Old Cheliax

TIMELINE

–5293 ar Amid the devastation of Earthfall, three Nidalese horselords discover Zon- Kuthon and accept his bargain of eternal servitude in exchange for their people’s salvation. They become the Black Triune, and Nidal becomes the Midnight Lord’s domain.

1673 ar

Vyre is founded by settlers from Corentyn hoping to escape Taldor’s strictures. 2133 ar

Taldor consolidates several conquered tribes’ territories into the newly recognized province of Isger.

3007 ar

Cheliax’s boundaries are drawn, and it’s formally designated a province of Taldor.

4081 ar

Under Aspex the Even- Tongued, Cheliax declares its independence from Taldor. Andoran, Galt, and Isger are rapidly annexed to the new nation in a series of power grabs collectively dubbed the Even-Tongued Conquest. Cheliax begins to eclipse Taldor as the primary power and cultural influence in Avistan.

4305 ar

Chelish Emperor Haliad III begins the Everwar and orders a Chelish incursion into Nidal.

4338 ar

Under orders from the Black Triune, Nidal surrenders to Cheliax.

4576 ar

The Order of the Rack, first of the Hellknight orders, is founded in Westcrown.

4606 ar

Following Aroden’s death, Cheliax falls into civil war. Molthune and Korvosa secede in the following years. 4640 ar

House Thrune, backed by Nidal and a pact with Hell, emerges victorious from the Chelish Civil War. Queen Abrogail I institutes diabolism across the land, and the Church of Asmodeus is declared Once one of the greatest human empires in Avistan, Cheliax has declined significantly in power and influence over the past century. When the god Aroden died, Cheliax collapsed into social upheaval and, shortly thereafter, civil war. Seeing an opportunity to seize power from chaos, House Thrune, which had long practiced the dark arts of diabolism in secret, entered into an open pact with the powers of Hell. Backed by legions of devils, the house’s own fearsome armies, and the support of shadowcallers from the neighboring land of Nidal, House Thrune stamped out its enemies and claimed the Chelish throne. Following its victory, House Thrune ushered in sweeping changes, reshaping Cheliax into an infernal empire. Today in Cheliax, the official histories are little more than state-sanctioned propaganda, the government runs a merciless and labyrinthine bureaucracy devoted to elevating the ruthless and crushing the weak, and the once-white roses of Egorian now blossom in fields of luxurious, velvety black blossoms.

Yet, for all its insistence on discipline and authority, House Thrune’s rule has not gone unchallenged. The city of Westcrown, in particular, has long been home to subdued dissent and underworld corruption, which came to a head when the Council of Thieves was unmasked and broken roughly a decade ago. Even more recently, two major rebellions—one successful, the other not—dramatically reshaped the balance of power and weakened House Thrune’s grip on the region. Nevertheless, infernal Cheliax remains an immensely wealthy, influential, and well-armed nation, and House Thrune’s rule continues to guide not only its own land, but also the fates of nations beyond its borders. Isger, Nidal, and newly independent Ravounel all bear particularly tight and intricate ties with the devils’ empire.

Devastated by years of bitter warfare following centuries of exploitative, near-colonial rule, Isger remains a subordinate thrall to Cheliax. Its government is kept on a short leash and granted little agency to chart its own course. Out in the hinterlands, however, far from House Thrune’s watchful eye, some Isgeri towns are developing their own unlikely alliances to survive.

The shadowy nation of Nidal also counts itself an ally to Cheliax, but its position is nearly opposite Isger’s. Steeped in millennia of sinister magic and the cruel religion of Zon-Kuthon, Nidal does not consider itself a vassal, but rather a close and valued advisor to a like-minded friend who could, perhaps, benefit from a little coaxing to become even crueler.

Ravounel, by contrast, broke away from Cheliax several years ago and declared itself an independent nation. Yet even after being formally recognized as a free state, Ravounel has found that it cannot fully escape its former ruler’s influence. Cheliax holds Ravounel pinned against the sea, and the old empire’s economic and diplomatic domination of the region is so complete that despite having supernatural protection against direct military incursion, Ravounel must remain in Cheliax’s good graces to survive. For now, House Thrune seems inclined to accept its former archduchy’s independence as an unfortunate but unchallenged fact, and it has dealt fairly with Ravounel. Yet as many on both sides are well aware, a devil’s mercy is fickle, and its memory long. Should a few delicate circumstances change, Ravounel’s sudden independence might just as suddenly be reversed.