#when they summon God and nearly wipe out an entire civilization

[bump1nthen1ght]

Thicker than Water (Demon x Reader) Chapter 1

Pairing: Female Reader x Gender Fluid! Demon

Genre: High Fantasy

Warnings: Arm Injuries, Several mentions of blood

Word Count: 1870 Words

Summary: A summoning gone awry ends up in your favor

Chapter 2

A/N: Alright, I know I literally just posted a demon story but this post showed up on my dash and my god if I have never been more inspired to write a fic. I legit wrote this in 2 hours in a frenzy. Also I plan this story to be multi-chap, but still rather short, so maybe 3 parts in total

Before that night, you had never known what nearly-passing out felt like.

Your mother had done it, once or twice, usually after a particularly stressful day at the shop. If you didn’t check on her between your studies she may forget to eat entirely, your father as well. But you had been lucky; Someone had always been there to catch her, to cradle her head and spoon-feed her strength back.

On the forest floor, surrounded by the smell of your own blood, you have no such luxury.

The black spots flickering in your vision blend into the desne canopy above you and your tears only muddle your sight. The iron and copper of the summoning circle drawn around you drown out the scent of fresh pine and grass, while your ears can only focus on your own heartbeat and the bickering of the four boys.

Oh, that’s right, they’re still here.

It seems you had lost more fluid than you realized, probably because of your incessant crying. You had tried to stop the flow, but your brain was losing coherent function with every second. The boys conversation sounds far away and hollow, bouncing off your eardrums and confusing your sense of direction

“You idiot, I told you not to go for the arm!”

“We needed a lot of blood!”

“But she needs to read the ritual dumbass! She can’t if she dies!”

Ah yes, the ritual, it all is flooding back to you now.

Having received a private education from your father at your family’s apothecary, you were already prone to isolation as a child. It didn’t help having no siblings, nor a lacking natural talent for friend-making. Although you had lived in the city all your life, the young people your age knew very little about you, and you them.

You knew they had rumors about you, The daughter the apothecary hides away; That your gaze can turn people to stone, that you can curse and poison people with a couple words and the right ingredients.

The truth was you weren’t so glamorous. You knew your way around a medicine cabinet, sure, but nothing about poisons or magic spells. You didn’t have any special abilities to compensate or explain your reluctance for socialization. Just some overprotective parents and a shy disposition.

So when the handsome postmasters-son began to pay you special visits, you let your guard down. You let him walk you to and from the market, memorizing your weekend route. You let him in for a bit of tea late at night, especially when it seemed so cold, and told him where the spare key was kept. And yes, you even told him about your favorite secluded spot in the forest, where the sounds of civilization were far away, where you could be alone.

And here, in these last moments of your life, you can’t help but feel so naive.

“Hey, hey!”

A boot taps your cheek, shaking you out of your revelry. Your glassy eyes look over to your right.

It’s one of the local merchant’s boys, you think his name is Nicholas? It doesn’t really matter. All you knew about him was that he was a bit rough around the edges; always nicking things from pockets, looking up ladies skirts, and skipping his lessons. That’s what your dad complained about anyway.

A page is shoveled in front of you, dangling over your face. Your eyes take a while, but focus on the words. Nicholas’ boot heel digs into your neck.

“Read it out loud, or we’ll kill you.”

Clearly I’m going to die anyway dumbass, why should I help you?

You might’ve retorted, if you were in such a physical condition to do so. But instead, you do as you're told, and start speaking.

To your left, the postmaster’s son, Richard, sucks in a breath with anticipation. Any false composure he had while luring you here is gone, his feet tapping with excitement as he holds your left arm and lef bound spread eagle.

Holding your right leg is Markus, another merchant boy. He picks at his teeth.

“What are you guys going to wish for?” He whispers. It goes in your ear and out the other, too focused on forming coherent sentences.

“A full-harem of babes, obviously.” Simpers Hunter, the son of a landlord. He isn’t ugly, only a bit plain, and has enough money to boot. Compared to the other bachelors in town however, he has had little luck in procuring a courtship.

“A million coins could get you that and more, idiot. That’s what I’m wishing for.” Whispers Richard.

“What are you going to wish for Nic?” Asks Markus

“Oh my gods, will you guys shut the fuck up?”

Nic snarls, unconsciously digging his heel back into your throat. You choke and stutter, but keep going. The runes around you, written in your own blood, begin to glow.

All of the boy’s eyes widen and they step back from you. Your limbs sink like dead weight as the words begin to flow out your mouth with no thought. The paper with the chant drops to the ground, out of your sight, but it's like your brain has been reprogrammed; You know the rest, know it in your bones.

The grass begins to simmer and burn under the summoning circle, smoke swirling into formation above you. When the final word whispers out of you, you feel your body go lax. You don’t even remember tensing up

I guess this is it. Sorry Mom, Sorry Dad.

You clench your eyes, just hoping the demon will be quick. That it will at least leave a recognizable corpse.

“Holy shit.” You hear muttered, unsure by whom.

Your eyes are closed, body teetering on the brink of unconsciousness, but your senses are still intact. A hot wave of breath washes over your face and the ground below you trembles with heavy footsteps. The boys are quiet but you can hear their hearts pounding. They thrum with life, while yours slowly fades.

“Why have you summoned me, mortal?”

Even half-dead, your muscles tense in fear. The demon's voice is deep and resonates like a crowd talking all at once. It reeks of inhuman power and cracks like thunder.

A brief silence passes, before Nicholas finds his courage.

“We have come to ask for a wish.”

Later, when recounting the story, you will mention that the demon looked over to Nicolas, unamused, despite never seeing it yourself. The demon huffs, the heat of it blowing over you once more.

“I don’t believe I asked you.” The demon mutters. The cacophony of voices blend together into one, bland and emotionless. Even in your state however, you are able to decipher a couple of louder tones which overpower the others. They seem...angry.

“But...you…”

“I asked….”

Your eyes snap open as a wet droplet lands on your cheek. Lingering above you, drool seeping from their unnaturally sharp teeth, is the creature. It’s face resembles that of a goat, but sharp fangs stick out from their lower lips. Their eyes are golden and shine in the night, piercing right into yours. Despite the part of your body screaming out in terror, another part feels oddly….comforted. It’s why you don't startle when they brush a hand against your cheek, their thumb wiping away your tears. Their palm is warm, not like a blistering flame, but like a thick quilt. Like hot chocolate on a rainy day.

“......What do you need of me, little one?”

Their hand, padded and calloused, slides down your arm, closing up the large gash on your inner bicep. In another movement, they do the same to the other. Power and vitality seems to sink back into your body, drip by drip.

Words escape you, but not Nicolas.

“Excuse me, demon, but we're the ones who summoned you.” The sarcastic tone of his does little to hide the quivers of his fear, especially when the demon's neck turns toward him at an unnatural speed. Still, he persists. “Not her. And we want-”

“Do you take me for a blind fool?” The voice bellows, sending all the boys to their knees. Markus clutches his ears while Hunter whimpers on the ground. Nicolas falls back to the ground, eyes widen.  The demon stands to their full height, several feet above all of you. “Do you think I was born without smell, without sense?” The step away from your body, swiping at the ground with their fingers, taking a small bit of your blood with it.

The demon sticks their thumb and forefinger in front of Nicolas’s face, causing him to yelp and fall onto his back. “Is this your blood which forged the connection? Was it your words that spoke me into existence? Was it your body which came to the brink, wrenched open the door and pulled us both through?”

Nicolas, trembling like a leaf, shakes his head no. The demon’s eyes jerk up to the others. “And was it any of these young men?”  

Richard furiously shakes his head, while Hunter stays collapsed on the ground. Markus pushes himself away, hands still clamped around his ears. The demon sneers, before turning and walking back to you.

The demon kneels before propping your upper body up with a gentle touch. A comforting claw rubs your lower back while another paw rubs the tension out of your shoulders.

“Now, mistress, what may you ask of me?”

Your muscles may no longer tire from blood loss, but your mind truly feels like it’s on the brink of breaking. The demon, with fearsome fangs and a soft look, looks to you for an answer.

“I-I…” You mutter as the demon continues to massage your back. They hum.

“Take your time, it is alright. Rituals are difficult, I can only imagine the toll your body feels.” The mass of voices have synchronized, fading from a hundred to a single, harmonious tune. It is cavernously deep, but pleasant. It reminds you of the portly older man who used to read stories aloud every holiday.

You feel your body unconsciously turn towards your captors. Nicholas stays stuck to the ground, the whites of his eyes almost glowing in the darkness. The others have slowly moved to their knees, all terrified with shaky limbs, and look like they might make a run for it. Markus is slowly inching towards Nicholas’ shoulders, trying to lift him up to his senses.

For the first time in your life, a deep, boiling hatred burns your skin.

Cowards. You sneer, with all the malice stored in your reserves.

“I want-I want…” You stumble as the anger bubbles out of your belly. “I want them to hurt. To feel humiliated.” Nails bite into the palm of your hand, letting out blood as you clench knuckles. “I want everyone to know what they’ve done, who they are, every fault they’ve ever been guilty of. I want them alive, but I want them to burn.”

The demon smiles, pulling you in for a hug. You collapse into their embrace, keeping your eyes locked onto the boys, those rats. The demon hums a contented tune as they rub your back.

“As you wish, my master.”

[ashen-vulture]

RPG story time/Pictures

So I am a gamemaster for a pathfinder group that’s been my reliable RPG gang for years. I wanted to make this as like a small gallery of pictures I’ve drawn for my most recent game, titled Red Gold.

As per usual it’s a long one, so I’ll put the bulk of things under the cut:

It was a simple RPG starting point, everyone was bounty hunters in a prestigious organization called the Hall of Red Gold. They deal with prison escapes, grave robbers, train robbers, necromancers, dangerous animals/creatures, and all other sort of variety of unlawful or evilness.

The founders of the Hall of Red Gold, they had a large painting made of a much smaller photograph taken just before their last battle.

Their center organization is in one of the largest cities in the country (population over 1.5 million) called Mkali (top picture) specifically that’s an area called the Canal Promenade. The canal serves to water their fields, prevent disastrous flooding, and allow for steamboat traffic and it’s a huge and central fixture. It’s almost always filled with merchant cards and street performers, and the city itself is brightly painted.

Their first quest was to cull a pride of man-eating lions and collect the tails for bounty proof. Through their Lion encounters they ended up with multiple critical decapitations. So they cut off the heads, cut off the tails, and quickly solidified their name:

Heads and Tails

They’ve come so far since then. They’ve made NPC allies in their organization, several of whom traveled with the party until they started taking on quests that were just too dangerous for them.

Their first companions were a goblin bard who mostly went by his stage name: Corpsebeater, and a Alchemist Halfling half-fiend who was *mistakenly* rescued from a demon cult under the assumption that she was a 5 year old tiefling. Both of them wonderful companions now retired. Corpsebeater changed his bard name to Venomblood after surviving a dozen scopion stings. He retired from the group shortly after that, but continues to build percussive music to shout exploits to. And for Zippi, after her time experimenting on the party (and herself) she got accepted as an apprentice in a shop called The Basilisk’s Eye.

The way I did it is Red Gold has a number of NPCs who can be invited along, and I’ve made it fairly easy for characters to flow in and out of the party without changing the game up too much. When VB retired Zippi stuck around just long enough to nearly die (she was like 2-3 levels behind the party at that point) and the party had some downtime, enough downtime to get up to a Fun Side Non-Bounty Related Thing.

Performing in the COLOSSEUM OF COURAGE! A temple to a minotaur/cervine god of battle and martial prowess. It trains warriors and also hold grand events in the tradition of old colosseums as a way of generating money. And this temple is run by the Grand Paladin RHEMBOL IRONHIDE!

The number of PCs I expected to hit on Rhembol was 2 higher than the 0 I thought it would be I could not stop snickering to myself I make this big old banged up greyed minotaur but he’s just got so much personality that everyone loved him. And of course he was glad to have Red Gold Participate in THE GRAND MASTER’S MAZE RUN! (Sorry, he is inflicted with SPONTANEOUSLY PROJECTING STAGE VOICE! meaning when I think in his headspace sometimes YOU JUST GOTTA ALLCAPS IT!)

But there was one little condition. You see, Rhembol has four wonderful lovely daughters that he would give the world for, three of whom are mostly like him: charismatic, gregarious, boisterous, always up for a fight but not looking for conflict.

And then, there’s...

Chesvah Ironhide, his awkward, unsociable, perpetually on auto-pilot daughter. She doesn’t like the performative aspect of her father’s temple, never has, but has never known anything other than Be A Paladin/Performer. So Rhembol spoke with Red Gold and allowed their teams into the games if Red Gold agreed to hire his daughter.

She joined a group that had formed just to compete in the games with plans to dissolve afterwards- and boy did they.

The 6-person team she was a part of contained a lot of other NPCs the party could bring into Heads and Tails, but only one of them is relevant- that being Tulio. Tulio is a catfolk who is a crack shot with a rifle, but also a LOT of other problems. He was almost always some variant of high, and showed many concerning behaviors. Red Gold kept him around because of his skill...

But, when in a drugged stupor he opened friendly fire in the colosseum with a crowd of tens of thousands in the audience, Red Gold had had the last of it with him and he was kicked out.

The party picked Chesvah up shortly afterwards.

And they probably didn’t expect Tulio to ever come back.

And certainly for a while he didn’t. Things ramped up, the party had been tasked with wiping out a Lamashtan cult, their leader Jiyaki who was a very prolific murderer, and stopping them from whatever their mysterious and bloody Goal was.

Pictured above is not the cult leader, but a demon bound to her service by another caster, and perpetual game wildcard. A powerful concubus who goes by the name of Kel. Yes, the same two members of the party did hit on them, successfully (depending on your definition of success here). Kel repeatedly showed no interest in obeying their master’s wishes, especially if they got in the way of fun, but its soul-bound sword “Shiver” had a number of contingencies in place to ensure Kel’s behavior.

Around this time they also were contacted by a blue dragon. You see, the last time they were investigating this, they had been told it was bandits, not a cult they were after. It was an inside-attempt to throw potential bounty hunters off their trail.

When they investigated the city one of the things that stood out was that there had been a break-in at a greenhouse called the Greenbriar Reserve. Upon investigating, Heads and Tails comes to the discovery that the Greenbriar Reserve had a dragonsbane plant. Dragons have been known to raize entire cities or countrysides over even a HINT of dragonsbane, because it is one of the few things that challenge their supremacy, and this greenhouse in a massive, populous city just happened to have one. The owner of the reserve kept it secret- for obvious reasons- and didn’t even state the name of the plant or 100% confirm he had one to the party. Hints and innuendo and nothing more. But he did ask them to please keep looking for the snip of plant which was taken- and his missing daughter as well (Kel kidnapped her and many others to use their faces for infiltration)

And then a blue dragon arrived at Red Gold HQ. Hushand the Gardener.

It had been over a month and he wanted to know how they were doing at finding HIS dragonsbane plant.

Because you see, he was working on a cure.

More and more things pile up on this city, culminating in a huge battle.

Someone pulled many strings to create what could have been (and honestly still was) a disastrous chain of events which involved red dragons attacking the city, Hushand the Gardener coming to the city’s defense. And there being two active shooters in the crowd with dragonbane poisoned weapons.

And one of those shooters was

Tulio swift, former Red Gold member, suspected veteran of the 27 year long surriedan civil war, habitual drinker and drug user and over all fringe NPC to the game. 

In the heat of battle one of the PCs killed Tulio- but with the intent of getting him raised afterwards, to interesting effects.

Meanwhile under the cover of the military battles above, the party begins fighting the demon cult in the secret vaults below the city. Down below in the vaults where they had learned a lamashtan Artifact lies which turns sacrificed souls into conduits for summoning powerful demons.

And I’ll continue this when I get back from a walk. I’ve got more to add, but this has gotten long enough as it is.

[misty-reeyus]

Suppression

for @berseriaweek > Day 1: Emotion/Reason

introspective innominat fic. practically a character study, really. ~1.3k words.

Innominat awakens.

His belly was already half-full from years before, and now, as he swallows up the essence of a second pure soul, his power returns to him in surging waves. Born anew, he begins to conjure a new physical form, absorbing this sacrifice’s appearance and memories to use as his own. Hazy instinct finally solidifies into clear consciousness, and he remembers for the first time his vessel’s identity: Laphicet Crowe.

Irrelevant.

His attention is far more taken by the other human that fell alongside his vessel---the one who, even now, still shrieks and cries in such an ugly display. Her soul is not nearly pure enough to be a sacrifice, and with two souls already inside him, Innominat has no need for another one. But where she is devoid of purity, she contains a very different sort of potential, resonating with him in that special way only certain creatures can.

She is receptive.

(Amidst the rush of brand new memories, something screams in the back of Innominat’s mind: Stop, leave her alone, I only wanted to protect her, I never wanted this for her---!

Ah, she is his vessel’s sister.

...Irrelevant.)

So Innominat takes the only logical course of action. He creates his first therion, shoots her up out of the pit, then focuses on adjusting the final touches of his earthly incarnation. He changes very little of his vessel’s appearance, only lightening his hair and robing himself all in white, as he always does. Once done, Innominat rises from the deep, then analyzes the scene that greets him at the surface.

His therion lies on the ground, limp, unconscious. The man standing over her sheathes his sword with his only working arm, then calmly turns to face the newly awakened god.

Innominat recognizes him. “You are the one who summoned me.”

Artorius voices an affirmation before bowing his head---respectful, but not overly reverent.

“Excellent,” Innominat says. “You shall serve me well.”

In his spare time, of which he has a lot, Innominat reviews his vessel’s memories.

Laphicet Crowe’s existence was rather inconsequential, even by human standards. Sickly since birth, he spent most of his life stuck in his own bed, reading all about the world outside that he would never see. He was a naive child to the very end, a foolish boy who didn’t truly understand the cause for which he was sacrificing himself.

Innominat has seen the world that Laphicet so yearned for: a wretched, horrible, cursed planet. He has watched countless civilizations drive themselves to ruin, beckoning him to rise and wipe the slate clean once again. This tedious cycle has repeated itself endlessly for millennia---but Artorius’s plan aims to change that, at long last. This ugly world shall finally be perfect, forever suppressed, forever free of malevolence.

Artorius is truly a fine partner. Unlike so many other fallible humans, he is well versed in the ways of the Empyreans, and he sees the value in Innominat’s power. They share the same vision, and Artorius is quite adept at manipulating his society in order to further their goals. The people give prayers, the therions feed, and Innominat's strength grows with each passing day.

(Sometimes, Innominat remembers Artorius by another name. Sometimes, when they discuss their plans, Innominat is reminded of lessons conducted by Laphicet’s bedside: Arthur helping him translate the ancient tongue and teaching him all about history and geography. In those days, Arthur would lean in close as he told tales of Empyrean might and heroic battles, and Laphicet would snuggle up against him while dreaming of someday breaking free of his bedroom-prison to embark upon adventures of his own.

...Irrelevant.)

Velvet breaking out of Titania was not part of the plan.

However, it’s not much of a setback, either. Artorius and Melchior are skilled in twisting an unexpected situation back into an advantage, and ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether or not Velvet roams free for a while. She may no longer be in the cage, but that doesn’t mean she’s not still on a tight leash---she’s so dependable, so predictable, that she still plays right into their hands. Arthur and Laphicet knew their sister all too well, and thus, Artorius and Innominat know exactly how to use her.

How to break her.

Unfortunately, the more Innominat calls upon Laphicet’s memories of his sister, the more those pesky emotions of his come bubbling to the surface. Innominat is not Laphicet Crowe, not entirely, but Laphicet’s very soul is a central part of his current incarnation. Somewhere deep down, Laphicet mourns the monster his sister has become, because all he ever wanted was for Velvet to be happy.

But what Laphicet wanted is irrelevant now. Innominat has only one duty, one purpose in this wretched world, and he will do whatever he must to fulfill it.

Despair is such a tricky form of malevolence, the most difficult to harvest, but Velvet is the ideal incubator, and Innominat knows her so well. He lets himself become Laphicet---or, as much as he can become Laphicet without letting these insipid human feelings distract him from his goal---because if anything will drive Velvet to true despair, it will be when her precious little brother himself refutes her pointless revenge. When Innominat materializes before her in Titania, he knows that she will fall.

...Only, she doesn’t.

Like a cockroach, she stubbornly refuses to give in, defies his every expectation and stands up yet again. The despair that Innominat worked so hard to create---all because of that malak, she actually managed to stave it away. Yes, that malak, that fragment who splintered from Innominat himself, who stole both Laphicet’s name and his place at Velvet’s side. That...that substitute, who somehow managed to save Velvet when her brother never could, and to top it all off, even dared to punch Innominat across the face.

Deep inside his chest, something burns white-hot: an unfamiliar and thoroughly irritating sensation that Innominat hurriedly forces back down.

Yet, the more Innominat tries to suppress it, the stronger the feeling grows.

The comb in Velvet’s hand breaks, and something deep inside Innominat breaks too.

It hurts. Everything hurts. He is weak from the Four’s awakening, tired from the fighting, and most importantly, he is hungry, hungry, so so hungry. His faculties begin to fail him---when he devours Artorius’s despair, he is more instinct than thought, and when they armatize, Innominat lets Artorius take full control because he no longer has any control over himself. During the battle, he is only barely aware of his surroundings, and even when their fusion is finally ripped apart, all Innominat can feel is the hunger, the emptiness, the pain.

He’s so hungry. He’s so tired.

And then he’s sobbing, because how could Velvet do this, how could his own sister do this to him? Even when he knew she meant well, she was always so strict, she forbade him from so many things. He wanted to play, to feast, to travel the world---and she’d denied him, again and again and again, because he was sick. But he’s not sick anymore, he’s a god now, and he can finally create a world free of suffering, free of sickness, free of the very pain that had plagued him every day of his life, so why?!

Why won’t she give him this?!

Laphicet sobs and sobs and sobs, but Velvet hugs him, holds him tight and gently strokes the top of his head. He screams at her in grief, in rage, in so much pure emotion, but despite the words spewing from his lips, he can’t even try to push her away.

He’s just so tired.

“It’s time for us to rest, Laphi,” Velvet murmurs, and digs her therion claws straight into his back.

And Laphicet, so so very tired, finally does just that.

Innominat sleeps.

And Laphicet Crowe, with his beloved sister by his side, finally lives the life he always wanted.

[daughter-of-the-prophet]

Ancient Age

Pre-Tevinter Imperium

-7,599 Ancient: The legendary elven city of Arlathan is founded nearly three thousand years before the arrival of humans on the continent. 

-4,600 Ancient: Approximately at this time the elves make the first contact with the dwarves.

-3,100 Ancient: Records claim humanity arrives in Thedas around this date from the north in a single tribe known as Neromenian. This is disputed by scholars, who ask where humans came from and why they left.

-2,850 Ancient: Elves first notice the quickening, which puts an end to their immortality and forces them to withdraw from human contact. This is thought to be mere legend.

-2,800 Ancient: The Old Gods begin whispering to humanity from the Golden City. They teach the Dreamers of the Neromenian tribes magic. These Dreamers become the priests and rulers of their people.

-2,415 Ancient: The Alamarri tribes cross the Frostback Mountains and settle in the lands that will eventually become known as Ferelden. Alamarri tribal legends say they were fleeing a “shadow goddess”, but modern scholars believe they were escaping a sort of natural disaster.

-1,815 Ancient: The Alamarri living near what is known today as Lake Calenhad break away, becoming known as the Avvars. The two tribes fight with each other for several centuries, though they unite when the need arises. 

-1,700 Ancient: The Neromenian tribes split and form four ancient kingdoms: Tevinter, Neromenian, Barindur, and Qarinus.

-1,610 Ancient: The entire kingdom of Barindur vanishes under mysterious circumstances. It appears to be destroyed by a volcanic eruption.

-1,595 Ancient: Thalsian, also known as the First Priest of Dumat, is the first known person to wield blood magic and the first magister. The Archon claims to learn this art after personally communicating with the Old God. The power he gained from blood magic allowed him to spark the birth of a future empire under his rule.

-1,415 Ancient: The Chasind people break away from the Alamarri tribes and settle in the wild and unexplored Korcari Wilds.

-1,207 Ancient: Darinius, the High King of Neromenian, takes control of the Tevinter throne, uniting the kingdoms of Neromenian and Tevinter under his rule.

-1,200 Ancient: Darinius of Tevinter forges an alliance with the dwarves.

          The dwarven contests known as Provings become popular among the noble class of the Tevinter. A Grand Proving Arena is built in Minrathous.

Pre-Ages

-1195 Ancient: Darinius unites the kingdoms Tevinter and Qarinus, forming the mighty Tevinter Imperium. He declares himself the first Archon. Prior to this event, only scattered fragments are known. It is believed that elves existed in the land first and that humans came from elsewhere - though there are many theories about from where that might be, and few historians agree. Some suggest that humans came from across the ocean as the Qunari did, but if so, there is no record from such a time. Humans spread across Thedas - as various tribes of people known as the Hacian and the Alamarri, and those started other tribes such as Ciriane and the Planacene - but it is the Tevinters, centered on the port city of Minrathous, who became ascendant. 

          History records that elves and humanity were hostile toward each other and that Tevinter led the way in aggressive retaliation against the elven city of Arlathan. The elves responded by retreating from human contact, and Tevinter thus flourished and spread. The first "dreamers" learned the use of lyrium to enter the Fade from elven captives, and these dreamers later became the first of the Imperium's ruling magisters. 

-1170 Ancient: Under the rulership of the Paragons King Endrin Stonehammer and King Orseck Garal, the capital of the Dwarven Empire is moved from Kal-Sharok to Orzammar, as trade with the surface becomes more and more vital for the prosperity of the dwarves.

          Stonehammer orders the construction of the legendary Stonehammer Hall in Orzammar.

          The Orzammar Proving Grounds are expanded for the Grand Provings, previously held in Kal-Sharok. The winners of these Provings become the first of Orzammar's Paragons. Endrin Stonehammer builds of a hall to house huge statues constructed in their honor. 

-1160 Ancient: Taxes collected by Orzammar from Kal-Sharok's trade profits become onerous.

-1131 Ancient: King Endrin Stonehammer is made a Paragon on his deathbed and becomes known as the "First Paragon" presumably for his vast accomplishments.

-981 Ancient: The hostility that festered between the Tevinter Imperium and the elves finally turned into open war. Armies of the Imperium surrounded the fabled elven city of Arlathan. 

-975 Ancient: The Magisters resorted to a horrifying blood ritual that sank Arlathan into the earth, destroying it utterly and deciding the war in their favor. The conquest of the elven kingdom was complete: All those who did not perish with their city were enslaved, their spirit crushed and their ancient culture destroyed forever. 

-895 Ancient: The Tevinter Imperium expands rapidly, bolstered by its new elven slaves. The Imperium takes nearly all of northern Thedas and begins the conquest of lands across the Waking Sea.

-880 Ancient: The Tevinter Imperium settles the island of Estwatch and fortifies its bay. The port is built for repairing warships.

-760 Ancient: Archon Almadrius ascends to the throne of the Tevinter Imperium.

-715 Ancient: The Tevinter Imperium begins several campaigns to subjugate the barbarous Alamarri tribes in the Fereldan Valley. After many near losses, they manage to hold the central area for a time and pave the Imperial Highway across the Frostbacks to the fortress of Ostagar.

-712 Ancient: The First Tevinter expedition against the Avvars in the Frostback Mountains.

-695 Ancient: The western part of the Tevinter rebels to form the Anderfels, mainly populated by the Yothandi people. 

-692 Ancient: Archon Almadrius is assassinated. His apprentice Tidarion inherits the throne. Civil wars break out in the Tevinter Imperium.

-640 Ancient: Archon Tidarion dies without an heir. The civil war continues, and the magisters fight for power.

-620 Ancient: Emerius, the last of the great Imperial cities, is founded in the distant south of the Imperium by the powerful magister, Emerius Krayvan. Elven slaves were brought in by the thousands to work the stone quarries and suffered hardships that would give the city a dark and bloody reputation. In the time it became known as the "City of Chains," the center of the Imperial slave market and the destination of all those captured by the spread of arcane rule. 

          Archon Parthenius claims the throne of the Tevinter Imperium. The end of the civil war in the Imperium.

     -575 to -555 Ancient: The largest civil war of the Tevinter is usually cited as when it began to decline markedly from its golden age. The magisters of the various noble houses wield terrible power but still seek more; their competition with each other leads to human sacrifice, and demon summoning becomes a regular occurrence. When two of the largest Tevinter houses battle to claim the Archon's throne, the Imperium is almost split in two. The resulting war left ruins and battlefields where the magical taint continues to be felt to this day. Peace is brokered in the Senate to prevent the dissolution of the Imperium, but the nobility continues its oppression of the masses in an effort to achieve supremacy.

-535 Ancient: After generations of independence, the Anderfels are reconquered by the Tevinter Imperium.

-410 Ancient: A group of kossith is believed to land in the southern Korcari Wilds, establishing a colony. They are likely killed off in the First Blight, giving rise to the first appearance of ogres on the continent.

-395 Ancient: According to the Chantry lore, the most powerful magister lords, seeking more power, open a gate to the Golden City at the heart of the Fade. The result is catastrophic: The Golden City becomes tainted, and the magisters bring the taint into the world, creating the first darkspawn. 

           The Old God Dumat is freed and transformed into the first archdemon. The First Blight begins. The darkspawn attack en masse, concentrating at first on the underground Deep Roads of the dwarven kingdoms. As the dwarven kingdoms begin to fall by -380 Ancient, the darkspawn use the Deep Roads to appear throughout the continent. All of the Imperium is under siege and in a state of chaos. Finally, the nations of the Imperium begin to settle in for a long war as they become accustomed to the surges of the darkspawn. Communication becomes difficult across the Imperium, but cooperation is paramount. The people of Tevinter pray to the remaining Old Gods for help against Dumat, but they receive only silence. With the people's faith waning, unrest sees many temples destroyed as the Imperial people begin to turn from the Old Gods, believing themselves betrayed. The dark period lasts for over 200 years, extending post Blight. 

        -355 Ancient: The Blight has yet to reach the Alamarri. They are instead caught up in a war with the Avvar. In the Battle of Red Falls, Alamarri warrior Luthias Dwarfson fights Morrighan'nan, Avvar warrior queen. Both die in the battle. The Order of Ash Warriors is founded in Dwarfson's honor.

-305 Ancient: The Grey Wardens are founded at Weisshaupt Fortress in the Anderfels, dedicated to wiping out the darkspawn wherever they should rise. The organization is formed primarily of veterans from the countless battles against the darkspawn. They maintain communications within the Imperium and strike quickly wherever the darkspawn appear, quickly erecting fortresses everywhere and receiving tithes and supplies from all lands.

-255 Ancient: The dwarven Paragon Caridin creates the first golem from the Anvil of the Void to battle the darkspawn terrorizing the Deep Roads. The dwarves begin to retake lost thaigs and reclaim parts of the Deep Roads.

-248 Ancient: Caridin disappears along with the secret to creating golems, and the dwarven kingdoms continue their descent into oblivion.

-203 Ancient: The Grey Wardens gather the forces of humans and confront Dumat at the colossal Battle of the Silent Plains in the southern reaches of Tevinter. Dumat is ultimately destroyed by the Grey Wardens and the darkspawn forces routed. Though the darkspawn are still large in their numbers and still battle mankind, they are no longer directed by Dumat's power and become scattered. The contracts ensuring the powers and rights of the Grey Wardens date from this year.

          The prophet Andraste is born in the Alamarri lands. The exact year of her birth is hotly contested by scholars.

  -195 Ancient: Slowly, the last of the darkspawn hordes are defeated. They are forced into the Far Steppes, west of the Anderfels, and into the Deep Roads. For the dwarves, the war continues underground, but for humanity, the battle is believed to be over. After centuries of fighting, the once mighty Imperium is now weak.

          As the Deep Roads close, communication lines falter between the surviving dwarven kingdoms. Each thaig elects its own king while maintaining allegiance to a high king in Orzammar.

        -191 Ancient: The Grey Wardens discover a number of intelligent darkspawn who can control portions of the horde even after Dumat's death. Warden Sashamiri arranges a trap to restrain and study one of these creatures, Corypheus, believed to be one of the Tevinter magisters who entered the Golden City and was corrupted into the first darkspawn two centuries prior. Corypheus is successfully imprisoned under the Vimmark Mountains in the southern Tevinter Imperium.

-187 Ancient: Andraste marries Maferath, an Alamarri chieftain.

-186 Ancient: Andraste preaches of a new creator, whom she calls the Maker. The more she says, the more her following grows. Maferath uses her teachings to unite the Alamarri clans under his authority.

-184 Ancient: The Tevinter Imperium's influence recedes in southern Thedas as Minrathous rebuilds.

          The Chasind claim the fortress of Ostagar.

        -181 Ancient: Warden-Commander Daneken realizes the futility of the Wardens' attempts to control or kill Corypheus and proposes instead to seal the prison off from the rest of the world and keep its very existence secret forever.

-180 Ancient: A massive horde of Alamarri cross the Waking Sea from the south led by the warlord Maferath and Andraste. Some records claim the barbarians were driven north by the darkspawn, others that Andraste was bringing freedom to the people of the Imperium who had been long oppressed by the depravities of the magisters. Regardless of the reason, the press of the barbarians in the south is accompanied by massive rebellions that welcome their progress. The invading army frees the elves, enslaved for centuries by the Tevinters. At the same time, the elven slave Shartan starts a massive slave rebellion, and the Tevinter magisters are forced to unite to combat the incoming threat.

          The Tevinter Imperium abandons the island of Estwatch to focus on mainland troubles. The island remains largely uninhabited for ages.

     -171 Ancient: Outside of Minrathous, the Battle of Valarian Fields is fought between the Alamarri and the Tevinter Imperium. Maferath is victorious. At that battle, the elven slave Shartan takes Maferath's side and leads other elves in the fight against their Tevinter oppressors. He later converts and is made a disciple, only to have his writings suppressed following the Exalted March of the Dales.

          The Alamarri army led by Maferath and Andraste lay siege in Minrathous. However, they fail to conquer the capital of the Imperium.

          According to the Chantry lore, Maferath's jealousy overwhelms him. Wanting to bring an end to hostilities and tighten his grip on conquered territories, he makes a pact with Archon Hessarian of the Tevinter Imperium.

        -170 Ancient: Andraste is betrayed by her husband at the city of Nevarra, one of their strongholds, and taken to Minrathous. She is burned alive and then killed by Archon Hessarian.

          Disciple Havard, loyal to Andraste, collects her ashes and carries them back to the Avvar lands in the Frostback Mountains.

        -165 Ancient: After of the death of Andraste, the barbarian army disperses. Maferath is granted the lands south of Emerius. He takes Fereldan Valley for himself while dividing what will become Orlais, the nation of Nevarra, and several Marcher cities between his sons.

         The southern Tevinter Imperium breaks away, forming a collection of independent city-states. Maferath's sons unify several scattered tribes neighboring Alamarri lands; the tribes of Ciriane turns into the Kingdom of the Ciriane and the Planasene tribes into the Kingdom of the Planasene. Both of these last less than a century - the Ciriane soon become the land of Orlais, while the Planasene become a part of the loose confederation across the plains called the Free Marches.

       The land between the Waking Sea and the Frostbacks is given to the freed elves by Maferath as a homeland and is called the Dales. The Long Walk begins as elves from across the Imperium begin traveling to the Dales largely on foot and are preyed upon by disease and robbers, causing massive chaos. 

. -160 Ancient: A cult devoted to Andraste's teachings spreads rapidly in the south but is largely disorganized and is very unpopular with the temples of the Old Gods. However, Archon Hessarian converts from revering the Old Gods to the Cult of the Maker and reveals Maferath's treachery. The Alamarri abandon Maferath, and southern Thedas collapses into anarchy. Back in the lands of the barbarians, groups which are claiming to be the Disciples of Andraste are formed, and the new religion begins to grow, referred to collectively as "the cults of the Maker." 

          Archon Hessarian converts the Tevinter Imperium to Andrastianism, beginning the Transfiguration.

        -155 Ancient: The Ciriane in present-day Orlais unite in a moment known as the Grand Unification.

-135 Ancient: The Alamarri in Fereldan Valley fall into a long series of internal wars as various warlords attempt to replace Maferath. 

         Andraste's ashes disappear, revealed ages later to have been stored away at the Ruined Temple by the Disciples of Andraste.

     -130 Ancient: The Chant of Light is created by Andraste's disciples, collecting her story and her teachings into hymns. Numerous versions of the Chant are written over time, with different interpretations of what Andraste taught about the Maker, each prevalent in different regions.

-125 Ancient: Archon Hessarian dies in his sleep. Many in the eastern and southern provinces of the Tevinter Imperium push for secession, fearing his successor, Archon Orentius will restore the Old Gods and their clergy.

-100 Ancient: The Inquisition is founded around this time. The loose association of Andrastian hard-liners hunts heretics and mages in the name of the Maker.

-90 to -50 Ancient: Rebellion begins in the east as the Rivaini attempt to split off from the Imperium. The resulting campaigns to stop the rebellion distract the Imperium from its attempts to reconquer the Free Marches and allow the south to gather its strength. Many of the eastern cities in the Free Marches intervene on the behalf of the Rivaini, and after several losses that culminated in the disastrous Battle of Temerin, the Imperium finally abandons the east.

-44 Ancient: The Kingdom of Rivain is formed.

-40 Ancient: The dwarves of Orzammar seal the Deep Roads that lead to Kal-Sharok, Gundaar and Hormak by order of High King Threestone. Within ten years, the kingdoms of Hormak and Gundaar fall to the darkspawn. 

-36 Ancient: Castana Drakon, mother of Kordillus Drakon, is named gothi of the tribes of the Ciriane. 

-30 Ancient: The city-state of Antiva expands and becomes a nation.

-25 Ancient: As the borders of the Imperium recede, Emerius becomes one of their lone outposts within a distant and violent frontier. The city is surrounded by the Kingdom of Ciriane, the barbarian Free Marches, the Alamarri, as well as the new elven homeland of the Dales. Despite its isolation, the city fought off many invading armies and did not fall until the slaves within the city finally rebelled, executing their Tevinter rulers in an orgy of violence. Possession of the fortress city remained contested for centuries to come, but it would never again rejoin the Imperium. No longer under Tevinter rule, the city changed its name to Kirkwall and became part of the Free Marches.

-15 Ancient: The last of the Deep Roads are sealed, cutting off Kal-Sharok which is presumed lost to the horde. However, the dwarves of Kal-Sharok survive but never forgive the dwarves of Orzammar.

-11 Ancient: The cults of the Maker spread quickly in the southern lands, resulting in the commencement of construction of the first great temple in Val Royeaux which becomes the center of worship for the new faith. One of its most fervent followers is the young king of Orlais, Kordillus Drakon. Drakon begins a series of holy wars in the name of the Maker, quickly proving himself to be one of the greatest generals in history.

-3 Ancient: Having conquered several neighboring city-states and forced others to submit to his overlordship, Kordillus Drakon is crowned emperor of the new Orlesian Empire in Val Royeaux. His ambitions to spread farther north into the Free Marches are confounded by constant pressures from the Dales to the east. 

         The Chantry is formed by Emperor Drakon as he formalizes the Maker's cult an official religion. 

        The emperor commands that missionaries be sent forth into the other lands, thus spreading the Chantry's teachings.