The Age of Suffering

850 to 1000 PC

Around 850 PC, a darkness fell upon Aabahran that would last for over a century. The Elves revealed a prophecy of a second Cataclysm. The first Brotherhood of Righteousness was established to prepare. Elves and Nexus raced to find the ancient scrolls detailing the prophecy. The skies darkened. The weather turned frigid. Famine and disease swept the land, killing the Duke and Duchess of Shasarazade among countless others. The Brotherhood dwindled into nothing. The Minotaur began to blame the Elves.

The Fall of Shasarazade

Around 900 PC, Prince Zaar usurped his father and led the Minotaur army against Shasarazade. The assault was devastating. Bells rang as the hordes breached the walls. Families scrambled through hidden escape routes beneath their homes. Mothers pulled children from their beds and fought through panicked crowds to reach the gates on horseback. One account tells of Tyllia, a young elf girl whose father stood guard at the western gate so his family could escape. Her mother pushed through the mob, trampling friends and neighbors to reach freedom, only to be struck by a Minotaur arrow moments after clearing the walls. Tyllia took the reins alone and rode through the night. Her father never came.

Shasarazade was destroyed. The Minotaur marched on Rheydin but were defeated and retreated to the Alpines, sealing their mountain home from the outside world.

The Rift of Perdition

Princess Orelinde resumed Elven rule around 930 PC. Rifts spawned across Aabahran. Torments poured from them and ravaged the lands. Malchaeius plotted to exploit the rifts and release Sirant the Black. A second Brotherhood formed. Marks of the Demon were sold for protection from the Torments, but the marks secretly fed power to Malchaeius.

Between 960 and 1000 PC, Malchaeius used the Orb of Yaegar to create the Rift of Perdition. The hero Aelleor, supported by others, used the Orb of the Lunar Mistresses to destroy it. Anume and her followers turned against Malchaeius and lent their power to the effort. The rift was destroyed. Sirant the Black never returned. Warmth came back to Aabahran.

The Elven Kingdom was rebuilt. Princess Orelinde became Queen of the Elves. The Minotaur reopened their gates and revealed the new city of Minoma under King Mahn Zaar.