Shining Kingdoms

TIMELINE

Circa –5293 ar Earthfall plunges Golarion into the Age of Darkness.

–4987 ar

The dwarves of Tar Taargadth breach the surface of Golarion. and reach the Five Kings Mountains, completing the Quest for Sky.

–4202 ar Gnomes emerge from the First World onto Golarion, particularly in wooded regions such as the Verduran Forest. –1281 ar

First Emperor Taldaris unifies the city-states along the Inner Sea coast to found Taldor.

–318 ar

The dwarves of Tar Taargadth establish Highhelm, the first Sky Citadel.

–4 ar

Qadira and Taldor first come into conflict as their expanding borders overlap.

1 ar

Aroden raises the Isle of Kortos from the Inner Sea and becomes a living god, with Oppara as the initial center of his worship.

1551 ar

The dwarven kingdom of Tar Taargadth falls to a massive assault by orc invaders.

2332 ar

The Prophets of Kalistrade orchestrate the signing of the Kerse Accord, ending 700 years of dwarven civil war and securing independence for the nation of Druma.

2497 ar

The nascent demon lord Treerazer begins his perversion of the Fierani Forest in Kyonin. 2632 ar

Elves return to Kyonin from their refuge of Sovyrian and confront Treerazer.

3827 ar

Taldor’s General Arnisant, hero of the Shining Crusade, defeats the Whispering Tyrant, leading to the Whispering Tyrant’s imprisonment in Gallowspire. 3841 ar

After centuries of conflict, Taldor signs the Treaty of the Wildwood with the druids of the Verduran Forest, establishing peaceful relations. 3980 ar

Droskar’s Crag erupts in the Five Kings Mountains, sparking a long decline that culminates in the dwarves The history of the region known as the Shining Kingdoms is long and storied, most notably as the heart of the once-mighty empire of Taldor. While Taldan influence is still heavy across the region—from ethnicity and language to cultural traditions and even infrastructure—the area was already home to many before Taldor’s Azlanti progenitors settled here. Humans of the Kellid ethnicity, along with elves, dwarves, and gnomes, made their homes here in ages past, and their descendants remain to this day, having witnessed the rise and fall of heroes, empires, and even gods.

Earthfall left its mark on this region, as it did on others. The elves, having some foreknowledge of the disaster, fled through their magical portals called aiudara to the realm of Sovyrian, leaving only a small number behind to eke out a living on the ruined world. It was during this time that the dwarves undertook their Quest for Sky, emerging from their underground homes to found the nation of Tar Taargadth—and driving orcs onto the surface ahead of them. Not long after, gnomes fleeing some unknown terror from the First World arrived via planar portals, settling in this region’s rich, wild woodlands. Only as humanity began to recover from the Age of Darkness did refugees from old Azlanti bloodlines join with local Garundi, Keleshites, and Kellids to carve out homes along the northwestern border of the Inner Sea. Centuries later, First Emperor Taldaris unified these city-states to found what would become Taldor, the largest human empire in Avistan.

The thousands of years since Taldor’s founding have shaped the region in countless ways. When Aroden became a god and raised the Isle of Kortos from the sea, his worship was centered in Taldor’s capitol, Oppara. It was the Taldan Empire that led the Shining Crusade to resist and eventually imprison the Whispering Tyrant. But the empire was not infallible, and over time portions of the empire broke away. Elves returning from Sovyrian reclaimed Kyonin as their own, and the dwarves of the Five Kings Mountains retained their autonomy despite their own internal turmoil. Just how weak the empire had grown was revealed when its western holdings revolted, breaking off to become the empire of Cheliax in a relatively peaceful secession. The death of the god Aroden and the subsequent strife within Cheliax sparked further divisions, as the lands of Galt and Andoran, though partners in their succession from Cheliax and founded on similar philosophies, diverged in practice, with the latter establishing a functioning democracy while the former struggles in perpetual revolution. Even those lands that Taldor managed to retain have seen tremendous change over the centuries, most recently with the crowning of the realm’s first grand princess.