History of Adylheim

The history of Adylheim covers the rise and fall of The Arameian Empire and the birth of the realm that would be known as Adylheim.

The Creation of the World
Main article: Creation Mythos

The corpses of the Chaos Giants, killed during the great rebellion of the Gods, were used to fashion such a thing as had never been seen before. Bones became great mountain ranges, their blood was the ocean, their skin the earth, and their hair the wild forests of old. Even Primus noticed that in the midst of Chaos they had created Order and he had never seen such a thing before. Only too late did he realize his error: creation was not a bauble but a prison. At its heart, trapped in eternal sleep was Primus himself. The first and the last of the Chaos Giants had been imprisoned, and his awesome chaos energies were used to create the order which became creation itself.

The Dragon Wars
Main article: Dragon Wars

With Primus gone, the Gods began to squabble amongst themselves for power. As these squabbles gained in ferocity, the Dragons involved themselves and chose sides. The destruction layered across creation was immense; it is said that for the first time in a long time they recalled why they had built creation in the first place. Great quakes and tears in reality appeared as Primus stirred in his sleep and their first children died. Later, we, the younger races, took their place, the Mefici of the Deep Earth, the Humans of the Plains, the Dae'vol of the Fire and the Rock, the Elves of the Forest and the Ogres of the Swamps, each created to fill a specific purpose. Never again would the gods fight in the midst of creation, their squabbles had almost awakened their true enemy and in that moment of realization even the Gods knew fear.

The Early Arameian Empire
Main article: The Arameian Empire


 * Year 0. Alexandrios I is crowned and begins to forge the Arameian Empire out of the city state of Aram. Despite his aspirations, the armies of Alexandrios never penetrate the Eastern Wetlands, nor the Northern Ribs.


 * 23. Alexandrios I dies in the autumn, leaving the Empire in the hands of his three sons. Alexandrios II, the eldest, inherits the majority of the Arameian Empire, the remainder of which had been divided between his younger brothers, Draganos and Symon.


 * 24. Alexandrios II is assassinated, leaving his wife a widow and his two sons fatherless. With the Empire now divided equally between Draganos and Symon, the two begin what is known as the First War of Ascendancy to reunite the Empire under one leader.


 * 45. Symon is killed in battle at the capital of Aram. Draganos ascends to the throne, takes the name Alexandrios III as his royal name and spends the remainder of his time as Emperor trying to recapture the land lost during the War of Ascendancy. While the First War of Ascendancy led to the death of Anthes, or Alexandrios II, and Symon, all three of the sons of Alexandrios are seen as the progenitors of Arameian Nobility and almost all noble families can, or claim to be able to, trace their lineage back to one of the three sons of the first Emperor.

The Jade Emperors

 * 786. Emperor Alexandrios IX is crowned. Having spent much of his youth being educated in Nander, the young emperor decides to move the capital of the empire to this location, becoming the first of the Jade Emperors.

The Renewal of Aram

 * 971. As a result of many minor uprisings, Emperor Symon III decides that the capital should be moved back to Aram, which had fallen into disarray in the absence of its emperors. Symon III begins a range of city renewal projects, including the construction of a new city wall. With the Emperor back in its ideological seat, some of the unrest in the northern regions of the Empire is stilled.

The Wishing War

 * 1558. The Coronation of Emperor Symon IV takes place in the Temple of Luxor in Aram, unwittingly setting off the Wishing War.


 * 1559. The Queen of Faerie, enraged at not being invited and being denied entrance to the coronation of Symon IV, declares war on the Arameian Empire. One of the deciding factors in the outbreak of the Wishing War was the attempted taxation of several Faerie lords by The Emperor's court.


 * 1560. A series of night raids through the imperial heartlands, quickly get named the Nights of Terror, is said to be the source of the tradition of hanging iron above one's entranceways. The Faerie Queen's General, a giant called Jak, shows primary interest in destroying the supply lines of the Empire's armies rather than the armies themselves; therefore, the Nights of Terror primarily consisted of attacks on farmers and common folk.


 * 1564. In response to the increasing antagonism from Faerie, the Emperor forms the Iron Guard, a small legion specialising in killing Faeries.


 * 1565. After a great deal of casualties on both sides, the Wishing War is ended by the Treaty of Dagonet, whereby the Emperor cedes the Old Woods to Faerie in perpetuity and the Faeries agree to cease any further assault on the Empire. An exchange of hostages is also made. One of the Emperor's leading generals, the Duke of Carterhaugh, is sent as an ambassador to Faerie, and Jak is taken away by the Imperial Administration and put in iron chains beneath Fort Resolve.

The Frostcrown Rebellion

 * 1982. The Frostcrown Rebellion begins. Before winter hits, the Gamb Lords and their supporters have defeated two imperial legions and managed to remove the empire's control over a sizeable portion of its northern holdings. Though they have relied solely on ambushes and surprise tactics, the Threakian military success is formidable.


 * 1983. With the rebels having had all winter to dig in, the imperial legions face an uphill struggle in retaking the imperial lands. With another imperial legion decimated by the Threakian insurgents, Emperor Symon VII faces political mutiny in Aram as his poor leadership has led to the untimely end of three imperial legions. This, coupled with a famine, has led to a lack of belief in Symon VII's right to remain on the throne.


 * 1984. With the forces of Emperor Symon VII largely concentrated around Aram to keep his own politicians in line, the Frostcrown rebellion is able to expand its control over the northern holdings of the empire. They manage to wrest the silver mines, as well as several other important holdings, from the Empire. In Aram, the struggle between Symon VII and his opponents comes to a head as the imperial legions are let loose into the city to end a popular uprising. When the legions turn on Symon VII, the palace steps are said to be coloured red that night by the blood of the emperor's personal guard. While legend states that Symon's wife escaped with her newborn son, Symon VII himself faced a rather more grisly end. The leaders of the rebellion and the legion drag him out into the street, where he is burned alive.


 * 1985. After a lot of politicking in Aram, Emperor Arios I is crowned. However, the many favours he owes to the people who bestowed his crown ensures that he has very little political manoeuvring room; for the majority of the first two years of his reign, his political role is very limited.


 * 1987. At the order of emperor Arios I, a large part of the imperial council is assassinated. This mass assassination goes down in history as the Night of Daggers. Now free to act as he pleases, the emperor turns his eyes on the Frostcrown rebels.


 * 1988. The imperial legions conduct a series of lightning raids into Frostcrown lands, weakening them for the final invasive push. The Frostcrown rebels are largely unprepared for the sudden ferocity of the imperial attacks. At the battle of Snowcap Pass, the rebel army is routed, marking the first major victory against the Threakians in this conflict and the turning of the tide.


 * 1991. The Frostcrown Rebellion comes to an end as Lars Hardken, the last of the Gamb Lords, and the other leaders of the rebellion are executed in Aram. The Frostcrown Rebellion marks the end of the major Threakian uprisings.

The City of Kaldheim

 * 2109. Emperor Symon IX is crowned in Aram.


 * 2112. Emperor Symon IX commands the construction of the city of Kaldheim, intended to be a gathering ground for the more experimental of his court mages and alchemists.


 * 2120. Construction on Kaldheim reaches its conclusion and the first mages move in there. Symon IX gives its inhabitants the tough task of reinventing magic to make it serve the Empire.


 * 2123. The city of Kaldheim disappears. Symon IX never again tries to pursue his dream of an Empire run on magic.

The Mage Wars

 * 2947. The Boy Emperor Arion II is crowned at nine years of age. His mother and the mistress of the former Emperor, Anna the Coarse, is considered to be the true power behind the throne and is greatly disliked.


 * 2948. In opposition to the Boy Emperor Arion II, the dread Wizard Robin the Black, followed by a sizeable number of wizards, declares a rebellion and an attempt to topple the Empire to create a Mageocracy. Supporters of the Empire and loyal mages rally to her cause.


 * 2949. Hostilities break out and the Mage Wars officially begin.


 * 2952. Anna the Coarse is assassinated in her sleep. History books blame Robin the Black, but evidence favours imperial loyalists who could no longer stomach her presence.


 * 2953. After four years of fighting, Robin the Black now commands a third of the Imperial lands. In desperation, Arion II "the Short" commands the creation of the Imperial Witchfinders, who are trained specifically to deal with and kill traitorous wizards.


 * 2955. The Mage Wars end as the much feared Robin the Black is struck down in the Eiderdown Campaign. With her followers dissipating into the midst of other mages, the powerful Witchfinders kill a great deal of the Empire's wizards in order to get their hands on the traitors.

The Eastern Campaign

 * 3349. The Eastern Campaign fails to create any permanent settlements in the Eastern Wetlands, but does manage to decimate the Ogre settlements there. The Eastern Campaign is forever after called the Time of the Harrowing by the Ogres and is displayed as a text book military campaign by the Empire.

The Great Snake War

 * 3517. The Great Snake War. Naga from an alternate reality attempt to annex the world as part of their cosmarchy. The Emperor halts their assault at great cost to the Empire. With the coffers of the Empire empty, he must turn to the nobles for increased funds. The Empire starts to decay as positions slowly become hereditary and the power of the Emperor begins to crumble. The army moves from a conscription system to a feudal system. As the last Emperors watch helplessly from their luxurious castles, the nobles start declaring their independence.

The Secession of the Fiefdoms

 * 3689. In the early months of the year, the Archduchy of Starkwater separates itself the Empire after a disagreement over taxes almost turns to open warfare.


 * 3689. Four months after the Archduchy, the Principality of Nevros declares its independence.


 * 3689. As the year draws to a close, the efforts of Emperor Armand VI to raise an army to bring the separatist nobles to heel fails. The Kingdom of Nerin and the Kingdom of Andragoria both separate and cut off a large part of the Imperial bankroll. Faced with imminent bankruptcy, the Emperor locks himself in his castle with his best courtesans and is not heard from again.


 * 3703. Word from the imperial palace has it that Emperor Armand VI is dead. His nephew, Alexandrios, is crowned emperor.


 * 3705. Alexandrios XIV’s attempts at bringing the separatist nobles back to the Empire through negotiation fails utterly. War begins.


 * 3712. As the war drags on, the Empire is betrayed by the Principality of Nevros, which has made an alliance with the Archduchy of Starkwater. The Imperial army is ambushed and the Emperor killed. In the wake of the defeat, the Barony of Longmoor also separates from an Empire which can no longer protect its boundaries.


 * 3713. The nine year old Theodorian III is made Emperor.
 * 3717. Golmen of Saksia declares the independence of the newly formed Kingdom of Saksia. Making good use of the chaos around him, the new king quickly expands his kingdom with the aid of the Firebrand Knights.


 * 3734. The Kingdom of Nikol is created by Brennus, with the blessing of Theodrian III, intended to be a buffer state between Starkwater and the Empire.


 * 3751. With its soldiers sent to protect what is now considered Arameian interests, and leaving them no protection from the Archduchy of Starkwater, the Grand Barony of Teslan separates from the Empire, leaving it with only half of what is now the Arameian Heartlands.


 * 3875. Crown Gate falls, marking the death blow of the Kingdom of Nikol.

The Empire Falls

 * 3896. The Great Winter Fire rages through Aram, many buildings are forever destroyed. The Great Winter Fire is considered the last, dying gasp of the Empire as the final vestiges of its administration died with it. Following the Great Winter Fire, the Priesthood of Luxor takes control of Aram and slowly spreads its influence out to the surrounding areas and to its nobles, forming the basis for the current Arameia.

The Transference of Power in Arameia

 * 3899. The Golden Proclamation is issued, officially transferring power from the Emperor to the Prelate of Luxor. As a result, The Sunrise Rebellion begins in the same autumn as the nobles try to wrest power from the priests.


 * 3900. The Battle of Coldwater Rush marks the turning point at which the nobility routs the legions of the prelacy. The nobiliy then marched on Aram and sacked it within a month of the battle. The army in Aram spends months searching the city or the Emperor, until summer and the battle of Ashdown where the nobles are slaughtered by the Prelate's forces. By 3970 Arameia covered what is the Arameian Heartlands today.


 * 3940. An Archbishop of Luxor leads an assault on the Fortress of Night at the border of Andragoria and Arameia. They are defeated by the death curse of the sorceress defending the keep.
 * 3944. Before the Siege of Leman reaches it the king's castle is put alight and the city as a whole surrenders to the forces of Starkwater, ending the Kingdom of Saksia.


 * 4031. Arameia seizes what becomes known as the Arameian Highlands from the Duchy of Starkwater in what is known as the Highlands Acquisition in Arameia and the Silver Theft in the Archduchy of Starkwater.

The Skylord Rebellion

 * 4220. The Flight of the Falcons. The Skylords stage a rebellion in Starkwater over a taxation dispute. The Archduke retaliates by all but wiping out the line of the Skylords and distributing their lands among his allies.