Ponderan History

15,000 GA (50,000 years ago)

The earliest primitive Ponderan societies, although they favored different elements based upon their location, had generally permissive attitudes toward a variety of worldviews, viewing mages as equal members of society with duties to the tribe.

13,000 GA (48,000 years ago)

In some tribes, religions began to develop about the most pertinent elements in their lives. This slowly led to a favoring of mages of specific affinities within these tribes and thus led to tribes which were elementally aligned in some way or another.

0 DA - Beginning of Deorum Anorus, "The Second Age" (35,000 years ago)

The gods come to Nyra.

25 DA

The early Noxai and Orderist tribes go to war and the other elements are forced to take sides in what is called the Formation War.

230 DA

The Formation War has now lasted for hundreds of years. The other elemental tribes grow tired of the interchange, beginning to negotiate among themselves in secret.

235 DA

The Non-Polar Magical Alliance demands an end to the war and proposes a compromise council for all of the elements, which will rule over a new coalition government. The Orderists and the Noxai refuse the coalition government for some time.

245 DA

The Noxai are the first to acquiesce, allowing the Non-Polar Magical Alliance the clout that is needed to force the Orderists into the coalition. This creates a confederation of tribes wherein each are given equal say and together they must agree to how things will be planned. Although progress is slow, an era of relative peace results.

285 DA - Beginning of the Era of Greatness

The foundations of all artistic and creative trends are conceived in this era, called the Era of Greatness. Many of the philosophical and scientific legends of modern Ponderan society occur during this era.

750 DA

Unknown to everyone else, the Orderists begin forming a secret government which seeks to strategically undermine the Non-Polar Magical Alliance and become a new Order aligned government. At this stage, it is still a secret cabal, driven by a zealotry in service to One. This embryo, however, will later develop into The First Empire.

1840 DA

What is now called The Order of the Old Flame, then called The Aridasi, commits a catastrophic massacre, mostly targeting the Orderists, but also purposely allowing their leader Avarkus to die in the pyre. As a result of this disaster, Avarkus ascends and becomes Daemon of Destruction. The Orderists respond immediately with demands that Orderists be placed in every major settlement to make sure this does not happen again. Many settlements acquiesce, in fear of the Order of the Old Flame.

1900 DA

With decades having now passed since the Aridasi Massacre, Orderists have been stationed in nearly every major settlement. The Orderist cabal, feeling now their own strength, demand the Orderist council be given a higher station above the rest and thus demand the dissolution of the Non-Polar Magical Alliance. None of the other councils agree to this affair at first, save for Chaos. 

2000 DA

The dynamics of the Chaos and Order tribes sabotaging one another in preparation for a coming conflict saps the trust of those within the Non-Polar Magical Alliance, leading to a dissolution. 

2020 DA - Beginning of the Era of Strife

The cabal reveals itself and announces its demands, calling itself The First Empire. In contrast to the doctrine of the Non-Polar Magical Alliance, the doctrine of this era of Orderist politics comes to be called the New Polar Order. The Era of Strife begins, in which the First Empire seeks to establish its territory through conquest. Long, terrible conflicts which scar the land define this era. Many of the greatest works of the Era of Greatness are destroyed. Here are where the great legends of mage wars originate, a theme returned to in Ponderan art and literature for millennia to come. This is also the era in which many of the most important daemons are born, from the ascendance of great mages, dead upon the battlefields. This era is also where a great deal of the modern magicite concentration within the soil comes from. The dead in these wars are so numerous and were of such magical potential that their blood enriched the soil.

4700 DA

The Era of Strife ends in a sort of stalemate. Although the Orderist state has taken considerable territory, it is not supreme. 

4705 DA

Even though it has failed to conquer the tribes or even a large portion of the island, The First Empire establishes a city at the center of the island to represent its greatness called Onus. Onus is governed entirely by Orderists and comes to determine the priorities of society. The mage-born who are Order aligned become a privileged class over the next centuries. All mages that are not Orderists are systematically murdered at birth. Only Orderists and non-mages are allowed to be born.

5100 DA

The First Empire undergoes a long process of decline in which the forces of the resisting Ponderan tribes from the outside are able to slowly join together into alliances. Although these alliances are generally dominated by one persuasion or another, there are many multi-polar tribes that arise in this era.

-The tribes have widely varying experiences in resolving or mediating disputes among themselves. Where many are able to mend old rivalries, others choose to rekindle their feuds. Though some conflict defines this era, it is also an era of peace for other regions. The absence of the First Empire’s constant gaze allows new structures to form in the periphery.

-The empire, recognizing that it is faltering, begins to lash out even more viciously than before. However, the different tribes have now joined together into larger confederations and provide more substantial resistance than those same tribes mere years ago. As the tribes responded in kind to Onus’ abuse, the Unification War began.

6900 DA - The Beginning of the New Pact

Onus loses the war and is forced to pay war reparations. The city of Onus is split into 6 districts where each element will rule apart and together. This new government is based on a document called the New Pact.

7100 DA

Borias is born.

-Borias rises to become one of the great Ventusari Lord Mages and advocates for the development of libraries in every Ponderan settlement and district. The other elements see this as an act of zealotry around the element of gas, but Borias refuses to back down.

-Borias establishes the first Great Library in the Gas District of Onus.

-The First Great Library becomes one of the most important centers of knowledge on the planet within only a few years time. Ventusari quickly devote their lives to becoming scryers and scribes, filling books full of knowledge both ancient and new.

-The First Great Library becomes a base of power for the Ventusari, giving them knowledge of almost all affairs on the planet. All the other elements become beholden to the Ventusari to gain and store knowledge.

-The other houses within Onus begin deliberating over whether they should establish libraries. The first to agree are the Noxai. Borias makes quick and close alliance with the Chaos District for this reason.

-Infernai protest against the establishment of such long-standing structures. Infernai terrorists attempt to destroy the First Great Library within the Gas District, but fail. The Ventusari had known it would happen before it did, but let it take place anyway. This pushes the Liquid Lord Mages to establish their first library.

-The Orderists, seeing that this process is taking place whether they want it to or not, begin consulting with Borias in order to carry out a steady and fair implementation. Borias enters into talks with the Orderists and the first plan for the universal establishment of libraries is created. Once the Lord Mages of Solid hear that Borias and the Orderists are discussing universal implementation, they quickly come to the bargaining table with Borias.

-During this years-long process of developing a universal plan for Borias' libraries, the Infernai continue carrying out terrorist attacks. They are first successful in destroying the Solid District's library, as it is in the process of being built. This spurs on all the other elements to agree to the plans that Borias and the Orderists had been developing. Within only a few years, the Infernai Lord Mages cave to the plan and call their terrorists to cease activities.

7380 DA

Borias is killed by an Infernai of the Old Flame.

7385 DA

Borias returns as the daemon Borias.

7485 DA

Borias is hunted by Orderists, but is never captured. Instead, Borias comes to dwell in all of the libraries he established in life. He is, in this era, called the Daemon of Libraries.

7685 DA

Borias begins to have eminence anywhere where knowledge is being gained. He is nearly impossible to contain because he is everywhere. He is then called the Daemon of Knowledge.

31,000 DA

The first Ponderan excursions onto Faydorn begin. First contact is made with the primitive Ethakkra (at that time still the Utwesh) and the Kaze. The Ponderan deem these species unfit for diplomacy, but note their existence in the records.

32,000 DA 

On Faydorn, the Ponderan build the Temple of Twilodon as an isolated monastery, with the purpose of communing with all 6 gods. This project succeeds. The first pact that is made is with the purpose of capturing and containing Borias.

2300 EM

All six gods collude to capture Borias in the Temple of Twilodon, and succeed. 

33,200 DA - The Great Pruning begins

The mage-born begin The Great Pruning, in which they undergo a eugenics campaign to breed the low-born non-mages only with their own kind, particular emphasizing the breeding of the physically muscular, and the mentally unfit, as to create a slave race to serve them. They name this new slave race, the Famulus.

34,200 DA

After many years, a distinguishable Famulus is created and they end the interbreeding of Ponderans for this purpose, now only allowing the Famulus to breed with other Famulus.

34,500 DA

The children of Famulus and Ponderans sometimes arise and policy dictates that they are to be killed at birth as aberrations. They are called “Humans.” However, the numbers become far too numerous for such a campaign to be carried out lightly. 

0 EM - Beginning of Expera Modum, "The Third Age" or later "The Dark Age" (3500 years ago)

Shortly after the epidemic becomes a problem and as some Ponderan become attached to their Human children, a series of court cases are argued. In these cases, it is disputed whether Humans should be treated as Ponderan or as Famulus. The issue is so contentious that the court is unable to determine how precedent should decide. They submit that an experiment should be had. The Humans, both living and yet to be born, will all be sent to the Lazvarian continent with basic tools and forced to survive. If the Humans can make their way and achieve a Ponderan state of society, they will be accepted as Ponderans. And if they devolve into savagery, they will be treated as Famulus. This comes to be called The Great Project.

2850 EM (650 years ago)

The first of the Famulus slave revolts take place, but it is crushed brutally. All memory of it is erased by collusion of all the Lord Mages. The Ponderan learn that Borias is making contact with the Famulus and may very well have inspired the first slave revolt by teaching them the history of their people. 

3200 EM (300 years ago)

Famulus massacre The Ponderans. Famulus society in its current form begins to develop on the island of Onus.

0 BR - Beginning of Borias Reperium, "The Steam Age" (Current Day)

Borias is freed from the Temple of Twilodon by the Phylactery Breakers and the Templars of Borias.