The full timeline is available at
http://www.delantare.com/world/history Here's a condensed timeline with the more interesting details.
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DATESThe people of the Lost Valley measure time around the Brotherhood War. Times before the start of the War are denoted as (year #)BW, or “year Before the War”. Since the War, years are denoted as WY(year #), or “War Year (year number)”.
(Note: The Delantrim have their own calendar system, but month names are translated to their Gregorian equivalent for clarity.)
Before the War (Years BW) 200BW – Delantare City founded near a spring in what will become known as the Lost Valley
118BW – Explorers from the City accidentally disturb the lair of a horrible creature called a Drakon. Many lives are lost in the creature’s rampage until it is finally slain by a mysterious warrior named Nalum. Nalum wields a powerful sword with seemingly magical abilities. The sword is named Delantrai. The survivors ask him to stay with them and protect them from the monsters that live in the valley. Nalum accepts and swears that he and his descendants shall be the City’s Guardians until they are no longer needed.
115BW – Nalum marries a City woman and they have a son later that year.
18BW – Six brothers, fascinated by the stories of the Drakon, begin to study sorcery as a means to summon the Drakon again and harness its power.
16BW – The Brothers’ quest takes them further and further into demonic activity. They begin to commit human sacrifice in their rituals and are discovered after a failed kidnapping attempt. They and their families escape the City before they can be arrested and tried for murder. They flee to the volcanic Obsidian Mountains on the northwest border of the Valley and begin to build a base there.
The Brotherhood War (War Years) WY1 – March 1 - the newly dubbed Brotherhood of the Drakon sends a formal declaration of war to the City, stating that they have become convinced that the Valley is the rightful possession of the Drakon, and as its disciples they will purge the valley of the “infidel invaders.” The declaration is dismissed by the City Elders, though Nalum's grandson, Tam, now 90 years old, takes the threat seriously and perceives that a younger man will be needed to defend the City. As a result, he passes the mantle of Guardian to his grandson Rhys, age 20.
The first act of aggression of the war is committed by the Brotherhood that May, as one of their number sneaks into the City and murders Tam Nalum in his sleep. The City Elders officially declare war on the Brotherhood.
June – Guardian Rhys Nalum leads the City militia against the Brotherhood, only to discover that the cult has built a nigh-impregnable fortress amidst the volcanoes. The militia suffers heavy losses, and they’re forced to retreat back to the City in defeat.
September 5 – The Brotherhood marches against the City with an army of mercenaries hired from outside the Valley. This is the last contact the Valley has with the outside world. The City is besieged for a month, and losses are so high on both sides that a truce is called to allow time for both sides to recover. October 5 is observed by the City ever after as a solemn day of remembrance as the true beginning of the centuries-long conflict to follow.
WY20 – While on a scouting mission in the forests outside the City, Rab, son of Guardian Rhys, discovers a colony of strange, semi-sentient animals that live bodily attached to the trees. When threatened, the creatures detach themselves and run off with incredible speed. Fascinated by the creatures, Rab dedicates all his time to studying them in the hopes of taming them.
WY22 – Rab finally succeeds at taming one of the creatures, which he dubs “Bark Riders” due to the bark of the trees they inhabit growing over their thick hide. Seeing the value of having such swift beasts in their control, Guardian Rhys tasks Rab with taming more of the creatures and begin breeding a cavalry force.
WY25 – A team of elite Brotherhood assassins infiltrate the City and murder Rhys Nalum. Taking up the
Delantrai sword from his fallen father, Rab single-handedly defeats and kills the assassins. Taking the attack as an indication that the truce is over, Rab organizes the new Bark Rider Cavalry and leads an expedition to besiege the Fortress. Their numbers are too few to make any headway against the Brotherhood’s defenses, and so they are forced to return to the City with nothing to show for the effort.
WY30 – Brighde Nalum, the first daughter of the Nalum line, is born
WY33 – Iovar Nalum, a son, is born
WY54 – Rab Nalum falls in battle. First-born Brighde declines the Guardianship, and it passes to Iovar.
WY60 – Sixty years of war has become too much for many in the City, and a faction arises that pressures the Guardian and the Elders to sue for peace. The leaders refuse to make terms with the increasingly barbarous Brotherhood, and the dissenters refuse to continue fighting. The Elders are content to let them alone since their numbers are so relatively few. But a shocking blow comes when Brighde and her husband join the dissenters. Iovar’s attempts to reason with them are fruitless, and the siblings become estranged. With the Guardian’s sister as one of the leaders, the dissenters rapidly grow in numbers, and the Elders are forced to a drastic course of action. The dissenters are exiled from the City, becoming known afterwards as the Outcasts, and their memory is held in derision by the descendents of those that remain in the City.
As the Outcasts wander the Valley in search of a new place to settle, they are attacked by a Brotherhood raiding party. The attackers kill the men and boys and capture the women and girls, keeping them as slaves in the Brotherhood harem. Of the 200 Outcasts that left the City, only a dozen manage to escape the massacre, including Brighde’s son Adair. Brighde’s fate is unknown, though it is safe to assume she was killed.
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Over the following centuries, the War continued, mostly in small skirmishes throughout the Valley. Outlying settlements and outposts from both sides were eventually all destroyed, leaving the City and the Brotherhood Fortress as the only structures in the Valley. The Nalums continued to serve as the City’s Guardians, always dying prematurely by battle, assassination or accident. After WY400, the numbers of the two sides had grown sufficiently so that large scale sieges and pitched battles began to take place periodically. The tragedies and victories of the war are far too numerous to recount here. Indeed, both sides seldom kept record of any of the War’s details since so little was ever ultimately gained or lost.
WY450 – Turag, descendant of Brighde Nalum’s son Adair, is born in the Outcast camp.
WY557 – Alan Nalum born
WY583 – Zace Nalum born
WY600 July 18th –
"Brother Heir" Venade plots with Brotherhood scientist Scal to overthrow Lord Brother Duhshlan.
August 1st – Duhshlan’s cupbearer, under hypnotic suggestion from Scal, gives the Brotherhood leader a poisoned drink, killing Duhshlan in minutes. Venade accuses the cupbearer of treachery and immediately kills the man. Venade becomes Lord Brother, and elevates Scal as his adviser.
...and after that is the story itself.
What do you think? Too tedious? Not detailed enough?
