#also mr. sparkle's tale was written 4 years before the game was released - so 1321 is the year BLTC was made in my headcanon

[mistfallengw2]

So I was researching some lore stuff for a few OCs involved with the Black Lion Trading Company, and it has come to my attention that the BLTC can't be much older than 5 years at the start of the personal story. Specifically, it's something that really took hold after Kralkatorrik's awakening.

[putting it under read more in case it's too long]

We have little info about when Evon Gnashblade's short story is set, just that he was 20 years old when he established the company, but he's not the most important part.

Mr. Sparkle is the key:

During the events of Edge of Destiny, Zojja and Snaff exclusively used pretty experimental golems made by him, and she doesn't mention having a golem of her own. The book is set in 1319-1320 AE.

Mr. Sparkle previous owner was Flummox, and he (or at least his salvaged remains) was sold after the events of Mr. Sparkles, A Tale of the Asura ("He would probably have to sell Mr. Sparkles to some younger golemancer." aka Zojja).

The other main character in that story is Sareb, Flummox's assistant and later Evon's personal assistant, who used her money to help found the Black Lion ("I've done some trading myself. I sold Zojja her golem, Mr. Sparkles. / She's heavily customized it, but I sold her the frame. It used to belong to an asura named Flummox, but he needed the money. I used my share to help Evon found the Black Lion.") [interesting note: Sareb's gender changes between the tale and the game, so I've decided she's trans and possibly the first ever user of a makeover kit]

There also is no mention of Kralkatorrik or the Brand in either short stories, and while it's not a detail necessary to include, it still means that both stories could be happening either around the same time of the book's events or shortly afterwards.

So, with all this information, I'd say that a believable timeline could be:

Evon becomes Legionnaire of his warband, takes control of the operations and properly establishes the BLTC between 1320 and 1321 AE (potentially even '19).

Around the same time, Flummox and Sareb have their little adventure with the jotun (potentially before Kralk's awakening), and at a later point (necessarily post-Kralk) they manage to sell Mr. Sparkle's frame to Zojja, then they part ways.

Sareb at one point meets the young charr entrepreneur and decides to use her share of the money to help him found his promising trading company, as well as keeping in check his aggressive methods with competition. Skip to 1325 AE, and they've grown so much that we find them all around Tyria.