Grundet's Long History: 7th Era

I hereby bequeath my life work, the seven-volume series of books titled as Grundet’s Long History to the Library of Historical Museum of Agurnum.
Horace the Hoary, son of Horatio, 7:428.Hn.5:Ke

Now that we have gone through all the six historical eras, we can move on to the seventh and current era to discuss the events which have taken place until this day. I can only pray gods to give me strength of body, mind and core to allow me finish this volume.

Before current date:

- 0: For some reason, the following events were chosen as the epoch by ancient historians thinking about the continuation of empires. Were it up to me, I would have chosen the millennial cycle.
- Darkest Ones of Twin islands use the magic of Him during a full hallar eclipse to create godmetal. Apparently, they opened a large portal to the Spiritual World with the help of Cadaverists and human sacrifices so that they could bind spirits flowing through the door to their mix of stolen gold, silver and diamonds. For a moment, the evil spellcasters are able to forge the godmetal to create at least the Staff of Darkness for their war against the evilness of Light.
- The event causes spiritual disturbances felt by the most observant ones around Grundet, and give birth to temporary core-doors causing terrible possessions which madden or even kill many people, especially spiritualists. The warning whispered by Flow was not understood in time, but Ge, overseer of spirits, sends better instructions to True Lightlisteners.
- As it is later found out from secret documents, Northern Monarchy uses a few mad spiritualists to murder soldiers of Khats paving the way for Northern Monarchy’s expansion in south.

- 3: Northern Monarchy, led by King Ulvhjärta, takes over many Khat villages which causes a stream of refugees to the south.

- 5: Built over ancient ruins of a port city, Dowenjí, the largest colony of Agurnum in Land of Rain, is suffering from constant raids by well-armed outlaws and pirates. Empire of Windy Coast, which has been losing citizens, trade income and travellers due to the attraction of Dowenjí and its predecessor’s lost treasures being uncovered, is thought to be behind the attacks. Monarchy of Agurnum demands explanation again, but after Windy Coast only denies everything, Agurnumian navy sails to the coast.

- 6: After messages of more civilians been murdered at another colony of Agurnum, the navy has no choice but to begin a war against the Windy Coast.

- 8: Long siege leads to the surrender of Windy Coast which now has to admit its crimes against the free people of Agurnum. The capital city Ksetsif now falls under the righteous rule of Agurnum and massive war reparations are demanded.

- 10: Darkest Ones and Vortexians from Ocean of Isles take advantage of the weakened Windy Coast and capture some of its coastal cities. People, who escaped from the settlements, report of stormy sounds and black tentacles of smoke.

- 21: Eastern Empire Hekhron dynasty leaders begin marrying a spiritualist to serve as Haleno, the secondary leader of Halla-believers, while themselves concentrating on more mundane affairs. The spiritualists often come from Lonely Island whose location seems to be very special for Spiritualism.

- 30: On coasts of Ocean of Isles, Black Plaque spreads, a disease probably created by the Darkest Ones. Thousands of people suffer from bloody cough and dark blue, almost black spots on their skin. Some mentions of severe necrosis have also been found, but those who pray for Vortex stay strangely safe. Many smaller empires now wish to serve the Darkest Ones and let Vortexians become their new leaders.

- 49: Northern Monarchy strengthens in south when spiritualists with low moral are willing to develop new weapons for the army. Ancestral trees are harvested for godwood to serve as material for more powerful weapons and shields.

- 57: Both Maru ni-Haleno from Golden Islet of Eastern Empire and Auballa Iware from Mikanna of Eastern Sceptre travel to the island of Centre for a summit of Halla-believers, Lightlisteners and benign spellcasters. Apparently, the leaders were discussing the message received from Ge, and began preparations for the war against the Darkest Ones.

- 73: Oceanic routes between Agurnum and its colonies in Land of Rain are cut as the entire Windy Coast submits to the Darkest Ones.

- 84: Lethusian empire grows in the central southern Land of Rain. It appears that they probably were actively trading with northern Motes and evil spellcasters.

- 100: Northern Monarchy has advanced in Khat region and sliced the empire into several smaller states now fighting with each other.

- 148: Eastern Empire crisis when an army of the Darkest Ones marches to the Great Lake region. Before they reach the Golden Islet, Gere ni-Haleno, wife of emperor Hekhron VI, has the Heartsphere locked quickly with unsanctified thus impure blood sacrifices and prays for Lenesh. That way the Heartsphere descends into hibernation and can’t be used by evil spellcasters.

- 152: After battles of the Golden Islet castle, Renula Religious, daughter of Gere ni-Haleno, rises as the new empress of Easter Empire. She does not share the belief in silent Halla, but has instead had visions of Vortex and delights of Darkness.

- 154: Ruins on an island just off Dowenjí’s coast are ransacked in hope of riches, and a mighty treasure is found indeed: perhaps the last pieces of Nendian neutralization technology very important in the battle against the magic of evil spellcasters, the Darkest Ones.

- 155: Empress Renula orders that all overt Halla-believers opposing her are heretics, and must be captured and taken to peripheries of Eastern Empire. She welcomes the Darkest Ones onto Golden Islet where they attempt to open the Heartsphere with their Staff of Darkness.  

- 161: Old leaders of Eastern Sceptre are inefficient in handling the Eastern Empire refugee stream and Khat pirates threatening the coasts. Lightlisteners do not wish Halla-believers to settle at their sacred grounds and push them back to border regions. Tension growing in the area finally bursts into rebellions which force the western parts of Eastern Sceptre to join the Western Sceptre, whose spellcasters are strongly against the Eastern Empire fall into Darkness.

- 162: Agurnumians authorities have acquired the Nendian neutralizers by force and use them to drive spellcasters from the Windy Coast thus claiming important regions.

- 169: With Centre’s help some of the costly neutralizers are shipped to the Sceptrians who are finally able to fight against the Eastern Empire by sending Shinesharer soldiers with means to break through the magical walls surrounding Great Lake region.

-170: Battles of the Great Lake showcase majestically dangerous forces of the Stass of Darkness, which completely meddle with elemental spheres. However, the staff is suddenly lost amid fighting and hopefully destroyed. Spellcasters have no choice but to retreat from the island in order to avoid being slaughtered by zealous Shinesharers.

- 176: Empress Renula, who managed to escape, is assassinated at Thockia coast by a masked spellcaster who is later celebrated as the banisher of her evilness.

- 180: Weather system stabilizes above the Eastern Empire, but the preceding years of chaos have already caused famine through tremendous losses in harvest. Spellcasters from Round Islands and spiritualists from Lonely Island are called to help the people and rebuild the empire.

- 190: Northern Monarchy has accumulated wealth while the Eastern Empire has been suffering. This together with military troops spread around expanding borders has led to more organized and more successful attacks from the Khat pirates.

- 214: The expansion of Agurnum has come to an end at the northern borders where Western Kingdoms now reclaim some of the towns lost to Agurnum. Due to Nendian safety apparatus, the Agurnumian court of Nóuhiza has spent wonderful time enjoying sweet wines thus forgetting how to command their armies.

- 218: Armies of the Western Kingdoms push the Agurnumian borders further south and cause panic in their neighboring empire. Agurnumian leaders’ unwillingness to respond leads to a coup as former military commander Mánjehái from the northern region ascends the throne. Following years of war, however, leave the southern colonies rather unprotected against the pirates.

- 231: Eastern Empire spellcasters rediscover the ways of softening air guiding to create ships hovering up in the air! They are soon able to conquer their neighboring kingdoms.
- Some have suggested that the staff of darkness was never lost, but rather stored in the vaults for a time and then used to harness these strange powers of air. One possibility is that the navy of Eastern Empire captured some evil spellcasters who knew something of the usage of staff and persuaded them to help the empire.

- 237: Old Mánjehái the Paranoid, ruler of Agurnum, believes that his colonies on the coasts of the Land of Rain are plotting against him together with evil Vortexian kingdoms, and orders entire leading councils to be executed. These plans fail terribly as even the main military leaders of Agurnum refuse to obey, and the events exacerbate the colonial mutinies.

- 239: Mánjehái dies. It is rumored that he was assassinated either by his own troops or by evil Vortexians. Under his reign, Agurnum suffered losses in vain only to maintain the northern status quo. Some of the colonies in the Land of Rain as well as Windy Coast become independent states.

- 255: Dowè, former colony of Agurnum, is expanding along the coasts of Rainland as other smaller formerly Agurnumian colonies have been weakened in battles against the Motes.

- 262: Vengeful evil spellcasters attempt to invoke Nakren by sacrificing prisoners at the Ocean of Isles, but are fortunately interrupted by Eastern Empire’s navy or rather air forces.

- 263: A couple of Lonely Island spiritualists are able to reach the Spiritual World.  

- 283: New Khat Empire ruled by Sekkute I has again risen from the ruins left behind by Northern Monarchy. With the help of a few hoverships, their spoils of war, they get their revenge against the north.

- 297: Lethusians have earlier acquired the same methods of hovercrafting used by the masters of Eastern Empire. After several attempts now with special vessels reminding more cities than ships, groups of explorers from Cape Lapnithas rise above the roof of air and into the intermundane!
- Much speculation surrounds the claims that they survived the trips and even reached other planets! How fascinating the very concept is!

- 298: Emperor Merkana ni-Detusire of Eastern Empire and many other religious leaders fear the wrath of gods hence forbidding further development of intermundane vessels mainly on Herooku. This only helps the Lethusians lead by Grefvab the Great to achieve their goals without any competition.

- 308: Remaining members of the Lonely Island spiritualist group which left our world on 263, return to Round Waters bearing an unforeseen, dreadful disease, later named as Curuvian Cough, which causes the sick to cough parts of their core strings into the material world where they slash tiny wounds onto nearby people who then receive the disease. In less than one week, the sick die of internal bleeding.
- Finding a cure requires the development of new alchemical concoctions which takes too long as the disease spreads to Sceptre and some island kingdoms.

- 309: Years of Tears: Three years of ultimate grief touch all of Grundet when every newborn is born lifeless, not able to eat thus eventually dying. The reasons behind this sad madness are unknown but it probably had something to do with the Curuvian Cough. Many spiritualists suspect that the disease had already contaminated the Sea of Spirits and required some sort of isolation to prevent uncontrollable spreading. This prevented cores from entering Grundet to attach to infants leaving them without proper life energy.
- Religious societies receive a flow of new members as inconsolable parents search for answers. Some fanatics preach that it was a punishment from the gods while others accuse the spiritualists. Many empires therefore ban all spiritualist practices.

- 310: Wars and rebellions arise from the chaos and many smaller kingdoms collapse into barbarically plundering tribes lead by zealous believers.

- 312: Curuvian Cough simply vanishes from our world. Almost all the sick die but no new cases are encountered. It does take years before people are willing to try and have a baby, which leaves an age gap into the populace.

- 315: War between the Empire of Dowè and the Mote Nation ends in the northern Land of Rain as the Dowèans victoriously march into the Mote capital Vezeqno where the abdication of Hedzerjo takes place. Dowè has become a powerful empire which now controls the trade routes of southern Ocean of Isles. The scientists are also discovering and taking advantage of many great treasures left behind by ancient civilizations.

- 329: Civil war of the Western Kingdoms has led to the birth of two new alliances: the Kingdoms of Western Light and the Kingdoms of Arch-Vortex.

- 350: Khat subculture on the island of Guard reaches new heights as the beautiful and intelligent Queen Núcalu moves her court there. She possibly fled away from the hostilities of the mainland.

- 355: Kingdom of Kchnosch and Krutes wage war in the northern Herooku. Some mountain tribes have allied with the Kchnosch who arrived into the region as liberators.

- 364: In the eastern coast of Guard, a small boy is born. Me! How joyful were my days in the city of Razáf as my father worked as the leading accountant of the royal trading company. He had good connections to the Western Kingdoms whence my paternal ancestors originally came. With the help of a massive inheritance, I received a good education and was able to travel around Grundet. My close friend Vepés, Razáfian archlibrarian, gave me a quest to collect historical accounts and inspired me to create these books.

- 375: Oxnosch the Builder, King of Kchnosch, moves his court from restless Kackthora to a nearby island fort secured by his Royal Serpents. Rebellious people are tired of living in poverty while the king is concentrating on his large construction projects.

- 381: Northern Monarchy: My first journey outside the Khat borders. I visit the capital city Rågstensby as well as the northern Fjärrhamn and its Kallsten monastery island with a decent library to get acquainted with the history of our ancient enemies with whom our empire is luckily in peace at that time.

- 385: Sceptre: I sail south of Guard to visit the historical museum of Yerzono along with its amazing library. I was still so young and excited!

- 389: Coast of Temples: I spend time in Mikanna and study the history of Lightlisteners and visualize the journeys of Shinesharers in my head.

- 394: Golden Islet: From westernmost Negovia, where I had admired remains of one of the great circles, I make a voyage into the warm heart of Eastern Empire. There I visit the Golden Islet Grand Archives which turn out to be a minor disappointment, but still the most important source of Lightlistening knowledge.
- I leave the area when Kchnosch conspiracies as well as continuous attacks from Krute bandits and Jindwan pirates turn the guards unfriendly towards foreigners.

- 405: Centre: I reach the silent centre of magic where old masters teach young apprentices to use Mysterium for elemental magic. Water-god Flow has been absent for centuries so the islanders themselves have had to defend their sanctuary from the evil spellcasters.

- 408: Agurnum: The ancient empire has remained safe behind their Nendian neutralizers and has grown stronger when wealthier Dowè has been more attractive to criminals. The historical museum impresses me!

- 414: Kingdoms of Arch-Vortex: In Grand Stefania, I stay at my distant relatives who happen to be owners of a large clockwork company. There I attempt to unearth the untold history of Western Tyranny.
- 416: I attend the coronation of Queen Sylvia V, which takes place in the Tower of Stefania.

- 419: I’ve settled onto Guard for the last time to begin arranging the stories I’ve collected into this opus.

- 425: Neighboring islands have fallen into poverty mainly due to increasingly poor harvests and challenging religious conflicts between Vortexianists and Spiritualists, while Guard has remained busy with trading. This leads to raids which disturb the commerce.
- This forces me to choose the secured library of Agurnum over the defenseless Razáfian one as the final protector of these books.

-- 428: It is time for me to end our journey through the history, and perhaps my long voyage in this world will soon end as well and I shall sail to the sea of spirits.