Esterelf Timeline

A.C. stands for Ante-Cartem (Before Carta War)
P. C. stands for Post-Cartem (After Carta War)

???- 700 A.C.: The Origins of the Walpurgis

The majority of Esterelfian archivists believe that some of the earliest entities on Mä were the Incantii. Locally known as daemons and demons depending on their moral alignment with regards to humans, the Incantii are relic beings that can manipulate the properties of the physical realm as well as tap into the spiritual one.  The magical energy they possess is known as Cantus. One theorist suggests that it was the Incantii that created man through Cantus emanating from them, though whether this was intentional or Cantus leakage is unknown.

The Incantii played a large role in the beginning society of men. With no technology or way to defend themselves, mankind was vulnerable to the more malevolent Incantii as well as corrupted beasts. Other spirits protected them, however, and were eventually worshiped as their gods as the Greater Incantii. This was probably when the first Cantus-using humans emerged.

Ancient writings as well as oral folkore suggest that the Greater Incantii blessed humans they deemed worthy with Cantus magic and these humans were later turned into their priests and priestesses. This group would become known as the Magii and it became their sole job to act as mediums between human and Incantii, as well as protect their race from the threats of the outside world.

Decades passed and soon it was discovered that Cantus wasn't something only given to the Magii. Random people would find out they had the ability too and as did many newly born children. How this had come to happen, no one knew, but the group of Cantus users were eventually set apart from humans who didn't have this gift were called Walpurgis.

700-500 A.C.: The Magii Council

WIth the original Magii having passed away, mankind elected new officials to guide them and created The Magii Council. It consisted solely of Walpurgis and these people usually came from well-respected families. The first villages were established as well and the land they resided in was called Domhan. The First Council resided in Meahll, the largest village at the heart of Domhan and here they built several temples for the Greater Incantii. The Incantii rarely interacted directly now, but the First Council believed proper worship still needed to be practiced in order to ensure their Cantus wouldn't be taken from them nor would they no longer have Cantus among new generations. While the Walpurgis population grew, there were still many who didn't have Cantus and soon the Walpurgis labeled them as not being favored in the eyes of the Greater Incantii. They were soon labeled as "mundane humans" or simply "mundanes." The mundane humans were turned into their laborers and were forced to hunt and gather materials in the wilderness even with the threat of malevolent Incantii and corrupted beasts. While the Walpurgis were far more capable of protecting themselves, historians believe the reason they forced them to do life-threatening tasks such as this was in order to discreetly wipe the mundanes out.

Years would pass and the Walpurgis population grew even bigger. Since Cantus was not hereditary, every now and then the Council would check the new children among the non-users and see if any of them were Walpurgis. They would be separated at an early age and sent to an academy in their village. Children of Walpurgis without Cantus were usually switched with these children and made laborers. This new movement of the Magii began to infuriate the commoners. It eventually led to the mundane humans to try and rebel against the Walpurgis, but they failed miserably. Punishments were rendered and this usually meant sacrificing them at temples where more ill-tempered Greater Incantii resided. A good example was the Greater Incantus Scath, who fed on the souls of the men offered to him.

This new punishment terrified the humans and mankind could only hope within time that Cantus magic could be countered.

499-300 A.C: The Disassembling of the Council and Scath's Fury

Within time, the Council realized that many of its members differed in opinions. Several Magii suggested that they didn't need to rely on the Greater Incantii anymore for aid and that their more and more infrequent appearances in the village meant they were reliable enough to survive on their own. Others wanted to remain loyal to the Incantii in not just gratitude, but fear of the tempermental ones such as Scath.

Their different opinions later on influenced the other Walpurgis outside the council and it ultimately led to the council's disassembly. In the midst of this, the humans decided they could use the division between the Walpurgis to their advantage. Mundane scouts and messengers for each group would alter messages in order to get one group mad at the other. Meanwhile, one of the braver non-users went up to Scath, who had been sleeping in his temple and infuriated him. With the mundane humans hiding and the Walpurgis absorbed in their own little dispute, many Magii and their followers were engulfed in Scath's fury. The rest of the Walpurgis fled in separate directions and left Domhan. Scath eventually chased after them, but got tired and retired to the wilderness. This left most of the humans free to live on the land without oppression. By this time, they had, to a degree, learned how to make weapons for themselves and tried to train in combat in order to fend themselves against demons and beasts. Some daemons would also help them out of sheer good will, but most times they'd be shunned by them.

Meanwhile, the fleeing Walpurgis took refuge in different lands. With no real guidance, the most influential families took place as governors for the groups and the two Walpurgis divisions created kingdoms. The Magii who had wanted to move away from Incantii worship resided in the forests in the south, while those who desired to continue Incantii worship moved to the north. The former became known as the as the New Magii while the latter changed their name to Magier. Meanwhile, the mundane humans in the south renamed the land Shaorail, which means "freedom". The powerful Incantus, Scath, seemed to have fled to somewhere else in the continent and left the three new nations alone.

200-100 A.C.: Magii Kingdom Tensions and Anti-Cantus Movement in Shaorail

The Magii divisions, though not at war, rarely consorted with one another on account of prior conflict as well as the fear of traveling and seeing Scath. While few non-users had been dragged into the new kingdoms, there were still enough to force into labor. On rare occassions, Walpurgis would give birth to non-users and as a result, led to separating the child from their family and being trained to become a laborer.

On the other hand, Shaorail had the opposite problem. More and more children with Cantus were being born.  Fearing that history would repeat itself, those with Cantus were usually separated from others and branded for their abilities. With no one to train them and pressure placed upon them, children with Cantus would usually go out of control and go as far as destroying entire villages if undergoing a mental breakdown. A nickname for these children had been Gottlings, but they were more commonly known as merely the Cursed.

Eventually the people in Shaorail had no choice but to cast out whatever Walpurgis children they had or to be killed on the spot. It was a cruel task, but one that was necessary to ensure the humans' survival.

This did, however, lead to a greater conflict. The few Walpurgis children that had been cast out rather than killed would eventually wander into the wilderness and the deadlands where they would come into contact with Incantii and become even more powerful than the Walpurgis mundane humans had ever known.

100-50 A.C: The Moira and The Discovery of Lëi

In 95 A.C., Shaorail suffered a tragedy unlike any other. While they had more or less controlled the Walpurgis population in the region, they hadn't considered the Walpurgis children outside their kingdom could survive. Since they had never persevered in hunting down the Walpurgis children they banished, they found themselves facing one with an Incantus by her side. This child, now grown, had been corrupted by her own magic and the Incantus and was powerful enough to wipe out the entire nation in one go. People ran in all directions as people were burned on the spot and dismembered. Houses and buildings crumbled at the girl's sheer cry. However, out of sheer luck, the child was consumed by her own power within hours. Thousands of people had died and even more had suffered casualties. It was around this time that mankind decided they had no choice but to discover a means in order to counter Cantus and stop it altogether.

In time 80 A.C., Atler Mas, a scholar in Shaorail, did just this.

During a journey outside Shaorail, Atler Mas discovered strong flow of magical energy using a device he had crafted from gems and alloys. It appeared that this energy channeled throughout the land near Shaorail and seemed to come from sources such as large bodies of water and great stones. Alter Mas theorized that this was, perhaps, a source of magic similar to that of the Incantii's magic and Cantus, however, he also realized the magic followed a certain and apparent pattern. Seeking aid from a benevolent Incantus near one of these channels, Atler learned about Lëi, magic that existed outside that born in Walpurgis and dwelt in the Incantii. Atler also learned that the gems he used could take from this infinite source of magic as well.

It would take several decades, but at the age of 98, Atler had more or less discovered who the Lëi worked and how one could use runes from it. One only needed to know a mark and pattern in order to conjure a certain affect. Like Cantus, it could alter properties to a certain degree, but in a smaller degree and more specific way that needed concentration and memorization. He also learned that Cantus could be sealed using the Lëi's magic by casting a certain pattern of runes in order to impede the flow of Cantus' energy. This breakthrough was just what the humans needed in order to counter the Walpurgis  of the other kingdoms who, for some odd reason, had been ignorant of them for almost an entire century.

50 A.C.-10 P.C.: The Magus War

The use of Lëi magic became known as Carta in 47 A.C. Atler had passed away in 40 A.C and had several people in his place who had now more or less mastered Carta. An academy for Carta was eventually established and meant to taught the public. Carta slowly became part of everyday life. Meanwhile, the Magier had gotten word of this Anti-Cantus nation through several ally Incantii. Outraged at the thought of the Walpurgis being tossed aside like mud infuriated them. Without any real knowledge about this new nation's abilities, they sent a unit of Cantus Mages in order to attack them. These mages were merely captured however, and their Canti bound and sealed. Not knowing what had happened to them, more units were sent until they were bound as well. One Walpurgis managed to escape and told the kingdom everything. The king was shocked and soon sent even more people to fight against them. Though Carta could seal Cantus, this time Shaorail didn't stand a chance against them. A large portion of it was destroyed and they soon got word that the Magier were planning to overtake it and put mankind in its place.

Desperate for a plan, Shaorail's current leader at the time, Aloi Metra, decided that they would try to become allies with the other Walpurgis kingdom. The New Magii Kingdom seemed to be having troubles of its own in regard to the Incantii. Due to committing sacrilege to a former temple dedicated to an Incantus, they enraged several Incantii and were attacked. Learning this, Aloi Metra went under the guise of seeking the New Magii Kingdom's help and join forces with them, promising that they knew how to bind Incantii as well as other Walpurgis. The New Magii Kingdom was skeptical, but as they were desperate, heeded Aloi's word that no harm would come upon the New Magii Kingdom.

War broke loose as the the Magier's mages and Incantii allies fought against the  New Magii's Walpurgis and Aloi's own army. This war would last for years where one army would retreat and then the other before returning and trying to strike again. What evened the battle in the end was the reappearance of Scath. The Magier had summoned him and sent the dragon Incantus against the other army. Being powerful as well as great in size, the other army suffered terrible losses and were forced to retreat. However, after a month, Aloi would return with several Cartic mages and bind Scath once and for all under the earth. Luring Scath right into a large Lëi source, Scath's soul was severed into seven and bound in vessels that would be separated and scattered throughout the continent.

Terrified of the other army's capabilities, the Magier begged for mercy and that their Cantus not be sealed. Aloi, however, did not hear their cries. The Walpurgis were all arrested and had their Cantus destroyed. They were then subjected to the same harsh work Shaorail's ancestors were once subjected to. As promised, the New Magii were spared. Finally free of Walpurgis reign, Shaorail rejoiced. Aloi, unfortunately, was not content.

While the New Magii kingdom rested its weary soldiers, Aloi's own didn't and attacked that very night, sealing masses of Walpurgis as well as their royalty. The New Magii king called out treason, but Aloi merely said that they couldn't risk rebellion. Aloi was then named king of the new land and shared the other two with the most well-respected and contributing families in Shaorail. It was here that the new kingdoms began and the spread of mankind fully throughout Esterelf began. Some question Aloi's morals for breaking promises with the New Magii, but none of mankind complained.

10 P.C.- 50 P.C: Spread throughout Esterelf and The New Kingdoms

As the population grew, many began leaving Shaorail and the other ex-Walpurgis kingdoms in order to find new land. Around this time, Shaorail had changed its name to Saoirse, while the New Magii became Aldmerrow and the Magier Kingdom became Eisleyn. At the other side of Esterelf, Saadedge was discovered as well as a people of its own full of Walpurgis who were quickly subdued and colonized to adapt to Carta Magic. Stahlmin was discovered by people shortly after leaving Aldmerrow and here another kingdom was established. The five kingdoms, all united by their history of fighting against the Walpurgis, created a treaty and became good neighbors. The threat of Cantus was no longer a large one, however, one had to keep in mind that it could appear in anyone and that they had to be vigilant no matter what the cost.


130 P.C.

Stahlmin declared itself a Republic. Discovery of Enkidu territory and the Red War.

145 P.C.

Enkidu started migrating to Esterelf with the approval Aldmerrow.

207 P.C. (Present Day)