The Age of Calamity was the darkest era ever recorded in Imperial history. Ancient kingdoms collapsed, entire bloodlines vanished, and civilizations that had stood untouched for thousands of years were suddenly forced into contact as disaster swept across the world. Fear became the common language of all peoples.

This era is remembered through three great crises: The Human-Dragon War, the Darkest Hour, and the War of Doors. Together, these catastrophic events reshaped the world forever and gave rise to the first kingdom of Keridwyn.

The Human-Dragon War began when Dragons, once content to rule isolated territories, began coordinating attacks across the continent. The true beginning remains debated by historians, though most scholars mark the war’s start at the first confirmed sighting of multiple Dragons fighting together.

During this chaos, a relatively unknown man named Bevyn Grey claimed to receive a divine vision warning of humanity’s extinction. Whether prophet or opportunist, Bevyn united scattered Human kingdoms and convinced countless other species to join the war effort.

Driven by desperation, Humanity turned to dangerous ritual magic. With aid from the Pixies, they created the first Animal-fused species. Cooperation with the Dwarves led to early mechanical bodies and constructs that would eventually evolve into the Cog species. Through sacrifice, experimentation, and devastating loss, the united peoples of the world finally pushed back the draconic assault.

In the years that followed, new species continued to emerge. The Gnomes used altered ritual techniques mixed with Fae magic to create the first Materia.

The second catastrophe soon followed.

The Darkest Hour began not with battle, but silence. Entire villages vanished overnight. Graves split open beneath moonless skies, and the fallen marched once more across the lands they had died defending. Fear spread faster than armies.

Angels and Demons appeared across the world without warning, striking cities and individuals seemingly at random. Survivors spoke of heavenly figures leveling entire settlements in moments. One massive archangel became infamous after destroying a great city before disappearing into the storm-filled skies.

Over nearly two hundred and fifty years, civilization teetered on the edge of extinction. Yet even amid ruin, life endured. The Cog were formally recognized as a true people during this era, and the first Shimmer were brought into existence through unstable magical experimentation.

After centuries of devastation, the survivors slowly rebuilt. Roads were restored, trade resumed, and children grew up hearing stories of monsters instead of witnessing them firsthand.

The city of Keridwyn rose to prominence during this fragile recovery. Over generations, scattered alliances became a unified kingdom. Many historians believe the mysterious Shade first emerged during this era of relative peace, quietly manipulating political growth from the shadows.

Keridwyn created a standardized calendar to bring consistency throughout the land. It was based on the cycles of the full moon and the changing seasons, as both could be easily observed and measured by all people.

Each season was divided into three months: dawn, prime, and dusk. Each month contained four weeks of seven days, with the first week beginning at the appearance of the full moon. In this way, every spring, summer, fall, and winter followed the same structure, creating a shared measure of time across the realm.

The final crisis of the Age of Calamity became known as the War of Doors. A reckless adventurer named Drathnaz sought fame through the hunting of extraplanar monsters, but his repeated tampering with unstable portals shattered barriers between realms.

Cracked Realm Barriers spread rapidly across the land, unleashing aberrant horrors into the world. Ironically, this catastrophe also softened centuries of hatred toward Dragons, many of whom fought beside mortals against the invading entities.

The Age of Rebirth marked a long-awaited recovery from centuries of destruction. Cities expanded, trade flourished, and the Kingdom of Keridwyn reached unprecedented heights of power and influence.

For nearly seven hundred and fifty years, prosperity spread throughout the kingdom. Great academies were founded, magical study became more refined, and alliances between species strengthened.

Yet peace slowly gave way to ambition.

When the great gates of Keridwyn closed without warning, the kingdom fractured into chaos. The resulting conflict became known as the Broken Alliance — a brutal civil war fought between once-loyal cities competing for dominance, resources, and ideology.

Heroes rose during this era through strategy, courage, wisdom, or deceit. Countless more perished seeking glory. Entire families were destroyed as cities weaponized politics, magic, and espionage against one another.

Despite the suffering, the war taught the surviving peoples the importance of unity and stable leadership. From the ashes of the Broken Alliance, the modern Empire would eventually emerge.

This era also gave rise to one of the world’s most beloved traditions: Elementball.

Teams wielding enchanted gauntlets launched an energized orb across massive arenas while crowds from every city gathered to cheer for their champions. Though fierce rivalries remained, the sport became a safer way for cities to compete without open warfare.

The Empire rose from the devastation of the Broken Alliance stronger than ever before. Unlike the divided kingdoms of previous eras, the Age of Adventure saw species living together within shared cities under Imperial rule.

Economic growth, magical innovation, and expanding trade routes ushered in an age of discovery. Guilds flourished across the continent, and tales of adventurers exploring forgotten ruins inspired a new generation to seek glory beyond their city walls.

As stability spread, education became one of the Empire’s greatest ambitions. For the first time in history, structured learning became available to nearly every child regardless of birth or status.

All Imperial students receive instruction in:

• Beginner's Spellcasting: Basic magical theory and introductory cantrips.
• History of the Empire: The rise and fall of previous ages and the dangers of repeating them.
• Guilds and Apprenticeships: Finding mentors, trades, and organizations.
• Laws and Penalties: Understanding Imperial justice and enforcement.
• Respect and Etiquette: Proper conduct around nobility, royalty, and foreign dignitaries.
• Keric: The standard language of the Empire.
• Language of Choice: Usually tied to ancestry or species heritage.
• Breeds of Friendship: Cultural acceptance and cooperation between species.
• Taxes and Accounting: Basic mathematics and civic responsibilities.
• Cities of the Empire: Geography, culture, and specialties of major cities.

Though peace became common, danger still called to many. Adventurers ventured into ancient ruins, monster-infested territories, and forgotten realms seeking treasure, fame, and lost knowledge.

The growing demand for stronger equipment and deeper exploration drove enormous advancements in crafting, engineering, and magical refinement. Many now believe the achievements of modern adventurers rival — or even surpass — those of the legendary heroes of old.

The Age of Void began with greed.

A secretive group rediscovered the forbidden magic of harvesting souls directly from the living. Their experiments damaged the natural balance of reality itself. Combined with the lingering instability caused by the War of Doors, the boundaries separating realms began to collapse.

Entire regions disappeared into a growing emptiness that became known only as the Void.

Magic itself became unstable. Spells twisted unpredictably, portals collapsed without warning, and magical creatures either mutated or vanished entirely.

Among the chaos arose rare individuals capable of wielding a terrifying new power: summoning those lost to the Void back into existence temporarily.

These Summoners became walking armies, capable of calling legendary warriors and mages from vanished ages. Yet every summoning weakened reality further. The more power a Summoner used, the more the Void consumed the world around them.

Many traveled alone, feared by common people and hunted by desperate rulers who sought to control their abilities.

After the devastation of the Void, traditional magic became inaccessible even to the greatest scholars and archmages.

In its place, alchemy rose to dominance.

Creatures and plants still born with traces of magical essence became highly valuable resources. Skilled alchemists learned to refine these remnants into powerful reagents and talismans capable of granting temporary magical abilities.

These talismans were implanted directly into the body, allowing ordinary individuals to wield fragments of lost magic. However, overuse came with terrible consequences. Pushing beyond a talisman’s limits could permanently damage the mind, body, or soul of the wielder.

Though civilization endured, the world had fundamentally changed. The ancient ages of limitless magic had passed into legend, replaced by survival, scarcity, and the dangerous pursuit of forgotten power.