even those who flee to the Empire seeking asylum. Nessian assassins finish the job.

IC 1,126 Seeing a weakened Empire, little response to Nessia's secession, and still stinging from the Church's war on Pagan Heretics, the islands of Thippus and Thessalya secede from the Empire and declare themselves an independent alliance. Again, the Imperium can do little to stop them.

IC 1,146 Goblin Oroth of Divinity begins.

IC 1,150 Emperor Davidus III moves the Imperial Seat to Astoria, where great castles and palaces are being built. He removes the Blacke family as hereditary rulers and offers them lesser noble status. When the Blackes loudly protest and bring their grievances to the Church, they all suddenly and mysteriously fall victim to a deadly, hereditary disease, and cease to be a problem. (It is whispered that a few Blackes survived the purge and went into hiding for generations, developing and sharpening their skills as killers in hopes of one day seeking vengeance upon the Imperial crown. To this day, assassins of any affiliation are referred to as those who practice the "Blacke Arts.")

IC 1,151 The Archmage Elemis publicly disproves and denounces the "Flat Earth Theory," making him a celebrated figure throughout the scholarly world.

IC 1,158 Start of the 3rd Crusade. Within 3 years it ends in horrible defeat and tremendous loss of life, never even reaching the walls of Hax. Cardinal Umberto II orders the Abbey of St. Rose evacuated, magically sealed and concealed from the forces of evil. (The powerful, divine enchantments are so successful that all memory of the existence of St. Rose is lost to mankind for close to the next 300 years, until the magics start to lose power and fade.) Goblin strength in the Grimme grows to an all-time high, and in the week following the defeat of the crusaders, Nine Fists chieftan "Borok Headcutter" sends a message to the emperor which simply reads, "Your children will speak Goblin."

IC 1,160 Imperial forces from the elite Victorius Regiment (infantry & cavalry) successfully defeat a strong, well-planned invasion of the southern coast by Nessian forces. They are supported by the 1st Imperial Marines out of Victorius. Over the next 250+ years, this regiment and the 1st Marines will face and defeat (19) such assaults - each one a miniature war in its own right - and become known as the two fiercest military units in the Imperium.

IC 1,180 - IC 1,190 The same "drying-up" phenomenon which hit Madrigal sweeps across Fertilium, turning the great city of Notrenoc into an abandoned, desert ruin, driving the ruling Spade family into near obscurity, and removing yet another bountiful jewel from the Empire's crown. The responsibility for "feeding the empire" falls to the fertile lands of the Florenta Boot. Iron Tree Estates, no longer a lush plantation, is converted to a remote, feared, Imperial desert prison. The Spade family, their noble status and importance faded, takes up the trade of Prison Wardens as the plantation palace is built into a fortress.

IC 1,220 A furious volcano erupts on Pela, burying the capital of Genova under ash and lava, wiping out the entire civilization. Pela becomes a haunted, untamed place of ghosts, ruins and monsters.

IC 1,226 The Goblins discover Mithril in the Grimme region of Mite.

IC 1,276 Fifty years of mithril production, and centuries of unhampered breeding, training and planning bring Goblin plans of southern invasion to life. The Pass Wars begin at Butcher's Pass, The Chalice and Red Saddle.

IC 1,290 With the Empire's attention on the Passes, and no Imperial help in sight to defend against raiding Nessians, Viletta declares itself a soverign City/State unaffiliated with the empire, and forms treaties with the Thippus/Thessalya Alliance. The empire is yet again powerless to prevent this newest in a long line of secessions.

IC 1,310 The Dwarven Kingdom of Delmharven decides on a strict isolationist policy, ceases all trade with the outside and closes itself off in its mountain realm.