Timeline

Dirtywick's comment on my last blog post made me realize that there are novels set in the Coldlands that I was not aware of. I'll need to read the Sellsword Trilogy to ensure that I keep within the known lore of the realms.

To keep my story organized, I wrote a brief timeline of the events that lead up to "Faithless." Much of this is based on the official chronology given by your friendly neighborhood Wizards of the Coast, but I also found a very impressive timeline elsewhere. The events of Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, including their expansions, are not placed in any precise time period, however, so the year in which "Faithless" occurs is equally fuzzy.

Not all events in the history of the realms are listed here, of course. Only the ones that are meaningful to "Faithless" are here.

All dates in the following chronology are in Dalereckoning (DR).

  • circa -25,000 DR - Death of the god Ulutiu resulting in the formation of the Great Glacier; end of the reign of giants; disappearance of all titans, allegedly because of a curse of the gods

  • 1038 DR - The Great Glacier recedes far enough to expose the Coldlands to habitation

  • 1347 DR - Arrival of Zhengyi the Witch King at Vaasa; start of the Bloodstone Wars

  • 1358 DR - Time of Troubles; Cyric and Midnight (i.e., Mystra) become gods; Mystra kills Myrkul (refs. Shadowdale, Tantras, and Waterdeep)

  • 1359 DR - Defeat of Zhengyi; unification of Damara under King Gareth Dragonsbane

  • 1366 DR - Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle Baenre go to Calimshan, from which they will eventually head for the Coldlands (ref. Servant of the Shard). Note: The year that they arrive at the Coldlands is unknown to me but is probably not too far off.

  • 1368 DR - Kelemvor Lyonsbane ascends to godhood (ref. Prince of Lies)

  • 1371 DR - Cyric goes mad (ref. Crucible: Trial of Cyric the Mad)

  • 1372 to 1373 DR? - Neverwinter Nights 1. Note: Bioware's NWN1 FAQ places the start of the official campaign early in 1372, the Year of Wild Magic. However, some in-game information states that certain magic items were created for the hero of Neverwinter in 1373. It's entirely possible that the official campaign spans the years 1372 to 1373.

  • 1374 to 1375 DR? - Neverwinter Nights 2

  • 1375 to 1376 DR? - Mask of the Betrayer

  • 1377 to 1378 DR? - Faithless


It should be stated that the known history at around -25,000 DR is highly unreliable and may be regarded as nothing more than folklore. For instance, the story of the titans plunging to their death in the Great Sea like oversized lemmings is too silly to be believed. (See page 79 of Faiths and Avatars for the full story.) More likely, when the titans sensed that the reign of giants was soon to end, they all moved to the outer plane Arborea, never to return to Toril. The tale of the Great Glacier forming from the necklace of the dead god Ulutiu sounds equally spurious even for a fantasy setting like the Forgotten Realms. Of course, I could be wrong. Anyhow, those events happened so long ago that it's anybody's guess as to what really happened.

In case I've made errors in the timeline, I'm welcoming all comments for correction.

Comments

dirtywick said…
Heh, sorry to do this to you, but I also recall that book 2, The Rite, of the Year of the Rogue Dragons trilogy takes place partially in the Great Glacier and partially in Vaasa. Dragonsbane and crew makes an appearance. It was an important event for the area, but you could probably go without. I read it recently so the details aren't too fuzzy if you want a summary.

Anyway, the Sellsword Trilogy, particularly the second and third books, have the Dragonsbane crew in them quite a bit, and a lot of info about the area and it's history. I would recommend those, however I didn't read the first so I have no idea what takes place in that.
May 7, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Frank Perez said…
Hey, Dirtywick, I appreciate the information you're giving me. I seem to have difficulty finding The Rite, though. This sounds like it might be important to read, especially as the Year of Rogue Dragons is in 1373 DR. Recent history is never a good thing to miss out on, especially where Dragonsbane and Vaasa are concerned. I hope I find that book soon.
May 7, 2008 at 3:20 PM
dirtywick said…
Yes, I would say what transpires in that book has several major events in the area. I was mistaken earlier, book 3 deals with the Great Glacier.

Amazon should have it. It's still in print.
May 8, 2008 at 1:13 AM
Frank Perez said…
I guess I have no choice but to buy through Amazon.
May 8, 2008 at 5:29 PM
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