Timeline of Illiad

The Gods of Illiad first appear in an empty universe and start using it as a canvas for their ideas and visions; most notably Rencal Kei-Rhai, who would go on to shape most of the Illiadian multiverse on his own.

After eons of shaping most of the universe, and planting the seeds of life on many different worlds, Rencal Kei-Rhai decides to retire and create a world to act as his Magnum Opus. Thus, he creates the world of Terra Illiadis, putting most of his energy into the continent of Illiad, his Crown Jewel, which he splits off from the main planet with a dimensional rift.

While creating Terra-Illiadis, Rencal's sister Merikira te Ruvea gets inspired to create a world of her own... only to accidentally fling it into what would become Terra Illiadis, and creating the Moon of Illiad and Terra Illiadis. While Merikira, embarassed, would abandon her plans to create a world after this blunder, Rencal nonetheless forgave her and gave her domain over the Moon.

Saint Vahath of the Mikaru, the first Saint of Illiad and first mortal chosen of Rencal Kei-Rhai, unites all Mikaru and Ree-Mai tribes of early Illiad, and established peaceful relations with nearly all Dorro tribes.

As the Mikaru and Ree-Mai grow and develop as people alongside each other, they eventually start developing different philosophies in both life and their faith. The Mikaru grew discontent with the tribal lifestyle, and eventually chose to, instead, live alongside but outside of nature instead of within it and begin urbanizing, while the Ree-Mai, despite being open to change, decide to stay true to their traditions and decide to keep living as part of the natural world. This eventually develops into the split in the faiths, with Reformed Rencalism becoming the main faith of the Mikaru, while Shamanistic Rencalism becomes the main faith of the Ree-Mai, ending both Vahath's united tribe and the Era of Creation.

Saint Anisia, the first chosen Champion of Vith, prays to the gods to, somehow, save her young child from an illness resembling Ha'zas Syndrome, resulting in the creation of the Arrash, and giving Saint Anisia the title "Mother of Arrash". Her child meanwhile would be known as "Ha'zas, the first Arrash", and be the namesake of the aforementioned syndrome.

During a time of great tragedy, the people of Illiad were struggling to survive. Famine was plaguing the land, and wars waged by tyrants that forcing their subjects to kill each other devastated families and settlements. During this time, it seemed the gods of Illiad had abandoned their followers... or at least were no longer able to hear their prayers. At least, until two individuals stepped to the task, who would eventually be known as Saint Ohunto of the Ree-Mai and Saint Abesh of the Mikaru, two individuals who, a long time ago, were chosen by Hailana, the Holy Grand Countess of Dance, to be her champions. 

Ohunto and Abesh would go on to climb the tallest mountain of southern Illiad, Mount Quirea, and would dance a ritualistic prayer-dance on its peak, the Dance of Sun and Moon, to once again get the attention of the gods. This dance would go on uninterrupted for 3 days and 3 nights, until both of them, from exhaustion, dropped to their deaths. Their sacrifice was great, but it helped with, once again, catching the attention of the gods. Farrina would personally fly over the world, blessing the fields and woods so that they would, once again, be fertile and bear crops and game, and be a source of food. Hailana meanwhile, in a form of a beast, would descent onto the battlefields of the world, turning many of the Mikaru there into the first Rakiakaru with her dance, and helped topple their corrupt kings and leaders.

This event and the sacrifice of the Dancing Saints would go on to be celebrated by the Ree-Mai, Mikaru and Rakiakaru for millenia to come, with regular religious celebrations near the foot of Mount Quirea, with lots of dancing and a short reenactment of the Dance of Sun and Moon. Records indicate that these celebrations were still a tradition shortly before The Great Wasting, when contact to Illiad was lost.

For a long time, Ohunto and Abesh would be considered siblings, Children of the Cathedral, and children of Hailana. However, later archeological finds would reveal that only Abesh was Hailana's child, while Ohunto was Abesh's lover.

The pre-shadow era was a time of peace and prosperity, with absolutely no indication of what soon would happen. Records show that, for a few tens of thousands of years, the kingdoms of Illiad were experiencing amounts of prosperity and enlightenment that were never before thought to be possible, with cities growing larger and larger and even commoners becoming wealthier and healthier. Schools started popping up left and right, education became more and more widespread, even amongst the lower classes, and philosophers started to try to make sense of the world and themselves. It was a great time of peace, enjoyed by all. However, things would soon take a dark turn...

No one expected this to happen. Overnight, monsters, made from what seemed like pure shadow and dark crystals, led by a huge, shadowy abomination that would be known as "The Shadow", attacked the largest city of the realm. It was a massacre, as they killed the people and even the animals and plants, absorbing their life energies into themselves in their ravenous hunger, leaving only a wasteland behind. Only a handful of people would be left, as they fled, and warned the neighboring cities and kingdoms.

The days of peace were over, and the Illiadians got their first taste of the dark days of shadow that would follow. The Great War of Shadows had begun.

For the next few decades, the threat of these Shadow-Creatures and The Shadow would spread, slowly, all over the land. Armies would be felled by these monsters, countries would be left barren, decades of fighting and death would pass, and the gods, receiving an influx of panicked prayers, were at the end of their wits. These things were not of their creation, and they appeared completely out of nowhere. What happened?

Turns out these this energy and these creatures existed long before the creation of the universe... These monsters, not of divine creation, were ravenous for energy after untold eons of sleep, wakened at the creation of the Universe. And they had decimated large swathes of the universe already, until they finally made their way to Illiad.

It became clear, the gods of Illiad had to step in. And soon, armies were led end empowered by their avatars, in hopes of somehow beating back this menace.

After centuries of suffering and pain, two of The Shadows' three most powerful underlings, Tahvihsa and Prethao developed new, constructive powers... and with them, a conscience, and a desire to do better. Soon, they defected from the forces of Shadow to the side of Rencal Kei-Rhai and the Illiadian Pantheon, and with their help, were able to finally turn the war around. In a last, all-out battle, Rencal was able to weaken and absorb the Shadow into himself, more-or-less stabilizing the Shadow-Energies that were devastating the world, and ending the Great War of Shadows, as well as the Era of Shadows. Tahvihsa and Prethao were then adopted into the divine family as the Grand Counts of Technology and Death respectively, while the Shadows' third underling, Z'rsar, was never seen again.

The beginning of the Post-Shadow Era was marked by several significant rebuilding efforts, and attempts to somehow move on from the horrors that the people of Illiad went through during the Era of Shadows. The Ree-Mai even start accepting Non-Tribal Ree-Mai back into their society and let go of their old banishment-rules for Ree-Mai that live outside the tribal system.

Despite the adoption of Prethao and Tahvihsa into the divine family, it's also sadly marked by the extreme discrimination of Shadow- and Light-Walkers, Tirrdaka and the newly emerged Rerrikan Ree-Mai and Shadian Mikaru, Arrash and Rakiakaru, as well as some Dorro whose new primary Ena-Type was now Shadow-Ena.

Sh'ther Kei-Sihr emerges from Rencal Kei-Rhai's soul and body, now as a fully sentient and sapient deity with creative powers and a sense of identity. After the gods of Illiad closely inspect him to make sure he's not a threat like the mindless Shadow before him, Sh'ther, in his genuine thankfulness for being given this new life, pledges his unending loyalty to Rencal and the other gods of Illiad, and is adopted into the divine family. He's then given control of The Obsidian Cathedral, the dark inverse of The Marble Cathedral, where most of the gods of Illiad live, which emerged from the Marble Cathedral shortly after The Shadow was absorbed into Rencal as an accidental side-effect.

Both Rencal Kei-Rhai and Sh'ther Kei-Sihr, upon Rencal's disappointment in the Karrin of Illiad discriminating against those with Shadow-Ena flowing through them, provide a Rerrikan Ree-Mai individual called Umbrek, who will soon be known as The Guardian of the Sacred Shadow, with their blessing and protection, and give him the task of making a name for himself. Soon, he amasses a following, and eventually, changes the hearts of the people through countless heroic acts, alongside other Shadow-Ena users, as well as condemning those who persecute and discriminate against people like him. Soon, discrimination against those with Shadow-Ena starts to lessen; in no small part thanks to him being the living proof that his people are also beloved by the gods.

CW: Mentions of Homophobia and Racism

The King of a Kingdom called Saedir, a former kingdom in eastern Illiad, goes on to make a grave mistake, as he is about to publicly execute a bunch of people that went against his kingdom's incredibly repressive laws, which were put in place by his grandfather to weed out rivals, telling everyone that it was the "will of the gods". One of these people is Saint Cinés, the first Karrin lover of the Holy Grand Count of Pleasure, Adin, who was being accused of "misgenication and homosexual acts".

After breaking his lover and the other accused out, in front of a surprised King and crowd, Adin would go on to expose these laws as complete humbug, and the claim that it's "the will of the gods", as nothing but blasphemy. And while this display would go on to sow discontent within the general populous and the clergy, it would only result in the King of Saedir going mad, and doubling down.

What follows is a revolution and a war, with Adin and his lover as the face of the revolution. And soon, the King would be overthrown, and the Kingdom of Saedir given to a new King, who immediately dismissed all of the kingdom's repressive laws.

This event would eventually be called "The War of the Laughing Dorro".

The Post-Shadow Era soon came to an end when an Elrian Mikaru King, King Vahathai the 1st, who named himself after the fabled Saint Vahath, united many of the Mikaru kingdoms under his banner, with both warfare and diplomacy. Soon, his newfound country of the Greater Illiad Kingdom, would become a great and mighty nation, and one of the strongest nations on Illiad... only for his great-grandchild to completely mess up his dynasty in a fit of ill-informed megalomania.

Only three generations after King Vahathai the 1st founded the Vahathai-dynasty of Greater Illiad, the newest King in line, King Avai the 2nd, completely ruined everything, as he, in a bout of megalomania, declared all Erian Mikaru and Naveurian Ree-Mai superior to all others, and the true heirs of Illiad, as they were the first Mikaru and Ree-Mai to be created. While this claim of them being the first of their kind was true, their claim of superiority was not. And soon, King Avai would pass several repressive laws, making all non-Erians and non-Naveurians second class citizens, with only the Shadian Mikaru and Rerrikan Ree-Mai getting special treatment due to their bloodlines' Ena-Types originally having been of Neutral-Ena before being turned to Shadow after the Era of Shadows.

What soon followed was a period of repression, followed by a revolution, headed by a Mikaru whose name has been lost to history, who had become a prophet and earned the favor of the gods. This Mikaru would go on to overthrow King Avai, and unite the remaining Mikaru kingdoms under his banner into the First United Illiadian Kingdom... But... more problems would be soon to follow.

One would think that, after the repression under King Avai, the revolutionary Mikaru Prophet would do well to not repeat what happened... But no. Overthrowing the King was not enough. He wanted revenge on every Elrian Mikaru and Naveurian Ree-Mai he could find. Compared to what now was happening under him, the repression that had happened in the Vahathai-dynasty was mere child's-play... A proper genocide had started.

The gods of Illiad were horrified at what was happening, most notably Rencal Kei-Rhai, who made that revolutionary Mikaru a prophet in the first place. They had chosen the wrong person. They had made a mistake... Soon, they'd recruit a new group of prophets from all over the Kingdom, who, like them, were horrified at the violence that was happening around them. And after gathering an army of like-minded individuals, the revolutionary Mikaru was overthrown, and had his divine favor publicly removed by Rencal's avatar himself... The only Saint of Illiad to have his Sainthood removed by the gods themselves. Soon, all records of him were struck from history, so that his name would be forever forgotten... And yet, his deeds left a mark, as the Erians and Naveurians had been decimated, and sadly remain rare to this day.

The gods of Illiad would also become more silent at this point, with reports of them mingling with Karrin becoming more and more scarce. Divine Intervention would become much rarer at this point, for the next few Eras, as the gods had seen firsthand just how horribly mistaken they could be with their choices sometimes... and wished to never have something like this happen again.

Nonetheless... After only a few years of existence, the First United Illiadian Kingdom was dead. Long Live the Second United Illiadian Kingdom.

The Second United Kingdom ushered in a new age of prosperity and plenty amongst the common folk. The divided power in the government allowed it to help the common folk of the kingdom much better, with policies of charity and trade. However, as time went on, and each new generation of the merchant caste started accumulating even more wealth than the lowest nobles, and eventually resulted in the noble caste losing more and more importance. This then resulted in the disillusionment of many noble families, who eventually forcefully ousted the king, who was well-loved among the general populace. The common folk was, understandably, not a fan, and a bloody civil war broke out... eventually breaking the country into pieces, and ending the Second United Kingdom of Illiad.

It is said that, during the first divided Illiad, eventually so much time passed that the idea of a united Illiadian nation of Mikaru became a complete pipe dream, with all the war and death around... That is, until a certain King, completely through his sheer force of personality and his diplomatic endeavors, was able to unify the warring states of Illiad. Some people say this King may have been blessed by Deriel, the Holy Grand Count of Language and Diplomacy, but this was never confirmed. With that, the third United Kingdom of Illiad was formed.

Many mainlanders of Illiad made their first real attempts to explore Terra-Illiadis, as well as the surrounding Illiadian Aisepa-Archipellago during this era. Even by the end of this period, the latter still couldn't be fully explored, and still hasn't when last contact to Illiad was made, due to it's sheer size. Many independent kingdoms started flourishing on some of these northern islands, sometimes even outshining the Illiadan Kingdom. Meanwhile, attempts to settle on Terra-Illiadis were made, but promptly given up by everyone besides numerous Dorro clans.

As the nations of the northern Illiadian isles gained more prosperity, they also gained more independence... much to the dismay of the merchants and nobles of the Illiadian mainland. Prosperity also led to innovation, and new technologies were invented... and soon, as tensions between the islands and the mainland erupted into conflict, as Illiad's kingdom once again broke apart... and an age of wars, more bloody than even the Age of Shadows, came over Illiad.

The Era of the Second Divided Illiad was an era of intense war and conflict... new technologies, more destructive than anything ever seen before, ravaged the lands. And soon, the Mikaru and Arrash people were faced with the very real possibility of total annihilation. As death and despair engulfed the continent more and more, soon the Mikaru decided that they might need successors, if they at least wanted their culture to survive. And after many evolutionary experiments on primates, the Humanity of Illiad was born, in the image of the Mikaru and Arrash.

Eventually though, the fighting... actually died down... and the Mikaru survived. And while many technologies, war machines and their schematics would be destroyed, so that the mistakes of the past would never repeat, the humans of Illiad remained... and were fully incorporated into Illiadian society. In fact, they would go on to spread to Terra Illiadis, where they would soon create a culture of their own.

As Illiad was recovering from the devastation and wars that nearly tore the continent apart, for the first time in millennia, the gods finally spoke to the people again... as they decided that they once again would need their guidance to rebuild. So, the four deities of Illiad would chose a prophet, one with a pure heart who could once again reunite the scattered people of Illiad into one nation... and so he did, becoming the first High Protector of Illiad, and founding the Holy Protectorate.

Although Trans-Dimensional travel technology has been developed on Illiad since at least the Era of Isles and Continents, it was refined during the Holy Protectorate, with many Illiadian missions to other worlds, universes and multiverses taking place. These were always purely diplomatic or scientific, but would contribute a great deal to the prosperity of the Illiadian peoples.

Inspired by types of government they saw when visiting other worlds, the people of the Aisepa Archipelago banded together under a completely new form of government; one where every citizen could be heard out, a republic under a democracy. This truly revolutionary government soon led to a golden age to the people of the Aisepan isles... and even the current High Protector took notice...

It is said that the last High Protector of Illiad saw Aisepa's prosperity and sought a word with his god, Rencal Kei-Rhai. After a long discussion, Rencal gave him his blessing and best wishes... as the High Protector addressed the people in a morning speech. He saw the benefit of democracy and freedom, and wished these benefits for his people. And in a well-intentioned step, the last High Protector of the protectorate declared a republic, dissolved the High Protectorate government, and after a little bit of squabbling... the Illiadian Federation was born.

White the Federation had a strong start, and the people of Illiad were prosperous, the fledgling nation wasn't prepared for two factors that would prove to be its downfall: Excessive Capitalism and Lobbying. Powerful business owners and billionaires started influencing politics, paying off politicians, making gifts and bribing people... and soon, the government of the Federation was full of corruption and greed. It wouldn't take a lot of time for it to eventually fall apart, and Illiad broke apart... one final time. The Era of the Third Divided Illiad had started.

Rencal Kei-Rhai takes on a Mikaru disguise, to mingle with the Karrin of Illiad and in order to keep an eye on his followers in this tumultuous time. However, plans change as he falls in love with a Mikaru Woman, who he eventually marries in his disguise.

Kashi Arrasse, the first half-deity child of Rencal Kei-Rhai, is born in the town of Ikasha in the Tayan Kingdom of Illiad.

The young Kashi Arrasse, after finding out about his divine parentage, decides to reunite Illiad after witnessing all the suffering, inequality, conflict and division between the different Mikaru nations. Some kingdoms join his side by way of diplomacy. Other kingdoms, led by greedy, selfish people who don't want to lose their influence instead go to war against him and his Iron Alliance. The War of Illiadian Reunification had begun.

The Iron Alliance, led by the hero and prophet Kashi Arrasse Kei-Rhai, formally declares the creation of a new Illiadian republic on the Mikaruian Territories, officially creating The United Territories of Illiad. And this time, it wouldn't repeat the mistakes of the Federation, and democracy would be done right.

The first Illiadian travelers, led by scientists and traders, make their way to Sancstoryl and seek out the capitals and cities of the Great Liwilai Empire and the Northlands, establishing the first diplomatic connections with Sancstoryl. What soon would follow was an era of cultural exchange, research, trade and immigration.

A proper partnership between the people of Illiad and the people of Sancstoryl had started. People from across both worlds traveled back and forth for work, enjoyment, and for research. The Illiadians shared their profound wisdom, their expansive technologies and tried their best to make life easier in the harsh environment of Sancstoryl so that the cultural exchange could benefit both worlds, and Liwilai was soon experiencing an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity, with the Illiadians as partners by their side... until The Great Wasting made it all come crashing down.

On the first day of The Great Wasting, most of the more dire effects that the Great Wasting would bring weren't obvious to anyone yet. The Illiadians in Argentis, Khrusia and Aesil would come to notice that their portal-devices, which allowed them to travel to Illiad and even contact their people on their homeworld, no longer functioned. This was initially seen as not a big problem, as the portal technology would have occasional hiccups and would usually be fixed within a day or two... This lack of alarm would eventually prove to be a mistake, as the separation of families who were on either side of the portal was the least of their problems...

And as Liwilai and Sancstoryl fell into chaos, whatever was going on on Illiad would be a mystery to the Illiadians left on Sancstoryl... seemingly forever.