The Crystal Palace Timeline

0-4,200: The First Age of Heroes
First Dragon War; The Founding; First expansion period; The Aerads become citizens; Great Plague and arrival of the Unicorn healers; The Second Dragon War and the legend of Matron Zubuz; Archon Chin's codification of law and records keeping; The First Fouled Lands Crusade
4,201-c10,000: The Age of Trials
Attack of the Patchwork Beast; The Plague of Vermin and Chaos brought into City; the Great Famine; Trade established with the Spice Islands and Unicorn Praerie; Shel-lesh recovers Horn of Oldest Animal, dividing Patchwork Beast into Oldest Animal and Gibberer; Chams made citizens; the Cleansing of the Beasts; The Zombie War; The Thousand Years War (or Third, Fourth, and Fifth Dragon Wars)
c10,000-12,563: The Age of Progress
Trade established with Dragon Empire; Slide rails built; Archon Liu's canal built; Somna-powered ships; First colonies in Spice Islands - Malez and Bados; Photisms introduced; The Sixth Dragon War; The Northward expansion; The Second Fouled Lands Crusade
12,563 - 19,820: The Age of Isolation
The Thing with 1000 Limbs blockades the Sipsa delta; Gibberer widens Fouled Lands; Trade route through Bama established; The Dragon Empire erupts in civil war; Contact with Dragon Empire lost; The Pirate Wars
19,821 - 22,013: The Great Alliance (Second Heroic Age)
The Expeditions of Grufa and Warf; Contact with the Crabs and Quetzl; Huma the Sea Goddess forms Great Alliance ( Radiant Empire, Crabs, Quetzl, Island Gods, Central Pantheon) to drive out Thing with 1000 Limbs; Quest of the Pearl; The Great Exorcism - Thing sent back to Caves Beneath the World; The Three Chthon War - Thing with 1000 Limbs, Gibberer, and the Stone Face join forces, but are confined to the Fouled Lands by Alliance.
22,013 - c29,000: The Great Betrayal
The Dispute over the Pearl; Quetzl quit Alliance in disgust; Aided by Crabs, Huma confiscates Pearl; The Crab Wars; Crabs conquer Spice Islands, institute slave labor camps; Boycott of Spice Islands; Northern expansion; Island Gods demand blood sacrifice; Crab civil war; The Slave Revolts; Ex-slaves colonize Bama coast; The Crab Genocide; Revenge of the Island Gods
c29,000 - c40,000: The Age of Expansion
War with Island Gods; Radiant Empire fills power vacuum in Spice Islands; New ideas and concepts from increased global trade boost culture and technology; The Bama coastal cities become protectorates of the Radiant Empire; Increasingly sophisticated Photism network replaces written records; Honorary citizenship bestowed on innovators of many species; Northern expansion continues; Contact with the Varagh
c40,000 - c48,500: The Age of Decadence
During the Age of Decadence, "facts" and "truth" were believed pedestrian and declassee. "Imagination" and "vision" were celebrated. Records were purged and replaced with fantasy. It is difficult to determine what events actually occurred. However, at some point, Varagh refugees fled Nefari atrocities: mostly elderly or children, who had less of a warrior tradition. They were allowed to fill the menial roles of scribe, accountant, and travelling peddlar. The Northern provinces and Bama obtained de facto independence, but this was not acknowledged.
c48,500 - 51,062: The Age of Madness
Mythago religions begin to make inroads in the worship of Ancients; Prophets warn of catastrophes; The Panic; The Haunting; Grima the Mad's reign of terror; The Stone Face appears on Mount Despair; Wars of independence in outlying provinces
51,062 - 58,230: The Reformation
The Prophet Zeal I becomes High Priest, delaying by centuries her dormancy, and begins a crusade against Mythago worship and neglect of tradition. With Zeal's assistance, Rufus IV ascends quietly from common soldier to Warlord. The pair then shock the aristocracy by elevating Cicero Julian, a Varagh, to Archon. Rufus puts down a rebellion by wealthy Dragons ruthlessly, and goes on to reconquer many of the lost provinces. Zeal I exorcises all mythagoes from the Palace, and outlaws many art forms and entertainments found decadent. Cicero Julian begins accurate record-keeping, systematizes laws, and introduces a standardized system for Photism recordings. He founds the College of Historians to extend accuracy of records back through the Age of Decadence. Zeal's successors add a long list of new spiritual crimes, and are strict to enforce them. Volunteers among the retiring Makoo are sought to stabilize the provinces. The Empire flourishes economically and technologically. Seed crystal and other potentially dangerous magic is relegated to control of the College of Sages (successors of College of historians)
58,231-64,311: The Third Age of Heroes
Zeal LIV launches successful Crusade t reclaim Mount Despair. In the process, new heroic ideals and religious warrior classes are created. Army swells, with Varaghs and Dragons as well as Garu. Double standard for earthy religous warriors becomes looser system of morals for society as a whole. Art flourishes again, after stern Reformation stagnation. Holy Artifacts wielded by Zealots mkae inroads on Fouled Lands. In 64,279 a group of desperate Batrachs from Neng arrive in Crystal Palace to plead for succor against the Nefari. Despite widespread sympathy for their cause, especially among the Varagh, they are denied official aid, both by High Priest Prudence XXXIV and Warlord Rufus XL. Instead, they raise a volunteer army which marches boldly off to war, never to be seen again. The demoralized Empire becomes a more cautious, less heroic place as a result.
64,311 - 74,200 : The Age of Rationality
The Empire begins a more introspective period, leading to technological progress and economic prosperity. The College of Sages began a systematic stdy of dimensional crystallography, learning more about places reachable through crystal passages. New molding techniques are develloped, leading to such innovations as the Floating Fortresses. Viewing screens are installed in the Tower of Vision that can scan anywhere in the Empire. Photisms become increasingly sophisticated, and almost all are linked in a network, making them interconnected and interdependent. Records are transferred to this network, to make information instantly available throughout the city.

Neighboring regions, such as Bama, negotiate unions with the Empire. The Gorillas became citizens through such a union, and many' of the Spice Islands became protectorates of the Empire. The Darby/Telluri invasion is "thwarted" without bloodshed and they join the city's inhabitants. This period of peace makes the Army unattractive to Garu, and Taz volunteers are recruited.

74,200-c77,000 : The Time of Confusion
The Council of Sages suddenly breaks off all contact to the Science Tower. The Photism network becomes unreliable-- Photisms become unresponsive or malicious. Records and expertise are unavailable. Science Tower is quarantined after messengers return mad or changed. Mass panics create catastrophes. Mythagoes and mythago cults are revived. Partial evacuation of Palace. "Transplanters" movement starts to advocate moving Eldest from city. Rebellions in provinces.
77,000-present(81,999): Age of Recovery
Strong Triumverate of Resolution I, Braco, and Augustus Florentine take control. Direct mental contact with Eldest Makoo encouraged as antidote to hysteria. Measures taken to control and suppress mythago cults and Transplanters. Military build-up and diplomacy leads to negotiated return of many provinces, with autonomy inside the Empire. The old pre-Photism writing system is restored, and surviving pre-Rationality writings and infra-structure are recovered and centralized. Public education and technoligical guilds are instituted. The three-faction political system forms. Citizens adjust to a more primitive lifestyle, and gain confidence in eventual recovery. Next: Magic in the Crystal Palace