The Epochs

The Epochs refers to the History of the Continent of Belenus since Princess Yu'na, Tanrei and the rest of The First Settlers landed on what later became Tanrei Island.

The First Epoch
The First Epoch officially starts with the first known recording of civilization on Belenus - the establishment of the Legacy Rock on Tanrei Island, - 81 KO (Kingdom-O'Sine). 0 KO marks the date the Kingdom of O'sine was established and it dominated much of Belenus for almost 1500 years. The First Epoch ended after a long 50-year struggle called The Rift Curse, in which Maey Rifts opened up across the land, causing mayhem and nearly destroying the entire continent. After the last major Rift was closed, The Academy was established near Legacy Rock and The Second Epoch officially began.

For more detail, see: The First Epoch

The Second Epoch
The Second Epoch begins after the end of the Kingdom of O'sine, the creation of The Academy and the establishment of three new countries based off the party that had put an end to The Rift Curse - Norfolk chief Vali Bogdanovig the Digger became the King of Snovdenoska in the North; Ser Baer Ursynn and Princess Miyosuyi ruled the new country of Grayswallow in the midlands, and Lady Helenyasu formed the kingdom of Helman in the South.

The start date of The Second Epoch begins at the foundation of The Academy, the year count was restarted and history since has been denoted ever since as AE (Academic Era). With the Vei population heavily decimated and no longer in power, it was truly the era of Sunlings, Hael and Norfolk. The first half of The Second Epoch, called the Restoration Period, was relatively peaceful among the new nations.

After 300 years of the Restoration Period came the Expansion Period, in which all three countries set out to conquer previously unknown lands. It was during this time that skirmishes first began. Grayswallow proved particularly adept at war and took control of most of the land. The end of the Second Epoch corresponded with the fall of the Grayswallow Dynasty and the beginning of the Twelve Heir War.

For more detail, see: The Second Epoch

The Third Epoch
The Third Epoch is said to have begun with the Twelve Heir War, which broke apart Grayswallow and dragged in the countries of Snowdenne and Helman as well. The political chaos lasted almost 300 years, only cooling with the signing of the Seven Countries Treaty.

The constant war and needs for better machinery and weapons had the odd effect of giving birth to the Crafter movement, in which several guilds became political forces in their own right. The City of Ere, with its particularly strong Guild representation, was officially recognized as a City State (and thus, the 8th Country), on the 50th anniversary of the signing of The Seven Countries Treaty.

Just a Bloom after that, however, all of Belenus was thrown into disarray once again as a Prince found a way to interrupt Maey flows with new machinations, nearly setting off another Rift Curse-like event. His defeat is sometimes cited as the beginning of The Modern Age, though what really happened to usher in the Modern Age was a philosophical shift in the understanding of Maey because of his Machinations.

For more detail, see: The Third Epoch