silva^tru
200HE Tandive starts fight for independence
212HE Tandive becomes satellite state of the Empire
402HE Scholar Qi^ldor publishes the Formal History of Hyluria.
700HE Strange events reported South of Hyluria.
719HE now!