(E.T. means 'Ex-nihilo Temporum' or Time of Nothing. It is the time before recorded history)
(I.A. means 'Impera ad Aurumere' or Empire of the Golden. It is the time recorded by west historians)
(For historical events spanning multiple age events, the typical format is year:age-year:age. Example– year 112:1-216:2 I.A. would mean "from year 112 of the 1st Age to year 216 of the 2nd Age in the Impera ad Aurumere period of history)
General Pacing of Events:
Pre-history creation (2,000~ years E.T.)
The founding of Tarshith (year 1-43 I.A. 1st Age)
Exile of the Sava Clan from the Desert (year 46 I.A. 1st Age)
Dwarven copper weapons are made (year 46 I.A. 1st Age)
Effinitia is founded and the Grey Keep is built in Anor (year 43-50 I.A. 1st Age)
The founding of Aurë (year 1-55 I.A. 1st Age)
Vn'raushoth's Chimeric research (year ~100 E.T.-
The War of Choice (year 1000~:0-1000:1 I.A. 1st Age)
First Snowfall, creation of the Òhrnír (year 177 I.A. 1st Age)
The Alanor Wars (year 105:1-
The Wars of Aurumere & Effinitia (year 68-2368 I.A. 1st Age)
Rovanë Galahadrim's exile from Alanor (year 468 I.A. 1st Age)
Separation of the Island of Iseer into isles (year 845 I.A. 1st Age)
Imperial colonization of the Heartlands (year 452-461 I.A. 1st Age)
The Iseeri Thalassocracy (year 165:1-
The Awanet Empire (year 166:1-
Bronze Metallurgy is achieved (year 874 I.A. 1st Age)
Fire Magic is brought into Being (year 429 I.A. 1st Age)
Vn'raushoth's Immortality Research (year 690-761 I.A. 1st Age)
Ten Tenets of Good are established (year 1001 I.A. 1st Age)
Asur's meditations (year 1003-1101 I.A. 1st Age)
The Orthodox Syncretic Church is formed (year 406 I.A. 1st Age)
Kingdom of Arcticus (year 407:1-1166:3 I.A.)
The Eastern Syncretic Church is formed (year 459 I.A. 1st Age)
The city of An'tia, formerly Helm (year 415:1-1157:3 I.A.)
Azunain-Awanet Holy War (year1159-1179 1st Age)
The Island Wars of Iseer (1165-1180 I.A. 1st Age)
First blast furnaces are invented by humans (879 I.A. 2nd Age)
The Free City of Cal'dir is formed (year 500 I.A. 1st Age)
Animal Husbandry is discovered (year 1806 I.A. 1st Age)
Eruption of Erethorn Mountain (year 1509 I.A. 1st Age)
The Founding of Aurë:
The Aurian kingdom began following the arrival of the demigods into the Samsinurimatu, those dubbed the Sunlight Plains in the common tongue. King Providence founded the Aurnëanor dynasty in the city of Aurë, which became the seat of his power in the year 55 of the Age of Gold and Silver. Following the founding, Providence consolidated the demigods' numbers around Aurë and was chosen by virtue of might to lead them as their king. The demigods were strong. They moved stone and ploughed fields so well that eventually, their city and its fields outstripped all peerage. To better irrigate the vast plains of the Samsinurimatu, Providence ordered the making of a great Aqueduct, which was seen by all across the plains.
In the year 61 of the Age of Gold and Silver, the Providence Aqueduct was made and became an icon of hope and fertility across the plains. Various small tribes and local migrants move into Aurë and subject themselves to King Providence's rule. Ralathadri people, who were ancestors of the Mahadrum, take notice of these migratory patterns and perceive the diminishing of their own influence.
In the year 63 of the Age of Gold and Silver, Providence led the demigods in a defensive war against Ralathad. The Ralathadri did not heed the Aurians in their lands at first. But as the glory of Aurë began to surpass them however, they saw fit to drive out the Aurians so as to maintain their establishment.
Year 64 of the Age of Gold and Silver: the battle of Pashad Fields. The demigods, being few in number, were ill suited to plains warfare. Initially, they were outmaneuvered by the Ralathadri skirmishers. There were archers among the Ralathadri host who inherited the marksmanship of the eastern riverfolk. Later antiquity assumes this refers to the Venegéshai, based upon the reckonings of the Sylvus Duchy's antiquarians, dating from years 123-468 of the second age. Additionally, from those records held in the great library at Lithopolis, it is further assumed that Ralathadri archers learned some of their technique from the Venegéshai. These archers hid in the tall grass and loosed upon the demigods with flaming arrows. They set a ring of fire to encircle the Aurians, trapping them. But Providence foresaw the apparent dangers of the tall grasses of the Samsinurimatu. He intentionally positioned his army near the Bay of Stars, and at marching distance to Pashadus, which the Ralathadri called Pashumatu. Beside the walled city was a settlement called Darusmatu, a critical port from which the Ralathdri traded grain for the silver of Tarshith. Here, a stream of narrow canals were dug by the Ralathadri to serve as irrigation channels for their crops. Providence diverted an auxiliary century concealed within the tall grasses, to redirect these channels and extinguish the flames. From there, the Aurians broke the encirclement on its west side and marched to the shorelines, creating a secure anchor point along the bay. At this point, Providence forced the Ralathadri to engage on his terms. The numerous Ralathadri skirmishers under the command of Denedol kept Providence's army pinned to the shores of the bay. But the demigods, through superior might, weathered the force for ten days (By a reckoning of ancient scribes, the number ten frequently appears to express a large and indeterminate quantity, particularly in temporal contexts). Other sources from Melakar, the Antiquarian of Pashadus during the reign of king Thaddius, argue that at most it would be a battle of thirteen days. A priest in the monastery of Metos by the name of Sólos speculates that six days is the shortest it could've been. Regardless, what follows in the proceeding records states that there came another force from the sea. Tarshith sent aid to Ralathad, but this too Providence had foreseen. When the ships came to fall upon the Aurians, Providence split the sea with his sword and married all the sailors to its depths. Although the exact truth of how the battle ended is unknown, documentation, witnesses, antiquated relics of the copper age, and the reckonings of many watery graves in the bay shallows suggest a great number of Effinitian Galleys were sunk at once. Approximately 3,000 corpses were discovered at the shallow end of the Bay of Stars, drifting northward along the coastal curve up to modern-day Helion. This marked the first encounter that the Magëa-Kings of Effinitia had with the demigods. They were shocked to learn of their fleet's destruction and so held a grand assembly among their elites to discuss what ought to be done for the upstart Aurians in the Samsinurimatu, which they perceived as a colony of their own glory. In the meantime, the battle of Pashad Fields was settled three days later (a dubious quantification, possibly closer to eight or seven days if including minor skirmishes, but apocryphal texts describe the battle as three days later).
Following the victory at Pashad Fields, the Aurians began the siege of Pashadus in the year 64 of the Age of Gold and Silver, on Providence's birthday. By the reckoning of the church, Providence lured the soldiers of Pashadus out of the city with a small force. His main army remained hidden behind a ridge to take the city by flame after all the defenders had left to pursue. While it is plausible given the tactics of the era, Mahadrum scribes in the county of Dorianne and Duke Mahadhari's dynastic records argue that the Southernlands endemic of the Ralathadri peoples were already declining by the time of Aurë's arrival in the Samsinurimatu. Accordingly, the success of the siege of Pashadus may have been due to a lack of defenders following their defeat in the Pashad Fields. While there are no records of the Ralathadri commander, Denedol, to corroborate, it is reasonable to assume that the army at Pashad was the last muster of a declining kingdom. Year 61-68 of the Age of Gold and Silver suggests that the Archons of Tarshith may have invaded the Southernlands via Anor, and laid siege to the Grey Keep. This appears at first to contradict the alliance which the Ralathadri had with the Archons, but since they were known for being a fragmented people anyways, it is not entirely implausible. It is well documented in the records of the church and various private writings preserved of Magëa-Kings, such as those of V'thoth and Azaloth, which greatly detail the discord among the Archons at their grand assemblies. V'thoth personally expressed the frustrations which many Archons bore trying to bring an accord to the many lords of Effinitia, who each acted independently for self-interest. The Ralathadri, according to their own sparse scrolls, did have a deal with one Magëa-King by the name of Tethoth who had a well recorded silver trade across the southern waters of the Quendi Ocean. But other Magëa-Kings such as Astroth and Mallīto'rcoth desired the city of Anor and its prosperous nickel and lead mines, which were useful in supplying the Effinitian Empire's transmuter-based economy. Lead and nickel could be transmuted into higher metals like silver, and were frequently employed in other alchemical practices, which brought logical incentives for some Magëa-Kings to invade the Southernlands. As such, the Ralathadri were caught between two mighty powers, and suffered significant fragmentation and decline. By the end of the year 65 of the Age of Gold and Silver, the city-states of Anor, Metos, and Sūrë, had already disavowed themselves from Ralathad. Year 65 of the Age of Gold and Silver saw the Ralathadri continue to lose ground to Providence and the Aurians. Metos declares neutrality from the conflict, and on account of the Scrolls of Ariel, Anor becomes locked in a furious siege of seven years. The splintering of southern power made it difficult for the Ralathadri to call on their normal tributaries or Effinitian allies. Messengers are sent to Sūrë demanding that the city send soldiers to support Ralathad. The Ralathadri post themselves in a hillfort which would later become the Barony of Amar-Thul.
At the end of the year 65 of the Age of Gold and Silver, Sūrë had become fed up with the Ralathadri's demands of tax and tribute. Given the distance which Sūrë stood from the core of the Ralathadri's influence, they felt unthreatened by the declining power of their would-be masters. Their total geographical separation from Ralathad is now measured at approximately four Ducalis or a little under 1,300,000 Drakefoots (including the Anor Mountain Range and the River Aun). Instead of soldiers, the people of Sūrë delivered the Ralathadri messenger's head to King Providence, politely requesting that he pass it to commander Denedol of Ralathad, so as to properly give him their reply to his summons.
The siege of the hillfort, where now stands Amar-Thul, lasted until winter in the year 67 of the Age of Gold and Silver. For a remarkable two years, the Ralathad held the hillfort against the Aurians. Although, the walls were splintered and shattered many times. Yet Denedol had dug a great number of pits and trenches into the mountainside, making the land highly defensible against even the mightiest attackers. There are two instances as testified by Providence's chief lieutenant where the fort nearly fell. Once, initially, when the Aurians broke the walls. Lieutenant Garidius states: "The soldiers took down the walls with fingers and fists, their swords split clean the logs of the fortress and laid bare its interior. But the Ralathadrium commander made then a wall of flesh to cover the gaps, and fortified the defense with arrows and spears; all fixtures of barbed tools to make approach impossible. Although arrows could be loosed from afar, the marksmen of Ralathad far surpassed the accuracy of the Aurian rangers, and made the demigods as novices before the straightness of their arrows, which so assailed any bowman that would endeavor to break the wall of the Ralathadrium peoples…" The second instance when the walls were nearly breached follows the withering of the Ralathadri fighting spirit and the presentation of their messenger's head to Denedol, as depicted by the painter Cladarius in his work—The Great Despair, which apparently so dispirited them by some Aurian accounts that they nearly surrendered to King Providence forthwith from the deliverance of the head. But on the day which King Providence perhaps thought would be the last for this siege, there was then a great storm and rainclouds fell over the hill, making it wet and impossible to siege. By the reckonings of Aurian chroniclers, the oldest of which served in the reign of King Valerius, son of Providence, this rain was summoned by Tethoth to deny Providence his victory. This is somewhat corroborated by the Scrolls of Ariel in which the king states that grey clouds took to the northern sky from the Anor Mountains (Anor being south of the Samsinurimatu and north of Tarshith, was uniquely positioned to view what happened north of their vigil). King Ariel mentions that these clouds lasted for ten days, and thus were a perpetual barrier against the Aurian's final conquest of Ralathad. As to whether the storm was conjured by archon wizardry, that remains unsolved. Regardless, when the storm finally dissipated, the siege renewed. It properly ended in the spring of year 67 of the Age of Gold and Silver, after King Providence brought forth a host of trumpets that shattered the weapons of their adversaries. Testimony from Lieutenant Garidius confirms that all the enemy's swords and spears and arrows were shattered, bent, and made unusable by the end of the conflict. Following news of the siege and the surrender of the Ralathadri, Anor sent a messenger to call upon the demigods for aid.
In the autumn of the year 67 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Providence set out with a force of three centuries to support Anor's defense against Effinitia. At last, the demigods and the Archons collide in battle, and so begins the first of the nine wars between what would later be the empire of Aurumere and Effinitia.
The First War of Aurumere & Effinitia:
It was the year 68 of the Age of Gold and Silver that the walls of the Gray Keep were breached. The Archons invade the city of Anor, yet the narrowways and alleys make easy chokes for Anorian militia. Large boulevards are few in number, and able to be maneuvered around in small groups. The people of Anor gather at the tower of Ariel, and muster a last defense there. With defeat looming, Anor sent a letter to the demigods of Aurë, calling for aid.
In the autumn of year 68 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Providence departs with a force of five hundred men. They cross the pass of Ariel and arrive at the northern gate upon the first rainfall of the year 69 of the Age of Gold and Silver. Providence leads a charge which shatters the shieldwall of the Archon's thralls. The Magëa-King known as Astroth is slain by Providence. Sparse records from the ruins of Epodémanīnoth indicate that succession battles began among his twenty-five apprentices as to who should be his successor and claim dominion over the city. This is corroborated by Transcription number twelve of the Documented Words of V'thoth collection, in the library at Lithopolis. Accordingly, before the advent of the Master-Apprentice rule, Magëa-King V'thoth complained in multiple citations about slow succession wars delaying logistical and military affairs of the empire. The succession war of Astroth, in Epodémanīnoth, is presumed by scholars from the Tower of Ariel to have ended approximately 117 years following the death of Magëa-King Astroth, in the year 186 of the Age of Gold and Silver. Following a tremendous loss, the Archon's forces were driven from the northern section of the city. Further the demigods pushed them to the Gray Keep, whose curtain wall was described by Lieutenant Garidius as "cloven by a rift alike to the claws of a beast. Its shattering was marked by the scattering of many bricks, cobbles, and rubble of all sedimentary sorts. No natural cause could crumble the thick stones, nor could there be a war engine so destructive. Thus, it was assumed the work of Archon wizardry." The keep was besieged by the Aurians for six days. The Archons reportedly unleashed various arts of water and stone, bringing a great hail down upon the besieging men and softening the earth at their feet. Seven Archons were slain; three were known as Ūrosoth, Wenyoth, and Meremallīoth according to records in the Tower of Ariel and some preserved Effinitian literature. The death of Meremallīoth in particular bore a grudge for Magëa-King Mēnoth, as he was one of Mēnoth's disciples and a peer to V'thoth during his early days as a student. In the passing of the Archon wizards, morale among the thralls collapsed, and soon followed the end of Effinitian occupation for Anor.In the year 69 of the Age of Gold and Silver, Anor signs a suzerain to King Providence, becoming a vassal city of Aurë. The successful campaign against the encroachment of Effinitia was soon disseminated throughout the Samsinurimatu, and the surrounding lands. Aurë's reputation becomes known far and wide.
In the year 71 of the Age of Gold and Silver, R̄ësha came before the king of Ocaton, and friend of Providence. The Gynviri King accepted R̄ësha's pact and fed his fears to Malkhoveshna, becoming a tyrant. He goes into the White Desert and oppresses the people there. King Karaan̈ewen becomes a conqueror, assailing the walls of Helm alongside northern giants and subjugating the lowlands of the Kaladhar. By the year 74 of the Age of Gold and Silver, news had reached King Providence of a tyrannical king in Ocaton. He prepares to set out with a band of three thousand into the southern lowlands.
In the year 72 of the Age of Gold and Silver, the Archons finally relent on their siege of Sūrë. Having failed numerous times to break the walls of the city, Magëa-King Mallīto'rcoth commands his army of thralls to retreat so as to recuperate losses incurred during the war against the cities of the Samsinurimatu. It is unclear when the "Siege of Sūrë" actually began. Imperial chroniclers assume that many sieges may have taken place over the years during the first war between Aurumere and Effinitia. These many sieges may have been accordingly compressed by the ancient chroniclers of Sūrë, and labelled as such The Period of the Siege of Sūrë, for convenience.
In the late spring of Year 74 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Providence's army marched towards the southeast to meet with King Karaan̈ewen, whom Providence considered to be his friend. They were intercepted however, by Magëa-King Mēnoth, who took to the field personally following the death of his student and subordinate wizard, Meremallīoth. At the Great Falls of Anathion, from the account of Lieutenant Garidius, the Archons brought forth a great lightning storm which struck the mountains and caused the rocks to fall loose, thus causing a mountainslide. No other information corroborates Garidius' claim and there is no other scholarship or cartographic evidence from the time period by which to approximate the truth. Exact losses are glossed by Garidius at eighty or so men, though this too is unable to be corroborated.
In summer of the year 74 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Providence confronts Magëa-King Mēnoth at the Pass of Aurge'neneth. The narrow gap forces Providence into a stalemate with the Seer. At the battle of Aurge'neneth, documents in the care of Duke Sumelo's Steward state with some confidence that the mass of Archon thralls struggled to break the Aurians' disciplined formations. According to relics held in the imperial treasury and dated by the imperial antiquarian, the Aurian Phalanx was typically guarded by great bronze shields. These denied the enemy's weapons easy purchase of Aurian flesh. The demigod's spears, meanwhile, were longer than the crude weapons which the Archons saw fit to give their slaves. Thus, the phalanx was extraordinarily resilient against the Effinitian assault, despite not being able to make full use of their forces. After two days, Effinitian losses surpassed 700 men, while Aurian casualties–by Garidius' reckoning–remained null. It is reported in the writings of ancient Sūrëan scribes, who recounted the details of the battle through word of mouth and the hearsay of the soldiers present in the conflict, that King Providence performed many feigned retreats in order to draw in the enemy forces within the pass. Several of Effinitia's thralls were thus trampled by their own hordes to death in so chasing the Aurians too deeply. On the third day, Mēnoth sent a force to flank Providence and cage the Aurians inside the pass. But a detachment of a thousand men were ready to intercept on the far side. To break this rear guard, the Archons summoned a great fog which blinded the Aurians and made them vulnerable. Fearing the worst, King Providence thus ordered his remaining troops to enter the pass and secure the flank inside. Come the fourth day he found that indeed, a large force of Effinitian thralls had occupied the entrance of the pass, locking them in on both sides. King Providence ordered the men to continue fighting into the night. Thus passed the fourth and fifth day. On the sixth day, by the account of Lieutenant Garidius, King Providence reached the splint of Mount Urandûr, where broke off a narrower pass that only one or two men at a time could take. At nightfall, he ordered his men to take cattle and horses from their supply and fix torches to the animals' heads. These livestock passed the narrow way and drew Mēnoth's eye away from Providence's army. Thus diverted, Mēnoth did not anticipate when a large force of Aurians broke his line and escaped from the pass. The Seer did not pursue however. Instead, he turned his eye to Sūrë, confident that in the absence of King Providence, they had not the strength to defend themselves against another prolonged siege.
In the year 75 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Providence meets his old friend, King Karaan̈ewen at the southern shallows of the River Bathoros within the open lowlands of Kaladhar. Having heard tell of Kaladhar's rampage, King Providence sought to speak to his old friend, yet found a demon with a leonid visage carrying the name of Karaan̈ewen. The Beshír did not fear to lose King Providence's friendship, for it had no fear. It made the King of the Demigods an offer. King Karaan̈ewen of Ocaton offers a political marriage between himself and Providence's daughter, that they will be tied in an alliance to bring dominion across the west and east. But King Providence refuses and rebukes the King of Ocaton. Seeing that his old friend would not submit to his machinations, the Beshír King Karaan̈ewen determined that King Providence was an enemy to be defeated on the field of battle. Thus begins the Battle of the Bathoros Shallows. King Providence leads approximately 3,000 demigods against King Karaan̈ewen's army, 11,000 men strong. Choosing to forego the left flank where the shallows of the River Bathoros were deepest, King Providence concentrated his martial force on the right flank, aiming to shatter King Karaan̈ewen's farmost wing. Although to lose the left flank was extreme, the tactic itself was well observed for its time, documented in the private records of King Hádath of Sūrë, Marshal Belissarius later, some records of the far east, and of the strategies of the Heartland Valleyfolk. It was an effective tactic for nearly all organized armies of the period, who faced larger forces on open terrain. King Karaan̈ewen sent a thousand cavalry to circle King Providence's formation, but the Demigod King's 300-strong cavalry intercepted and scattered the enemy cavalry. However, as the left flanks began to close in on King Providence's rear, a greater portion of the reserves were needed to extend the defensive line, making the shieldwall increasingly vulnerable to a focused penetration by enemy forces. King Karaan̈ewen notices, and shifts a portion of his own reserves to the center force of King Providence's army, seeking to break the middle and split King Providence's army into two smaller and isolated forces. Yet King Providence anticipated that he would require his cavalry throughout the battle, and so hastened his auxiliaries to liberate the cavalry from their engagement against King Karaan̈ewen's own. The auxiliaries of King Providence's army erected a swift spike barricade into the shallows of the river. Though it was crude and the shallows made poor soil for the barricade, Providence was counting on its fortified appearance to scare the enemy cavalry away. Once the barricade was so erected, King Providence ordered the cavalry to reposition near the rear and target the backline of the enclosing left flank. Providence succeeded in this maneuver, and the enemy cavalry was deterred by the spike barricades, moving right of the formation towards the spearpoint of Providence's main army. As these developments occurred, Lieutenant Garidius accounts that the center was pierced by King Karaan̈ewen's main force, and that "all appeared to be lost." But although divided now, the two armies of King Providence remained in active combat. By the support of Providence's cavalry, the left flank escaped the enclosement and began to breach around the left side of Karaan̈ewen's army. Meanwhile, the right, which was King Providence's main army, continued to pierce through Karaan̈ewen's right flank and approached the flank of Karaan̈ewen's army. The King of Ocaton had succeeded in breaking King Providence's main formation, but now his army was out of position and at risk of a double flank. To rectify this, King Karaan̈ewen attempted to crush King Providence's right-hand army. But the force was elusive and swift. It shifted through the gap of King Karaan̈ewen's right flank, and moved towards a union with the left-hand army, which was rapidly approaching Karaan̈ewen's rear center. Again, the cavalry became essential to King Providence's tactics. By the account of lieutenant Garidius, King Karaan̈ewen's cavalry attempted to close the noose around Providence's right-hand army, by outmaneuvering the infantry and closing the gap. But the cavalry, led by Providence's Horse Captain, Hipperios, intercepted Karaan̈ewen's cavalry long enough for the two armies of Providence to meet and organize. As such, King Karaan̈ewen was flanked by Providence. Having been breached and massacred at the rear, Karaan̈ewen's army began to collapse in both regimen and morale. As such, the King of Ocaton had no choice but to order a full retreat. Thus, King Providence triumphed at the battle of the Bathoros Shallows.
In the year 75 of the Age of Gold and Silver, as Providence triumphed in the lowlands of Kaladhar, Magëa-King Mēnoth led his assault on Sūrë. By the account of many witnesses from Effinitian Magëa-Kings, Aurians, some preserved testimony of Ralathad, scriptural texts, apocryphal texts, and Sūrë's own documents, it is said that the Seer, Magëa-King Mēnoth, had the power to kill with a look. By the accounts of Sūrë, Mēnoth used this power to, in a breath, kill all who met his gaze upon the ramparts of Sūrë. King Hádath called to Lithopolis and Metos for aid upon witnessing the great and terrifying power of Magëa-King Mēnoth.
In the winter of year 75 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Providence pushed King Karaan̈ewen's army back to the base of the Kaladhar Plateau. Under the shadow of its vast walls, King Providence engages Karaan̈ewen in battle. In the testimony of Saint Theterius, a contingent of demons from Ūros came to the Hills of Sabbar-im, and positioned to attack Providence from the south. In an account of the scripture, King Providence then slew his former friend and ally, Karaan̈ewen. He then set a prayer from his knees, which kissed the earth. In the testimony of Saint Theterius, a stone was split from the height of the Kaladhar Plateau and struck the walls of its great mass as it fell. The walls then collapsed in the following of the downcast stone, and the people heard the sound of trumpets in the far distance. Then, the great hordes of Karaan̈ewen were buried under stone and dust, and the demons of Ūros, who witnessed this, grew afraid. There are two relics in the keeping of High Lord Arad Tayyufíd which are purported to have been wielded by soldiers in King Karaan̈ewen's army during the Battle of Kaladhar Plateau. They're maintained in the treasury of House Tayyufíd in Cal'dir, and verified by the High Lord's antiquarian. By the words of the scripture, it is said that Saint Theterius then stood before the southern demons and rebuked them in the presence of THE ONE and The Many. Light then broke the covering of shade which was formed by the walls of the Kaladhar Plateau, and gave Saint Theterius an aura of divine light. Thus frightened, the demons fled and King Providence was declared victorious.
In the year 76 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Providence attempts to return to Aurë but is blocked by the Archons at the pass of Aurge'neneth. Instead of attempting to break through the Archon force, King Providence moved southwest towards the city of Asīmémetra and besieged the walls of Magëa-King Héxéfaroth's city for eight or nine months. The enchanted walls of Asīmémetra bore the assault of two thousand demigods for three months, until King Providence discovered the first binding of the wall. By the account of scripture, the walls of Asīmémetra bore seven pillars buried in its foundations, each crafted of marble and gilded with silver, then carved with enough writing to cover an entire scroll. The writings were of complex incantations that are lost to time. A portion of one such pillar from the city of Epodémanīnoth is housed in the treasury of the Brass Tower of Helios, although the most well preserved are the pillars of Sophëa in the far east, two of which were stripped of their silver covering to be smelted into coins during the silver shortage of the late second age. King Providence thus discovered one of these pillars during the assault on Asīmémetra. He shattered the pillar with a single strike and so crumbled the first of the seven-cornered walls of Asīmémetra. Though, the inner wall remained yet unbreached.
In the autumn of the year 76 of the Age of Gold and Silver, Prince Valerius Aurnëanor, son of King Providence sets out with an army from Metos to support Sūrë. In the Poems of Ernëus, of the third poem by Ior, in the annals of Balopolis of the Nebalese city-states, it is said that Ernëus was brother of Valerius and ventured alongside the prince to Sūrë in order to vanquish the Archon invaders.
In the winter of the year 76 of the Age of Gold and Silver, Magëa-King Mēnoth's army came close to breaching the walls of Sūrë. But it was believed from the Documented Words of V'thoth collection, that Magëa-King Mallīto'rcoth attacked silver mines of the Rovanion Mountain Range, traditionally held by Magëa-King Mēnoth, seeking to take advantage of the Seer's ongoing campaign against Sūrë and Aurë. V'thoth defends Sophëa successfully, though he is forced to close the teleportation network, cutting off supplies for Mēnoth. Anticipating the approach of prince Valerius' army of Metos, Magëa-King Mēnoth orders a full retreat, he moves towards the Pass of Aurge'neneth and fortifies it to bar King Providence from returning.
In the year 77 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Providence conquers the city of Asīmémetra and takes Magëa-King Héxéfaroth as prisoner, seeking to bargain with Magëa-King Mēnoth in exchange for passage through Aurge'neneth. But as his army approaches the pass, Mēnoth casts his Death Gaze onto Héxéfaroth and kills him. Instead of confronting Magëa-King Mēnoth in battle, the two negotiate a truce. The Seer vows nonaggression for several years in exchange for the withdrawal of Aurians from Asīmémetra and a tax on King Hádath's lead mines in the western Anor Mountain Range. King Providence agrees, and the first war between Aurumere and Effinitia is ended.
The Second War Between Aurumere and Effinitia:
In the year 185 of the Age of Gold and Silver, a number of lost records obscure the quiet years following the end of the first war. Based upon few surviving texts it is surmised that King Providence began erecting the Aureate Walls of Aurë some time before year 185 and finished their construction in the summer of this year. He marked the gates with divine decrees and elaborate sculptures of divine beasts, as symbols of his ordained power to protect and govern the lands. He took on a wife from Ralathad whose name is lost to history. It was possibly in this year or earlier that the city of Metos began to establish a close connection with the Effinitian Magëa-Kings. Meanwhile, Magëa-King Mēnoth has subjugated Magëa-King Mallīto'rcoth (by some speculation it may have occurred around year 102, where the Scrolls of Ariel document an influx of Faradi refugees–one of the ancestors of Karesshi–following a great earthquake that devastating the lowlands of the south beyond Anor). Instead of killing the Magëa-King, he subordinates Mallīto'rcoth and leaves his most trusted disciple, V'thoth, to monitor the Magëa-King, as according to The Documented Words of V'thoth.
In the year 186 of the Age of Gold and Silver, the succession war in Epodémanīnoth finally settled. Azaloth, Lord of Blue Sky, seizes control of Epodémanīnoth following his former master's death after a blood 117-year conflict with his peer disciples. Having killed all twenty-four of his former peers, he ascends to be Magëa-King. Magëa-King Mēnoth immediately moves to negotiate with the new Magëa-King. From The Documented Words of V'thoth, it is said that Mēnoth promises Azaloth control of the nickel mines of Anor in exchange for support in the Seer's war against King Providence.
In the autumn of the year 186 of the Age of Gold and Silver, Magëa-King Mēnoth launches a massive invasion against the southern cities, thus heralding the second war between Aurumere and Effinitia. Mēnoth and Azaloth begin a full assault on the Grey Keep of Anor, Mallīto'rcoth is sent under the scrutiny of V'thoth to siege Sūrë with his own armies. King Providence mobilizes an army to march to the aid of Anor. He sends his son Valerius to Sūrë. In the Poems of Ernëus, the third poem by Ior, it is said that Ernëus volunteered to join Valerius in defending the southwestern front at Sūrë.
In the winter of the year 186 of the Age of Gold and Silver, the Magëa-Kings, Mēnoth and Azaloth, come close to breaching the Gray Keep. In the records of the library at Anor, King Ariel commands the city's small force of cavalry to ride out from the Pass of Ariel, they circle through the secret paths of the mountains and harass the armies of Mēnoth and Azaloth from the rear. Although multiple attempts are made to catch the riders, the Anorean horse breed was too adept at travelling the mountains and continuously molested the supply-lines of the Effinitian army.
In the early spring of the year 187 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Providence arrives to reinforce Anor. By the records of the library at Anor, the keep was held for seven days and nights before being breached by the combined armies of Mēnoth and Azaloth. Into the city's narrow and labyrinthine streets, King Providence fortified and arranged a series of encirclement traps. His armies avoided the few boulevards of Anor and capitalized on the city's intentionally defensive design. The extreme volume of Mēnoth's forces was constrained by the city architecture and thus the city remained contested for three years.
In the year 190 of the Age of Gold and Silver, it is said in the Poems of Ernëus, the third poem by Ior, that Ernëus slew Magëa-King Mallīto'rcoth in single combat, taking the Archon's head and presenting it before the armies of Effinitia. V'thoth orders the retreat of the army at Sūrë.
In the summer of the year 190 of the Age of Gold and Silver, Magëa-King Azaloth withdrew from the war. By the reckoning of imperial scribes, it is believed that the fledgling Magëa-King had concerns about the growing influence of some Archon wizards in Epodémanīnoth, and may have withdrawn to secure his own hegemony. In the late summer of the year 190 of the Age of Gold and Silver, Magëa-King Mēnoth prepares to launch his last assault on Anor, aiming to capture the city once and for all. In an unprecedented act of destruction, by the known documentations of imperial history, the Seer ordered his men to demolish most structures in Anor which impede the path of his troops. Nearly half the city is made to rubble as Mēnoth's army pushes forward. In the scripture it is said that King Providence beheld a white eagle in the sky, and thus perceiving something beyond himself, drew forth to challenge Mēnoth, knowing that his time had come.
In the year 190 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Providence died in single combat against Magëa-King Mēnoth. By the scriptures, the Book of Priests & Kings; Volumes of THE ONE; The Seer: as Mēnoth's eyes beheld Providence and so ended his life, King Providence's sword, Vanquë, struck the Seer and injured him. Mēnoth commanded his army to persist in their assault, yet was then apparently beset by a white eagle, which gouged out his eyes with its talons. Thus, severely injured, Mēnoth and his army fled from Anor. The second war ends inconclusively. In Sūrë prince Valerius negotiates with King Hádath privately to station a Marshal Governor of the Aurians in Sūrë, ensuring the city's protection from future Archon invasions by hosting a regiment of Aurian soldiers in the city. Although initially skeptical, an agreement is eventually reached and King Hádath allows Ernëus to stay as Marshal Governor of Sūrë and the surrounding region. This became the prototype of a system of marshally held provinces which Aurumere would establish under King Valerius' reign. Valerius sends a messenger to Sinistral in Tarshith, asking the Magëa-Kings for a truce and end to hostilities. The Magëa-Kings of Sinistral's grand assembly agreed to uphold a general truce and vow nonaggression for three years.
The Conquests of Valerius:
In the autumn of the year 190 of the Age of Gold and Silver, under the support of King Hádath of Sūrë and King Ariel of Anor, Valerius officially hosted the coronation ceremony and was crowned in Aurë, declaring himself the second king of the demigods. He vows to consolidate the realm and reveals his father's sword, Vanquë. The sword was reforged in bronze and etched by his own hand with the words "By the sword, it is my right." Valerius issues an open challenge to the other kings of the Samsinurimatu over who should succeed as king. Three accept his challenge.
In the year 190 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Valerius challenged and defeated the kings of Belmatu, Calia, and Pashumatu. Using the success of his duels as a pretext, Valerius declared the creation of a new office, conceived in the presence of THE ONE and The Many. Marshal Governors were sent back to each of the cities along with their kings, who took command of the military and became the royal office charged with the protection of the lands. The Provinces of Belius, Calia, and Pashad are formed. The seat of Aurë became the national capital of Aurumere in the winter of the year 190 of the Age of Gold and Silver. It is believed that this occurred at an undisclosed date after Aurë became the provincial capital of the Aurumere province, no surviving records to confirm.
In the year 192 of the Age of Gold and Silver, by the reckoning of the church and dynastic records of the antiquated Aurius Dynasty, which remain preserved by the reigning dynasty of Titanus, King Valerius erected the Great Obelisks of Golden Law and set them each in the central forums of the cities under his dominion. These obelisks formalize legal codes across the land and become a visible symbol of King Valerius' judicial legitimacy and rule of law. They stand through his reign and into the present day, though his laws have since become antiquated by contemporary legal codes.
In the spring of the year 192 of the Age of Gold and Silver, in the words of scripture, The Obsidian Man, R̄ësha, came before King Vesuvius of Metos and persuaded the king into iniquity. Vesuvius becomes Beshír and forms and alliance with Ūros.
In the summer of the year 192 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Valerius sent a proposal to King Gwendolynn of Polisivere, now dubbed the city of Drakkenopolis. A marriage alliance is formed between the southern Nebalese city-states and Aurumere, and King Valerius takes the hand of King Gwendolynn's wife Samiswenhi, according to the dynastic records of Titanus and Aurius. The alliance brings military support from the Eninbal Peninsula and gives King Valerius the confidence to begin his expansion.
In the autumn of year 192 of the Age of Gold and Silver, It is said that King Valerius sent a missive to each of the free cities remaining in the Samsinurimatu and the broader lands of modern-day Helios. He demands the cities disband their private armies and surrender to Aurian rule.
In the winter of the year 192 of the Age of Gold and Silver, in the words of scripture and apocryphal texts, King Të'lavak of Lithopolis is visited by The Obsidian Man, R̄ësha, and becomes Beshír. He forms an alliance with King Vesuvius of Metos and both swear fealty to only themselves, disavowing all gods and banning the worship, icons, and erecting of temples in their territory, save for those which glorified themselves.
In the year 193 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Vesuvius sent out armies to raid the surrounding lands of the Sannian Hills of the Samsinurimatu. He takes prisoners from small settlements and tribes of Ralathadri and Nebalese, and trades them as conquered thralls with the Archons. It is uncertain which of the Magëa-Kings Vesuvius was dealing with.
In the autumn of the year 193 of the Age of Gold and Silver, the cities of Tỳrë and Amar-Amash vow fealty to King Valerius under the condition that he assist them in their war against the powerful and technologically advanced city of Metos. Hearing of various atrocities, such as the impalement of women, devouring of infants, and the feeding of children to King Vesuvius' royal beasts (recorded by common witness testimony and various portrayals by the scribes of Tỳrë, no physical record or relics to corroborate), King Valerius agrees to wage war with Metos.
In the year 194 of the Age of Gold and Silver, King Valerius issued a public denunciation of King Vesuvius of Metos and King Të'lavak of Lithopolis. With a great army he marched upon the Metos to vanquish the king.