Worldbuilding Timeline: Calithwain

First Age correspond to earth time?

Year 1: Founding of Calithwain and silver pillar 3000 years ago, myth.

Year 278: The warlike Aesir invade from their realm of Asgard.

Year 352: Humans enter realm of Calithwain from realm of Earth. They arrive on the isle of “Delos”.

Year 352: Humans leave island to found Ordno empire, some spread South.

Year 444: Battle between the Seven and the Aesir

Year 702: The Seven and the Aesir forge a peace. Hotan goes to live among them. He marries a giantess and teaches their people crystal magic. Honir, the indecisive giant, enters Calithwain in his place (see Norse myth)

Golden Age

Approx Year 700: Humans first appear in Calithwain

Year 739: Jixil has her tragedy with the Deathless Knight

Approx Year 789 Young dwarf encounters the Well, Jixil creates safeguards. Jixil’s subsequent study of the well and the evil force behind it leads to her corruption.

Year 898 Founding of the Academy

Year 980 King Ordeno spreads South, conquering land.

Year 998 Conclave of mages imprison the genies. Unofficial support from unicorns? Last time Jixil helps others, they have a common goal.

Turbulent Age

Year 999 Jixil rises and her siblings imprison her. Name of the Ten changes to the Seven. Hotan returns from Asgard to help his siblings. Since he is needed now, he remains in Calithwain. His wife, the giantess Skadi, leaves him and returns home. Many say their child became ruler of the fairies and prince of fairyland.

Year 1004 First written records appear in the Nomad’s Archives chronicling Jixil’s fall and the nomads’ resolutions to avoid the Academy

Year 1007 Ordeno Empire officially forms. (later called Ordno).

Year 1012 Sehara the Pale Haired and Jeren Blackfinger are the first Dragonriders and found the Knight’s Training Camp. She writes an unemotional journal of her adventures. She and the nomads who join the camp spread writing to the warriors and from there to the Academy and other humans. Ceric is Academy Master. Written records become more prolific. Paper is rare, then grows into widespread use through Calithwain.

Year 1014 Hotan moves from his fortress (now in use by shadows) to live among the humans. He leaves his fortress to the mightiest human leader, making him king.

Year 1124 Intermarriage between future Alcanster and royal humans of Calithwain.

Year 1183 The Seven convene at the Silver Pillar to stop Narevla, the Pretender Sorceress (see legends). Second meeting at Pillar, first meeting is Jixil.

Age of Peace, Common Age

Year 1212 Elves band together, their chief, Tinrad, begs Sidaria’s help, she creates the White Crystal.

Year 1239: Ordno Empire invades Tin’Kar

Year 1266: The Leviathan invades Lake Lushana. Sarletta rides a sea unicorn against the beast, driving it from Calithwain. Nulaan guides her to the Heartstone in the World Above.

Year 1268: Sarletta takes a Heartstone (amphisbaena) from the Asgard and brings it to Calithwain.

Year 1278: First elf dwarf war, instigated by the tzalmaveths’ insidious killings. Aod the dwarf king takes the opportunity to unite the dwarves against a supposed enemy: the elves.

Year 1348: Joelem the Blessed leads followers to a wasteland left from the Ordeno Empire’s battles and bargains with them for permission to farm the land. Eventually this becomes the Commonwealth of Ch’leroc.

Year 1369: Joelem the Blessed passes on. His daughter, Jemma inherited his dynasty and established the religion. She made it a female dominated society of priestesses.

Year 1422 Ordno Empire is corrupting from within. Still covers South to lake Teral, in between is an empty buffer zone, they’re wary of Calithwain. Barabrians live there that will be Alcanster and Lotorinum.

Year 1465 The human royal family of Calithwain goes to conquer the northern barbarians, leaving a weeker son in charge of Calithwain.

Year 1467 Kingdom of Altorinum forms, and slowly expands.

Year 1475 the humans of Calithwain successfully revolt against the week king.

Year 1490 Two princes of Altorinum, Cingon and Theric, Divide the Kingdome and expanded its borders. Lotorinum and Alcanster officially form.

Year 1492 the Ordno Empire attacks Lotorinum and Alcanster. Enormous epic battle. Both countries win territory from the enemy. Theric dies young and leaves his new throne of Alcanster to his heroic niece, (daughter of his older sister) Cingil.

Year 1537: Tin’Kar drive the Ordno Empire away.

Year 1542 Ordno withdraws from Seln

Year 1544: Explorers from Seln reach Lenn and establish relations.

Year 1548: The Commonwealth of Ch’leroc declares itself a country rather than a neutral monestary. Trade relations open with Ordno Empire.

Year 1549: Tin’Kar begin raiding Ch’leroc

Year 1556: Tin’Kar begin raiding Lotorinum

Year 1563: Sika the Lucky is the first person to travel to the Cloud Realm, she steals something important, inspiring amusing ballads.

Year 1604: Treaty between Tin’Kar and Ch’leroc

Year 1609: Lotorinum’s king finances many explorers to sail North in search of cheap timber and Ordno’s tech secrets. Lots of new maps and discoveries, but little new tech.

Year 1627: Ogre raids begin West of Alcanster

Year 1698: Paper spreads to Alcanster and then North

Year 1711: dwarves begin work on king’s hall

Year 1722: First Embassies from Aracen to Calithwain

Year 1728: Groups of explorers travel through the untamed lands and map it.

Year 1767: king’s hall complete. Theored moves in.

Year 1784 Ordno has paper

Year 1796: A group of feral elves travel to Aracen and steals their anti-volcano magic. War between Aracen and Feral elves.

Year 1799: Peace between Aracen and Feral elves, after regular elves help feral to repell people of Aracen.

Year 1822: A new king rules Aracen, Sidaria sends a delegation of elves and establishes friendly relations.

Year 1845: Relations with Aracen break off, only contact with Feral elves

Year 1978: Druids settle in the dark woods, creating a forest religion.

Year 1987: the druids build a magnificent stone circle and Temple.

Year 2022: the druids mysteriously vanish, their Temple falls into disuse and ruin.Goblin’s deny responsibility.

Year 2031: Calohen the Centaur King rebels against the Seven (see Legends). The Portals fall into disuse.

Year 2118: Nulaan abandons her home on the islands to live in Lake Lushana.

Year 2277: Great Monestary of Seln founded.

Year 2295 Lotorinum conquers Alcanster out to Kelen Hills, Kelen leads a guerilla war against them

Year 2299 The war continues despite Kelen’s death in a heroic last stand. Alcanster wins.

Year 2330: Callnera founds the school of songs. They have to save Calithwain by preserving the songmagic, the oldest lore.

Year 2338 Ordno falls back to current borders.

Year 2386: Plague in Lotorinum

Year 2397: Second wave of plague in Lotorinum

Year 2403 Powerful evil wizards of Lotorinum (backed by Jixil or wolf) and led by Urgo of the Nightcurse attack Alcanster’s palace in a sneak attack, fills the former palace with horrible monsters driving out the court and causing perpetual night. They create Darkland by causing the Well to spew out an attack of darkness. The rebound effect is exponential behind it, destroying a chunk of Aracen. The monsters kidnap Danielle and she has to fight her way free.

Year 2404 Rulers of Aracen resolve to guard the new crater in their land. Plague breaks out in Aracen. Danielle of Kelen Hills weds the prince of Alcanster, brings magic into the bloodline. First sighting of tzalmaveths in Calithwain.

Year 2407: Feral Elves break away from Sidaria.

Year 2418 Rulers of Alcanster live in the new royal palace on the safe side of the mountains and officially withdraw from Darkland.

Year 2444 Lotorinum discoveries about magnetism. Primier scientist Rokesh the Artificer invents compass.

Year 2449 Crusaders from Ch’leroc try to conquer Calithwain. The Nomads beat them.

Year 2458: the wolves of the knight’s training camp establish prison isle to keep their most dreaded criminals.

Year 2515 Ordno captures land from Tin’Kar

Year 2527: Human warriors drift into Darkland. Tribal bands form.

Year 2738 The mad monarch of Aracen builds a new palace over the crater. It feeds his power and he begins a reign of terror.

Year by 2756: His son, smuggled away and brought up in secret, deposes him. He chooses to remain in the palace to guard the power that waits there. As a result of the mysterious attack from Lotorinum, the people of Aracen send out raiding parties.

Year 2759: Treaty between Alcanster and Aracen against Lotorinum

Year 2770: Peace treaty between Aracen and Lotorinum. Technology such as eyeglasses, oranges, lemons, sugar…

Year 2836: fisher’s village founded.

Year 2884: Tzalmveths attack the Dreamtower, trying to destroy all the universes. Sidaria’s champions stop them.

Year 2897: Plague in Ch’leroc

Year 2911: Civil war erupts in Ch’leroc

Year 2915: Great leader unites Ch’leroc again

Year 3014 The Thieves’ Guild makes its presence known officially in Lotorinum.

Year 3107: Gothic architecture develops in Ch’leroc

Year 3133: Goblins invade Alcanster. The wizards aregiven more power so they can stop the threat.

Year 3143 Many magical animals migrate to Seln, ecological screw ups, more demand for mages there. Alcanster mages emigrate.

Year 3148 Seln invents blast furnaces, emphasis drifts back to crafts. Renaissance thanks to Alcanster influence.

Year 3185 The mages of Tin’Kar try to group together for a big spell. It fails disasterously and creates a charred wasteland.

Year 3242 Vornak the Shadowlord transforms the Wizard’s Circle into an institution of evil. His excuse is to get even with the goblins and evil wizards of Lotorinum, but it gets way out of control. His political adversary, Moren the Merciful, opposes him a and is finally banished. A small group of good wizards goes underground, teaching any magical children they find and disobeying the edict against magic.

Year 3243 Aroom the Dwarf smith invents the overshot waterwheel to replace the primitive undershot. Used for mining

Year 3251 Ierra of the Sundered Tribe rescues the Feral Elves and Seers from the volcano

Year 3254: Overshot wheels spread to Calithwain grain mills and slowly drift north.

Year 3268: Monsters from the isle of paradise try to conquer the Dreamtower.

Year 3271: The druids accidentally summon a monster greater than any seen before, from, a monstrous world, through their stone circle. It still lives in the Dark forest.

Year 3279: Prince Beren of Alcanster marries a princess (he’s windowed, one daughter), while his sister marries the crown prince of Lotorinum

Year 3280 Prince Gerod of Alcanster born. King assumes throne of Lotorinum

Year 3281 King Beren assumes the throne of Alcanster

Year 3283–88: Quidaran (elf dwarf) War over trade route

Year 3284 Prince Cedric born

Year 3290 People of Ch’leroc try to convert those of Lotorinum, led by a charismatic leader. Lotorans considered them silly and useless.

Year 3291 Future Princess Annabelle born

Year 3296: Twin Kings born, King of Seln announces succession.

Year 3300 King of Lotorinum abandons his wife since she’s childless. He marries a duchess of Alcanster, the king’s cousin and lady-in-waiting. This produces court tensions.

Year 3301: King of Lotorinum has a daughter, Sardenna

Year 3303: King of Lotorinum has a daughter, Chiara

Year 3305 Prince Jeric born. Plague of the God’s Curse in Ch’leroc. King of Lotorinum has a daughter, Linestra

Year 3307 Too many crops in Seln, not enough in CH’leroc.

Year 3308 The Beast Wizard King of Lotorinum has a son.

Year 3311 Sulanel born to Annabelle and Cedric (they have trouble having kids, only have the one)

Year 3319 Major earthquake in Ordno empire, also hit Tin’Kar

Year 3320 Jhara and Teshyl Book

Year 3321 Geome enlists at Academy

Year 3323 Elf-dwarf war. Princess Chiara of Lotorinum joins a charitable order, secluding herself and leaving the succession. Rumors suggest she didn’t want to marry one of the twin kings.

Year 3324 Dirk joins the Academy in early Spring, Andrea arrives in fall. Kreliss is 13, Andrea is 12. Geome is 14. Dirk is 13. Book 1

Year 3325 Jixil reappears from her imprisonment, Geome is in final year. Book 2

Year 3326 Book 3

Year 3327 Book 4 Ch’leroc seriously punishes all dissidents

Year 3328 Book 5 Jeric (22) and Sulanel (17) want to get married, Jixil’s twins born

Year 3329 Book 6 Jeric and Sulanel assume the throne of Alcanster, Wizard’s Circle destroyed.

Year 3330 Book 7 school of songs thousand year anniversary.

Year 3331 Book 8 they heal the crater under Aracen, this gives them the means to heal Darkland, too.

Year 3332 Andrea is 19, Kreliss is 21. Book 9

Year 3333 At new year, The Silver Crystal is created, Age of Enlightenment.

Valerie Estelle Frankel has won a Dream Realm Award, an Indie Excellence Award, and a USA Book News National Best Book Award for her Henry Potty parodies. She’s the author of over 80 books on pop culture, including Hunting for Meaning in The Mandalorian; The Villain’s Journey; Star Wars Meets the Eras of Feminism; History, Homages and the Highlands: An Outlander Guide; and Who Tells Your Story? History, Pop Culture, and Hidden Meanings in the Musical Phenomenon Hamilton. Many of her books focus on women’s roles in fiction, from her heroine’s journey guides From Girl to Goddess and Buffy and the Heroine’s Journey to books like Superheroines and the Epic Journey and The Many Faces of Katniss Everdeen. Her Chelm for the Holidays (2019) was a PJ Library book, and now she’s the editor of Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy, publishing an academic series for Lexington Press. Once a lecturer at San Jose State University, she now teaches at Mission College and San Jose City College and speaks often at conferences. Come explore her research at www.vefrankel.com