Historical Timeline

“From Unity to Fragments: A Complete Chronology”

Dating System: Year 0 = The Shattering
Before: Negative years (-X S.)
After: Positive years (X S.)
S.: “Since Shattering” or “Shattered”

“We measure time from catastrophe. Not birth of civilization, not golden age, not divine creation. Destruction. That defines us.”

Historical Timeline of the Aetherium

Quick Reference

|| Era | Timespan | Key Characteristic | ||—–|———-|——————-| || Terrum Solidus | Ancient to -300 S. | Solid ground, ancient civilizations | || The Apogee | -300 S. to 0 S. | Peak civilization, technological mastery | || The Shattering | Year 0 S. | World breaks, millions die | || Early Aetherium | 0-100 S. | Desperate survival, adaptation | || Middle Period | 100-250 S. | Rebuilding, organization, growth | || Current Age | 250-287 S. | Precarious stability, converging crises |

Terrum Solidus Era (Ancient Past to -300 S.)

Ancient Period (Timeline Unknown)

~-10,000 S.?: Hunter-gatherer societies - Stone tools - Tribal organization - Oral traditions - Cave dwellings

~-5,000 S.?: Agricultural Revolution - Farming developed - Permanent settlements - Population growth - Writing invented

~-3,000 S.?: Classical Civilizations - City-states formed - Empires rose and fell - Philosophy, art, science emerged - Trade networks established

~-500 S.: Pre-Apogee Period - Technology accelerating - Global communication emerging - Population: Millions - Transition beginning

The Transition (-300 S. to -280 S.)

Year -300 S. (approximate): Luminar Council formed - Twelve greatest minds united - Technocracy established - Global governance began - Terrum Solidus era ended - Apogee era began

Year -280 S. (approximate): Astral Geometry discovered - Constellations are conscious (revelation) - Communication possible (breakthrough) - Everything changed (technology, society, religion) - Golden Age began

The Apogee Era (-300 S. to 0 S.)

Early Apogee (-300 S. to -100 S.)

Year -280 S.: Astral Geometry discovered - Constellations communicate with humanity - Star-Readers emerge (priests, scientists) - Technology accelerates (constellation-blessed) - Society transforms (divine partnership)

Year -250 S.: Global unification - Instant communication achieved - Trade networks span world - Cultural exchange flourishes - First era of true global unity

Year -200 S.: Disease elimination begins - Constellation-blessed medicine - Major diseases cured - Lifespan extends to 100+ years - Healthcare universal

Year -150 S.: Peak prosperity - Abundance achieved (needs met universally) - Automation advanced (labor reduced) - Arts flourish (leisure time abundant) - Philosophy deepens (meaning questioned)

Middle Apogee (-100 S. to -50 S.)

Year -100 S.: Universal healthcare announced - Disease will be eliminated (within generation) - Public celebration - Optimism peak - “We’ve conquered death” (premature)

Year -75 S.: Population peak - 50 million (estimated) - Highest in human history - Resources strained (but managed) - Expansion considered (to where?)

Year -50 S.: Reality manipulation research begins - Council’s secret projects - Pushing boundaries (physics, reality itself) - Public unaware (classified) - Warning signs (ignored)

Late Apogee (-50 S. to 0 S.)

Year -45 S.: The Anchoring Project - Attempt to stabilize islands (prevent drift—pre-Shattering equivalent) - Success: Some areas stabilized - Side effect: Reality anomalies begin (3 reported) - Continued despite warnings

Year -30 S.: Anomalies accelerate - 47 reality anomalies reported (up from 3) - Objects phasing through walls - Time distortions - Gravity fluctuations - Council response: “Expected side effects”

Year -20 S.: Apogee Working proposed - Theron Starborn’s vision (ascension ritual) - Council debates (months of discussion) - Nexus Spire construction begins - Public anticipation (historic moment)

Year -15 S.: Council crisis - Three members object (Kael, Mara, Salis) - Vote: 9-3 (proceed with Working) - Two resign (Kael, Salis—unprecedented) - One stays reluctantly (Mara) - Public concern growing

Year -10 S.: Star-Reader recruitment - 300+ best Star-Readers selected - Training begins (intensive, years-long) - Volunteers (honor, duty, faith) - Many will die (they know)

Year -5 S.: Public protests - 10,000+ people demand halt - Reality visibly unstable - Council reassures (everything is safe) - Experiments accelerate (racing toward goal) - Trust eroding

Year -1 S.: Final preparations - Nexus Spire complete (10km tower) - Star-Readers trained (ready) - Constellation alignment calculated (Day 1, Year 0) - Council committed (point of no return) - World watches (anticipation, dread)

Year 0 S., Day 1-7: The Ritual - Continuous chanting (7 days, no breaks) - Energy building (witnesses feel it) - Reality bending (visible) - Something happening (but what?)

Year 0 S., Day 8, Dawn: The Shattering - Sun turns black - Stars scream - Ground cracks - World shatters - Millions die - Apogee ends

Post-Shattering Era (0 S. to Present)

Year 0-10 S.: The Die-Off

Year 0 S.: The Shattering - Day 8: World breaks - Population: 10-50 million → 2-5 million (90%+ dead instantly or soon after) - Chaos: Total (no governance, no communication, no understanding) - Survivors: Scattered on fragments, isolated, terrified

Year 1 S.: The Silence - Constellations invisible (first year) - Only luminous void (terrifying) - Starvation (food systems destroyed) - Falls (edges are fatal, learned hard way) - Despair (many suicides)

Year 2 S.: Constellations return - Reappear in Aether-sky (but wrong, twisted) - Star-Readers attempt contact (mostly fail) - Hope rekindled (maybe gods still care) - Population: ~3 million (still declining)

Year 5 S.: First Aether-Currents discovered - Invisible flows (navigation possible) - Airship development (primitive) - Islands can be reached (theoretically) - Many deaths (trial and error)

Year 10 S.: Population stabilizes - ~3 million (decline slowing) - Agriculture reestablished (some islands) - Settlements forming (safety in numbers) - Survival possible (not assured, but conceivable)

Year 10-30 S.: Learning to Survive

Year 12 S.: First flight attempt - Wooden platform, fabric sails - Crashed immediately (deaths) - Proved: Airships are possible (maybe)

Year 14 S.: First successful inter-island flight - Kael Windborn’s Hope’s Gamble - Reached neighboring island (crashed on landing) - Pilot survived (two crew died) - Proved: Islands can be connected

Year 15 S.: First inter-island contact - Survivors discover: Not alone! - Emotional reunion - Information exchange - Hope renewed - Isolation ending

Year 20 S.: Airships reliable-ish - 50% crash rate (down from 100%) - Regular routes establishing - Trade beginning (food, tools, knowledge) - Communication resuming (slow but functional)

Year 30 S.: Rot first reported - Unknown island (records lost) - “Corruption spreading” (description) - Quarantine attempted (partially successful) - New threat (as if survival wasn’t hard enough)

Year 30-70 S.: Settlement Foundation

Year 35 S.: Proto-Skyport Eos founded - Fragment of pre-Shattering trade city - 50 survivors (initial) - Elder Council governance (democratic) - Largest settlement (eventually)

Year 40 S.: Proto-Ironhold founded - Fragment of pre-Shattering mining city - Rich iron deposits discovered - 30 miners (initial) - Commandant governance (authoritarian) - Second-largest settlement

Year 43 S.: First island consumed by Rot - Unknown island (name lost) - Population: ~200 (all dead or evacuated) - Island dissolved into Aether (completely) - Existential threat recognized

Year 50 S.: Constellation Clergy begins organizing - Scattered Star-Readers unite - Standardizing doctrine - Building chapels - Training new priests - Faith surviving (barely)

Year 60 S.: Common Tongue emerges - Trade language evolving - 70% speak Common Tongue (by this year) - Old languages dying (cultural loss) - Unity forming (linguistic)

Year 67 S.: Salis Voidgazer dies - Former Luminar Council member - Founded Archivists - Preserved knowledge (67 years of work) - Last Council member (Kael died 34 S., Mara died 28 S.)

Year 70-100 S.: Cultural Development

Year 73 S.: The Hollow (Luminara) falls to Rot - Former capital (5 million pre-Shattering) - Now: Most corrupted place in Aetherium - First major city lost - Psychological impact (if capital can fall, anywhere can)

Year 80 S.: Common Tongue dominant - 90% speak Common Tongue - Old Luminar dying (scholarly only) - Linguistic unity achieved - Cultural homogenization beginning

Year 100 S.: First Century Milestone - Population: ~500,000 (stabilized) - Settlements: ~50 known - Trade networks: Established - Humanity: Survived (barely, but survived) - Hope: Possible (future conceivable)

Middle Period (100-250 S.)

Year 100-150 S.: Expansion

Year 105 S.: Black Sky Cartel emerges - Pirates, smugglers organizing - Threat to trade (attacks increasing) - Guild response (mercenary contracts) - Ongoing conflict (continues to present)

Year 120 S.: Sky-Guild formally founded - Loose merchant association → formal organization - Charter established - Membership requirements - Economic power consolidating

Year 134 S.: First Void-Kin reach adulthood - Born in Aetherium (never knew solid ground) - Different perspective (Aether is normal) - Generational divide begins - Cultural tension (elders vs. youth)

Year 142 S.: Eos Riots - Void-Kin demand voting rights - 200+ occupy Market Square (3 days) - Compromise: Voting age set at 18 - First major political action by Void-Kin

Year 150 S.: Ironhold boom begins - Rich iron deposits (discovered) - Mining colony established (200 people) - Rapid growth (1,000 by Year 160, 5,000 by Year 180) - Economic transformation (iron changes everything)

Year 150-200 S.: Organization

Year 156 S.: The Great Schism - Serpent worship declared heresy - Edict of Condemnation issued - Purges begin (3 years of violence) - 500-800 killed or exiled - Religious tolerance ends

Year 165 S.: Guild Charter formalized - Membership standardized - Fee structure established - Arbitration courts created - Monopoly claimed (certain routes)

Year 172 S.: First Guild Wars - Independent merchants vs. Guild - Economic warfare (price-cutting, route blocking) - Occasional violence (sabotage, disappearances) - Guild won (superior resources)

Year 175 S.: Major trade routes established - Eos-Ironhold Run (primary, 3-7 days) - Farming Circuit (food supply, 15-day loop) - Spire Route (scholars, alchemists) - Economy specializing (settlements develop niches)

Year 183 S.: Guild-Master position created - Previously: Council of senior merchants - New system: Single elected leader (10-year terms) - First Guild-Master: Torven Ironhand (ruthless, effective) - Power consolidating

Year 189 S.: Periphery discovered - Edge of known Aetherium - Expeditions sent (few return) - Mysteries deepen (what’s beyond?) - Exploration continues (dangerous)

Year 192 S.: Floating Market established - Fleet of lashed-together airships - Travels trade routes - Neutral ground (all factions welcome) - Rare goods, information exchange

Year 195 S.: Guild Coin introduced - Standardized currency - Backed by Guild resources - Gradually universal (economic pressure) - Replaced barter, local coins

Year 200 S.: Population census - ~300,000 (declining from 500,000 at Year 100) - Rot deaths: Primary cause - Birth rate: Low - Trend: Concerning

Year 200-250 S.: Decline and Adaptation

Year 205 S.: Archivist Rot-tracking report - Systematic data collection - Pattern identified: Accelerating - Projections: Grim (extinction possible) - Report suppressed (too demoralizing)

Year 215 S.: Clearwater consumed - Population: 800 (fishing settlement) - Evacuation: Partial (500 escaped, 300 stayed) - Island dissolved (6 months) - Survivors traumatized

Year 218 S.: Quarantine protocols established - Infected islands isolated (travel banned) - Harsh but effective (prevents spread) - Controversial (condemns those who stayed) - Necessary (no alternative)

Year 223 S.: First post-Shattering novel published - The Last Anchor (romance set during Shattering) - Cultural milestone (art returning) - Popular (widely read) - Hope: Culture surviving

Year 227 S.: Thornspire falls - Population: 1,200 (agricultural settlement) - Warning: Minimal (corruption sudden) - Evacuation: None (too fast) - Largest single loss since The Hollow (Year 73)

Year 234 S.: The Silence begins - Windcrest Island found empty (population 400) - No Rot, no violence, just empty - First Silence event (23 total to date) - More terrifying than Rot (at least Rot is understood)

Year 243 S.: The Old Anchor breaks - Anchored island (stationary 243 years) - Began drifting (no warning) - Population: 50 (farming community) - Entered Aether-Storm (shattered, 23 dead) - Psychological impact: If anchored islands fail, nowhere is safe

Year 250 S.: Population census - ~250,000 (declining) - Rot acceleration noted - Birth rate declining - Trend: Worsening

Current Age (250 S. to Present 287 S.)

The Stable Years (250-270 S.)

Year 251 S.: Archivist extinction projection - Report: Humanity extinct by Year 400 (if trends continue) - Classified (too demoralizing) - Recommendations: Increase births, reduce deaths, expand territory - Implementation: Unknown

Year 260 S.: Drifting Sanctuary founded - Abbot Silas (mysterious founder) - Mobile monastery (healing, refuge) - Neutral ground (all factions welcome) - Humanitarian (free services)

Year 267 S.: Two major events

First Hollow Transformation: - Kael Rotborn (merchant, age 34) - Late-stage Rot corruption - Transformed (conscious, intelligent, no longer human) - Proved: Rot can lead to transcendence (not just death) - Theological crisis

Last Survivor Dies: - Mara Windborn (age 287) - Last person who lived through Shattering - Living connection ended - Now only texts and oral tradition remain

Year 270 S.: Population peak (Current Age) - ~265,000 (highest since Year 200) - Brief growth period - Optimism (cautious) - “Maybe we’ll make it” (common sentiment)

The Crisis Years (270-287 S.)

Year 272 S.: The Brightening - Bishop Vael’s prayer (desperate) - Light constellation visibly brightened (measured) - Divine response? Or stellar flare? - Only thing sustaining Vael’s faith

Year 274 S.: Clearwater consumed (again? Or different island?) - Population: 800 - Rot corruption (2-year warning) - Evacuation: Partial - Loss: Significant

Year 275 S.: Political consolidation

Vask Becomes Commandant: - Theron Vask (age 40) - Youngest Commandant in Ironhold history - Authoritarian (efficiency over freedom) - Ambitious (expansion plans)

Vask-Song Alliance: - Military-economic partnership - Mutual benefit (power consolidation) - Concerning to others (too much power) - Strained (by Year 287)

Year 279 S.: Elara Song elected Guild-Master - Age 33 (youngest ever) - First woman (broke tradition) - Brilliant economist - Ruthless politician - Won by narrow margin

Year 280 S.: Storm-Captain Kiera arrives - From Howling Expanse (Storm-Sailor) - Mysterious (won’t explain why she left) - Independent (refuses Guild, military) - Legendary navigator - Vask suspicious (spy?)

Year 282 S.: Thornspire falls - Population: 1,200 - Rot corruption (sudden) - Evacuation: None (too fast) - Largest loss in decades - Panic (Rot accelerating)

Year 285 S.: Population census - ~185,000 (down from 265,000 in Year 270) - Decline: 80,000 in 15 years - Rate: Accelerating (5,700/year) - Projection: Extinction by Year 400 - Crisis: Undeniable

Year 286 S.: Vask begins war planning - Operation: Purge (Murk invasion) - Goal: Eliminate Rot-Touched - Opposition: Everyone (insane plan) - Status: Planning (hasn’t launched) - Risk: Civil war

Year 287 S.: PRESENT DAY

Population: ~180,000 (declining)

Major Figures: - Elder Mira Thornwell (age 67, secretly Rot-corrupted) - Commandant Theron Vask (age 52, planning war) - Guild-Master Elara Song (age 41, embezzling for expeditions) - Priest Valeria (age 44, faith crisis) - Sister Morrigan (age 38, Rot-Touched evangelist) - Alchemist Kael Greythorn (age 38, mad scientist) - Storm-Captain Kiera Windcaller (age 38, mysterious) - Vex Shadowhand (age 35, Cartel leader) - The Captain (age unknown, identity unknown) - Captain Jorah Ironwind (age 45, legendary pilot)

Crises Converging: - Rot acceleration (5 islands/year) - Divine silence (<5% prayers answered) - Refugee crisis (40,000 displaced) - Political tensions (Vask’s war, Song’s embezzlement) - Economic strain (Guild monopoly, resource scarcity) - Population decline (accelerating) - Faith crisis (gods silent) - Factional maneuvering (everyone preparing)

Outlook: Uncertain - Catastrophe possible (multiple scenarios) - Breakthrough possible (if lucky, wise, united) - Stagnation impossible (too many crises) - Decisions must be made (time running out) - Future: Unwritten

Key Turning Points

1. The Shattering (Year 0 S.)

What: World broke, millions died
Why: Apogee Working failed (or succeeded wrong)
Impact: Everything changed (literally)
Legacy: Defines all history (before/after)

2. Constellations Return (Year 2 S.)

What: Divine beings reappeared (after year of silence)
Why: Unknown (punishment ended? Never left? Other?)
Impact: Hope renewed (gods might still care)
Legacy: Faith survived (but tested)

3. First Successful Flight (Year 14 S.)

What: Kael Windborn reached neighboring island
Why: Necessity (isolation was death sentence)
Impact: Islands could be connected (survival possible)
Legacy: Airship culture (transportation network)

4. Rot Emergence (Year 30 S.)

What: Corruption appeared (or recognized)
Why: Unknown (Shattering consequence? Always existed? Other?)
Impact: New existential threat (ongoing)
Legacy: Defines current era (fight Rot or die)

5. First Century Survival (Year 100 S.)

What: Humanity endured (population stabilized)
Why: Resilience, adaptation, refusal to surrender
Impact: Civilization reestablished (fragile but real)
Legacy: Proof we can survive (if we endured that, we can endure anything)

6. Void-Kin Adulthood (Year 134 S.)

What: First post-Shattering generation reached adulthood
Why: Time (134 years passed)
Impact: Generational divide (different perspectives)
Legacy: Cultural transformation (new identity forming)

7. The Great Schism (Year 156 S.)

What: Serpent worship declared heresy
Why: Glimmering Spire incident (voluntary Rot-infection ritual)
Impact: Religious persecution (3 years of violence)
Legacy: Serpent worship underground (but growing)

8. The Old Anchor Breaks (Year 243 S.)

What: Anchored island began drifting (after 243 years stationary)
Why: Unknown (anchor-magic failed? Constellation blessing withdrawn?)
Impact: Psychological (nowhere is permanently safe)
Legacy: “The Anchor breaks” (metaphor for false security)

9. First Hollow Transformation (Year 267 S.)

What: Kael Rotborn transformed (conscious, intelligent, no longer human)
Why: Late-stage Rot corruption
Impact: Proved Rot can lead to transcendence (not just death)
Legacy: Theological crisis (what is Rot really?)

10. The Convergence (Year 287 S.)

What: Multiple crises simultaneously (Rot, silence, refugees, politics, economics)
Why: Trends converging (inevitable or orchestrated?)
Impact: Humanity’s greatest test since Shattering
Legacy: TBD (we’re living through it)

Population Over Time

Trend: Declining (overall)
Projection: Extinction by Year 400 (if trends continue)
Hope: Trends can change (if we act)

Rot Progression Over Time

Total Islands Lost: ~430 (since Year 0)
Current Rate: 5/year (accelerating)
Projection: Bright Reaches significantly corrupted in 20-30 years

Cultural Milestones

Year 50 S.: Common Tongue emerging
Year 73 S.: First post-Shattering generation reaches elderhood
Year 100 S.: First Century celebration (humanity survived)
Year 134 S.: Void-Kin reach adulthood (generational shift)
Year 156 S.: Great Schism (religious transformation)
Year 223 S.: First post-Shattering novel (The Last Anchor)
Year 267 S.: Last Shattering survivor dies (living memory ends)
Year 287 S.: Present (culture mature, identity established)

Technological Milestones

Year 14 S.: First successful airship flight
Year 20 S.: Airships reliable-ish (50% crash rate)
Year 50 S.: Airships reliable (10% crash rate)
Year 100 S.: Airships safe (2% crash rate)
Year 150 S.: Iron production (Ironhold)
Year 195 S.: Standardized currency (Guild Coin)
Year 287 S.: Airships very safe (<1% crash rate), but no major breakthroughs

Religious Milestones

Year 0-2 S.: Divine Silence (constellations invisible)
Year 2 S.: Constellations return (but distant, ambiguous)
Year 35 S.: Constellation Clergy organizing
Year 50 S.: Clergy formalized (structure, doctrine)
Year 156 S.: Great Schism (Serpent worship banned)
Year 270-287 S.: Divine Silence deepening (prayers rarely answered)
Year 287 S.: Faith crisis (are gods dead?)

In-World Documents

Archivist’s Chronology (Year 285 S.)

Subject: Complete Timeline of Post-Shattering Era

Method: Census records, settlement logs, oral tradition, archaeological evidence

Confidence: High for major events, moderate for dates, low for details

Key Patterns Identified: 1. Population: Declining overall (brief growth 100-134 S. and 260-270 S., otherwise declining) 2. Rot: Accelerating (exponential growth pattern) 3. Technology: Slow improvement (no breakthroughs) 4. Faith: Declining (divine silence increasing) 5. Unity: Fragmenting (factions diverging)

Projection: If trends continue, humanity extinct by Year 400

Hope: Trends can change. We’ve survived 287 years. We’ve endured worse. We might endure this.

Recommendation: Study history. Learn patterns. Avoid past mistakes. Make wise choices.

Personal Note: I’m an Archivist. I study the past. But I live in the present. And the present is terrifying.

History shows: We endure. We adapt. We survive.

But history also shows: Nothing is permanent. Civilizations fall. Species go extinct. Even the ground beneath our feet can shatter.

Will we survive? I don’t know. But I know this: We’ll try. That’s what humans do. We try.

—Chief Archivist Theron Bookbinder, Year 285 S.

Timeline Poem (Popular, Origin Year 200 S.)

Year Zero: World broke,
Year Ten: We learned to fly,
Year Thirty: Rot appeared,
Year Fifty: We organized,
Year Hundred: We survived,
Year Hundred-Fifty: We built,
Year Two Hundred: We declined,
Year Two-Fifty: We endure,
Year Three Hundred: We’ll see.

From millions to thousands to hundreds of thousands,
From solid ground to floating fragments,
From certainty to mystery,
From unity to scattered,
From golden age to desperate survival,
From peak to crater,
From beginning to end to beginning again.

We measure time from catastrophe,
We count years since the world broke,
We remember what was lost,
We honor what survived,
We hope for what might be.

That’s our timeline. That’s our history. That’s us.

Child’s Timeline (Taught in Schools)

Important Dates to Remember:

Year 0: The Shattering (world broke, everything changed) Year 14: First flight (Kael Windborn connected islands) Year 30: Rot appeared (corruption began) Year 35: Skyport Eos founded (our home began) Year 100: First Century (we survived!) Year 134: Void-Kin adults (people like us) Year 156: Great Schism (Serpent worship banned) Year 287: Today (we’re living history)

Lesson: History is what happened. Present is what’s happening. Future is what we make happen. Choose wisely.

Philosopher’s Reflection (Year 287 S.)

Question: What does our timeline tell us?

Answer: We endure. We adapt. We survive. But we decline.

Evidence: - Population: 50 million → 180,000 (99.6% loss) - Territory: Continents → Fragments (90%+ loss) - Knowledge: Vast → Fragmentary (95%+ loss) - Unity: Global → Scattered (complete loss) - Certainty: Absolute → None (total loss)

But Also: - We survived (1% is still millions) - We rebuilt (civilization exists) - We adapted (learned to live in Aether) - We created (new culture, new identity) - We continue (287 years and counting)

Conclusion: Our timeline is decline. But it’s also endurance. Both are true.

We’ve lost almost everything. But we haven’t lost everything. Not yet.

Will we survive another 287 years? I don’t know. But I know we’ll try.

That’s what our timeline teaches: Humans try. Even when it’s hopeless. Especially when it’s hopeless.

We measure time from catastrophe. But we keep measuring. That’s something.

—Philosopher Kael Thoughtweaver, Year 287 S.

Quest Hooks

1. The Timeline Correction: Discover evidence that major historical date is wrong. Correct it (accuracy) or suppress it (stability)? Truth has consequences.

2. The Missing Years: Find records from “lost decade” (Years 45-55 S., poorly documented). What happened? Why are records missing? Conspiracy or chaos?

3. The Prediction: Use timeline patterns to predict future events. Rot acceleration, population decline, political crises. Share predictions or suppress them?

4. The Anniversary: Organize celebration for significant anniversary (100 years since X, 50 years since Y). Honor history, unite community, remember lessons.

5. The Revision: Faction wants to revise history (change narrative, emphasize different events). Stop them (preserve truth) or help them (shape future)?

6. The Oral History: Record oral traditions from elders before they die. Preserve history, fill gaps, race against time.

7. The Pattern: Discover hidden pattern in timeline (cycles, repetitions, predictions). What does it mean? What’s coming next?

8. The Comparison: Compare Aetherium timeline to pre-Shattering (Apogee lasted 300 years, Aetherium is 287 years old). Are we approaching our own catastrophe?

9. The Memorial: Build memorial timeline (physical structure showing all major events). Where? How? Who’s included? Who’s forgotten?

10. The Future: Year 287 is turning point. Decisions made now determine next century. Help make those decisions. Shape timeline. Write history.

Related Topics

• Pre-Shattering Era - Before Year 0
• The Shattering - Year 0, Day 8
• Early Aetherium - Years 0-100
• Middle Period - Years 100-250
• Current Age - Years 250-287
• Luminar Council - Apogee rulers
• Apogee Working - The ritual that broke everything

“We measure time from catastrophe. Not birth of civilization, not golden age, not divine creation. Destruction. That defines us.”
—Common observation

“Our timeline is 287 years of survival. That’s not glorious. That’s not inspiring. But it’s real. And it’s ours.”
—Historian’s summary

“From Year 0 to Year 287: From millions to thousands. From solid ground to floating void. From certainty to mystery. From unity to fragments. From peak to crater. And yet: We endure. That’s our timeline. That’s our story.”
—Archivist’s reflection