This is general information anyone with training in history would know.

 

The Golden Age

When men strove to be gods

Long ago, there was a vast and advanced civilization with a control of magic beyond the ken of normal men. But the leaders of the great nations thought they could challenge the power of the gods and nearly destroyed themselves in a great war. Little remains of their glory other than a handful of legends. There are some that say the end of the golden age corresponds with the death of Baldur.

 

Age of Darkness

The world was nearly destroyed by the foolishness of man and for generations people huddled in dark caves fearing the night. Eventually cities formed again and empires were reborn

 

A new calendar

All dates are A.D. (After Destruction)

1—The emperor Myntras Thelorian proclaims the Age of Darkness over and starts a new calendar. He renames the major port city after himself, it becomes the center of the Maladornian Empire.

87—An expanding Maladornian empire defeats the Myonisian Kingdom, their rival to the south when the capital city of Salisia falls. Rumors of treachery and betrayal abound, but the new region is now home to a second Maladornian capital in Julisco and is renamed Cosatoria.

122—Solarus is established, the dragon orbs are "rediscovered" after being hidden for a millenia and placed in 7 towers including Solarus.

521—Fall of Maladornian Empires capital Myntras. A group of mages re-discovered ancient powers and the gods banded together to destroy them before they destroyed the world. The area left behind became the Swamp of Curses.

530—The Southern Maladornian Empires established in Cosatoria. The remaining ruling members of the Maladornian Senate convene and named Cassian Gratianus emperor.

536—Rise of the Dragons. Dragons (led by the dragon Razaneth of the Eternal Fire) attempt to take advantage of the weakness they see and take over the Thunder Mountains.

550—The "Last King" of Solarus, Ovim the Half-Elven goes on a quest to find any survivors of the lost city of Myntras. He vows to return one day and leaves a Regent to rule in his place – a tradition that held until the fall of Solarus

630—The dwarvish Trail of Tears. A group of dwarves were driven out of their homeland in the Bone Hills (Cosatoria) and headed north only to be harassed by sylvan elves who worshipped a panther god. Some settled in the Iron Hills, others in Quag's Keep.

660—Fall of the Dragons Kings. The races unite and defeat the dragon-kings and their armies once and for all. Great devastation was left behind as several cities were virtually destroyed, and the Thunder Mountain dwarven kingdom had fallen, it's southern capital Ak'Dakkar was lost.

872—The dwarves of Dronkarrag (Thunder Mountain Clan) are corrupted by a creature that had originated from the outer planes and eventually psionically controlled most of the clan.

917—The Cosatorian Empire falls into disarray. The last remainders of the once great Maladornian Empire splinters into separate kingdoms when the last emperor Livianus Gratianus dies without leaving an heir.

983—Corruption of the Dwarves at Dronkarrag is ended by a group of adventurers (led by Kalistar of Quag's Keep).

1022 – 1047—The Barbarian Kingdoms unite under the BloodHawk banner led by Halvard Hansson and decimate much of Ryndal. While they were ultimately defeated, they reinforced the feudal/lawful nature of Ryndal and made them much more isolationist than they may have been otherwise.

1049—The emperor of the Ancient Lands, Shou Haruki, attempted to gain immortality and instead went insane.

10/1079—The great war starts (later becomes known as the War of the Lich Lord or The Black War)

1/1080—The forces at Death's Gate are decimated. The only thing standing between the hordes of evil and civilization is Solarus.

6/1080—The forces of Maladorn have lost battle after battle. The battle of Kupper's Gap is won. It is a psychologically important win more than a tactical one.

1/1081—The four year long siege of the Tower at Solarus begins. Solarus becomes an island in the middle of enemy armies. The city becomes an important symbol and slows the advance of armies (although they are unable to stop it).

7/1085—A small group of adventurers (lead by Beuregard Thompson) defeats the lich lord against all of the odds. Unfortunately they discover that the phylactery they had destroyed was a decoy.

9/1085—A small remnant of the Lich Lord's army led by Duwain of Thunder Mountain Clan (Dwinna's father) have massed and attack the high forest. They manage to penetrate to nearly the heart of the elven kingdom before all are slain. In the battle, many elves are killed including the King Jelethrial (leaving behind his wife Paranayel)

12/1105—A plot to overthrow Solarus by destroying the Dragon Orb is thwarted by a small band of courageous adventurers.

4/1108—Mylnarin, a border city north of Quag's keep is destroyed in an instant in a magical conflagration. There are rumors that twisted monsters now haunt the ruins of the city and searches for survivors are futile.

2/1122—Ragnarok starts when Loki is freed from his prison.

7/1139—Solarus falls when it's Dragon Orb disappears.

12/1192—the Lich Lord, Lady Kolfinna (the true instigator of Ragnarok, she released Loki to distract the gods while she once again tried to take over the world) is defeated. Loki is re-imprisoned with Fenris never having escaped his bonds. Since the world did not end, and only a few ever know who was truly behind the chaos, most people now refer to the era as The God War.

In a related event, the Ghost Tower in Riverside is fractured and almost completely destroyed opening a rift to Jotunheim.  The city is abandoned.

1/1194— The dwarven keep Ak'Abar disappears as it is pulled into the Misty Realm (Dalsein was responsible).  The keep itself was in ruins, the king was killed but his daughter Mara survived.12/1212— Thunder Rift is rocked by a massive earthquake. The dwarven Thunder Rift Clan is destroyed and most of the valley is thrown into chaos.

8/1219— Inhabitants of the Misty Realm (and dwarves of Ak'Abar) are returned.

11/1219— The Lich Lord Lady Kolfinna is finally laid to rest when a band of adventurers destroy her phylactery they had found in a pocket dimension created by the Dragon Orb keeper Dalsein.

3/1220— The false emperor of Cosatoria is unseated and Erazmus Cato took his rightful place on the throne. Erazmus had been locked away in NIfleheim since the disappearance of Livianus Gratianus, and was proven to be the rightful heir to the throne. Ramagazz Rignis Draco, a red dragon in disguise was driven off but not defeated.

1223—Cursed books tied to the Rift to Jotunheim start causing havoc in OldCastle.  

1/1226 – After a great battle with invading Jotuns (Giants and fiends), a small group of heroes enters Jotunheim and plants a spike with a sliver of the great tree Yggdrasil.  It grows into a massive yew tree, closing the rift to Jotunheim in Riverside permanently.  

5/1227 - With the rift in Riverside gone, there was a time of growth and shifting of power.  Newport was mostly abandoned as workers migrated to Riverside to rebuild it's docks instead of continuing to work on the artifical port.  Angus Holgarson consolidated power in Old Castle with the help of constructs of unknown origin.  It was revealed that Angus was actually Korvar, the Black Knight and right hand man of The Lich Lord.  Korvar was defeated and the city's council was reformed.