A Brief History of Athas

Here are short descriptions of the major ages leading up to the present. I also have an explanation of the Merchant’s Calendar and tools for calculating the names of the years.

The Blue Age (ended 14,100 years ago)

The blue age is marked by almost endless seas of blue, and a sapphire blue sun in the sky. Halflings are the only intelligent race, and build a great society led by the nature masters. In an attempt to double the capacity of the sea for supporting life, a tragedy creates the brown tide, which contaminates and consumes the seas, ending this age.

The Rebirth (began 14,100 years ago)

While most of the halflings flee the brown tide, the nature masters remain to combat it. Using the power of the Pristine Tower, they destroy the tide, but at great cost. The sun is transformed into a yellow sphere, and most of the sea is destroyed leaving dry land. The halflings who fled become savages, and the nature masters who remained transform themselves into other races to repopulate the world.

The Green Age (began 14,000 years ago)

The new races populate the forests and fertile lands left unharmed by the receding tides. Great civilizations and cities are erected. Psionics develop as the power of this age.

The Time of Magic (began 8,000 years ago)

Rajaat discovers the principles of magic. He publicly teaches preserving magic, while secretly teaching defiling magic. He selects champions who are powerful defilers and psionicists, and uses the Pristine Tower to increase their power. The ritual succeeds but turns the sun crimson, and the world grows hotter.

The Cleansing Wars (began 3,500 years ago)

Rajaat’s champions are sent out into the world to destroy the races created during the rebirth in an attempt to return the world to the Blue age. The champions destroy several races, including gnomes, lizard men, and orcs. However, the champions are human and want the world to be ruled by humans, not returned to the savage halflings as Rajaat desires, so they revolt and banish Rajaat to the Hollow.

The Age of the Sorcerer-Kings (began 2,000 years ago)

The surviving champions become the Sorcerer-Kings and each takes control of a city-state within the Tyr region. They develop godlike powers, including the ability to grant spells to their templars. The world continues to die in the face of ever greater use of defiling magic.