Timeline

This is a historical timeline of events in the Forge of Destiny setting, as currently best understood by the players.

In the cases where the date is unspecified or not given, simple sequencing will be used.

Year BP = Years Before Present.

Spoilers will abound.

Primordial Prehistory
This era is described as being many millennia before the Sage Emperor formed the Celestial Empire. It is uncertain how long it was before the formation of the Pre-Empire tribes and Founding Clans.3

Primordial Era 1 - The world is ephemeral and unformed with Great Spirits and their lesser fragments roaming the world, separated by lack of communication and understanding.

Primordial Era 2 - The Nameless Mother and Nameless Father which were incredibly mighty spirits, create Humanity, making them different from all other beings.

Primordial Era 3 - The other Great Spirits, not understanding, attempt to destroy Humanity and are killed in turn. They form the basis of the setting.

Primordial Era 4 - The Father and Mother sacrifice everything including their names to protect Humanity and form the world from their bodies. Humanity lives and begins to spread.

Pre-Empire, "Age of Sorrow", "The First Age"
An era after the Primordial Era, before the rise of the Sage Emperor and his quest to create the Empire out of the pre-existing Kingdoms created by what would become the Founding Clans. During this era the Dragon Gods rise to rule over humanity before eventually being cast down and cursed with crippling infertility.1,2,3

~25000BP: Rise of the first Dragon God. Dragons rise to power and create kingdoms with human and beast servants.

~16000BP: Cataclysm ends the reign of dragons and erases almost all traces of human civilization.

-15000BP: Yao the fisher, Zhi the conqueror, and Tsu the diviner found Bai, Zheng and Weilu kingdoms.

-13000BP: Ji the Mariner and He the Glorious establish Jing and Lu Kingdoms.

-12500BP: Savage Isles consolidated under the Hermit King of the Living Isle.

-12200BP: Sage Emperor establishes his kingdom is the Celestial Peaks.

-12100BP: Bai, Zheng, Weilu, Lu, and Jing subordinate themselves to Sage Emperor.

The Empire
In this era the Celestial Empire is formed and becomes the core backdrop to the setting, with several other important historical events setting up the present day.2

-12000BP: Sage Emperor officially establishes the Celestial Empire.

-11800BP: Sage Emperor is slain in marriage bed by the Priestess-Queen of the Red Garden. His companion, the Celestial Dragon bombards the Western Jungle in revenge, creating the craters where the future fortress cities of the West would be established.

-10000BP: The Xuan of the Living Isle peacefully join the Empire.

-9000BP: Strife of Twin Emperors/Shang usurpation begins.

-8500BP: Weilu disappearance occurs. Sometime before this their Ancestor, The Horned Lord, leaves them in disgust.

-8000BP: Strife ends, Ao dynasty rises to the Dragon Throne after the thousand year interregnum.

-7900BP: Emperor Li raises daughter clan of Weilu, Xi, to dukedom over the warring factions of Emerald Seas.

-7000BP: Savage Seas province under the Xuan and the Seafolk enter open war over contested territory.

​​​-6800BP: The Living Isle and the Father of Depths clash.

-6600BP: Islands sunk and cities destroyed by brief clash mostly repaired.

-6200BP: Jing clan of Alabaster Sands departs. Jin raised to fill their position.

-6100BP: Emperor Xu enthroned, elder brother Ao Longshen disappears.

-6000BP: Lu Guanxi awakens the Lu Ancestor the Purifying Sun to battle the Twilight King, who is the returning Ao Longshen. The Purifying Sun dies and Golden Fields is reduced to a blasted desert.

-5000BP: Xi, dukes of Emerald Seas, are shattered by internecine conflict.

-4950BP: Hui rise to ducal seat of emerald Seas.

-4000BP: Guo officially recognized as dukes of Golden Fields.

Handful of centuries before Mu Dynasty establishment - Coining of standardized terms for Realms.

-3600BP: Last Ao Emperor is assassinated.

-3500BP: Mu dynasty rises to the Dragon Throne.

-700BP: Emperor Si enthroned.

-550BP: Cloud Tribe aggression mounts, clans in the foothills of The Wall begin decline, and receive no centralized aid.

-500BP: Great Khan Ogodei invades Emerald Seas.

-498BP: Yuan He corners and slays the Great Khan Ogodei.

-490BP: Ministry of Integrity established.

-450BP: Great Sect system put in place, granting imperial patronage to certain Sects.

-400BP: Sun Shao’s conquest/rebellion into the Western Jungle begins.

-398BP: Emperor An, patron and architect of the Ministry of Integrity enthroned.

-390BP: Sun Shao's conquest ends.

-250BP: Cai Shenhua is born.

-200BP: Cai Shenhua ascends to White at 50, marking her as an extreme anomaly.

-152BP: Cai Shenhua and gathered clans of Emerald Seas demand the Hui duke step down and surrender the capital.

-150BP: Cai Shenhua takes her seat as Duchess.

-43BP, Year 0 of Empress Xiang's Reign: Emperor An ascends and becomes Inexorable Justice. Mu Xiang, descendant of Emperor Mu An ascends to the Dragon Throne as Empress.

-40BP, Year 3 of Empress Xiang's Reign: Sima Jiao retires from his position at the Ministry of Integrity.

-15BP, Year 28, Week 37 of Empress Xiang's Reign: Ling Qi is born to Ling Qingge and an unnamed father.

Present Time
The current era and catalog of most recent events starting with the entrance of Ling Qi into the Argent Sect.

0BP, Year 43, Week 1 of Empress Xiang's Reign: The start of Forge of Destiny. Ling Qi enters the Argent Peak Inner Sect and meets Han Jian, Bai Meizhen and Sun Liling.

Year 43, Week 22 of Empress Xiang's Reign - Zhengui hatches.

Year 43, Week 52 of Empress Xiang's Reign - Exhibition match between Duchess Cai Shenhua and Bai Clan Heir Bai Suzhen, marking a potential deeper connection between the Bai and Cai Clans. Ling Qi ascends to the Inner Sect.

Citation
1. [https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/11393484/ World History 101, Part 1. Forge of Destiny.]

2. [https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/11480656/ Historical Timeline. Forge of Destiny.]

3. [https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/posts/9045655/ Year 43, week 24. Forge of Destiny.]