The World of Vaelorin
More than 2000 years ago
The Creation
Before there were lands, forests, or seas, there was only the endless void.
From that darkness came Solaryn, the First Light. With his radiance he kindled the stars, shaped Vaelorin, raised Vaeluna into the heavens, and brought the first dawn to a silent world.
So began the story of Fanmar.
Years 1-500
The First Age
As the world awakened, life began to take root.
From the heart of Vaelorin grew Thiraeille, the great Rootmother, whose vast branches and roots spread life across the land. In time, she gave rise to the first Nymvari, beings born of bloom and light who became the earliest children of the living world.
Deep beneath the surface, in caverns untouched by sun or sky, the Thaloren emerged—stone-born wanderers shaped by the quiet strength of the earth itself.
The arrival of the Veylari remains one of Fanmar’s greatest mysteries. They came upon great ships that appeared along the eastern shores, their origins unknown. Some legends claim they were born of starlight itself, while others whisper of a lost homeland beyond the reach of memory—now swallowed by time, or perhaps never found at all.
Yet this age of wonder would not remain untouched. As the Veylari mastered the art of alchemy, rival houses turned their discoveries into weapons, igniting the Alchemy Wars. The once-vibrant lands of Ennyweir were left scarred by the conflict, and from the Veylari victory rose the city of Silvercrest, marking the dawn of a new era.
Years ~500-1000
The Second Age
With the Alchemy Wars behind them, the peoples of Fanmar turned their eyes toward the horizon. The age that followed became one of exploration, discovery, and new beginnings.
Moved by grief for Aethir Starmind, Vaeluna shed tears upon the world, and from them came the first Fanmarens. As they spread across the land, new villages took root and distant frontiers slowly became home.
Though each people flourished in their own corners of the world, their paths seldom crossed. The Nymvari remained beneath the shelter of Thiraeille's great canopy, while their kin, the Glimkin, traveled east beyond the forest, settling among the open fields of the northeastern lands. The Thaloren delved ever deeper beneath the mountains, and the Veylari continued to shape their coastal realms.
Far to the south, the city of Beulah was founded, giving rise to the people who would bear its name. By the close of the age, the lands of Fanmar had become home to many thriving civilizations, each with its own traditions, ambitions, and stories waiting to be told.
Years ~1000-1500
The Third Age - The Golden Age of Fanmar
The Third Age is remembered as the Golden Age of Fanmar, a time of peace, prosperity, and remarkable achievement.
As the Fanmaren people flourished, Fanmar City rose at the heart of the land, and the foundations of unified governance were first laid through the formation of the Council of Fanmar. What began as gatherings of voices from across the peoples slowly grew into a unifying council, guiding cooperation between once-separated cultures.
In this age, the Republic entered a period of extraordinary growth. Great halls echoed with music and celebration, scholars pursued knowledge across every discipline, artisans refined their crafts to new heights, and trade carried the wealth of Fanmar across distant shores.
Beyond the capital, the Port of Ennyweir remained a modest harbor, yet it became a gathering place for explorers, naturalists, and scholars devoted to understanding the world’s wounded places. Their long efforts to restore the land scarred by the Alchemy Wars eventually led to one of the most important discoveries of the age—the cultivation of the Glowdrop, a luminous bloom whose healing properties brought renewed hope to Ennyweir and beyond.
By the close of the Third Age, Fanmar stood at the height of its harmony—united not by conquest, but by shared purpose, fragile and luminous as the Glowdrop itself.
Year ~1500-1700
The Fourth Age- The Dark Age
The shortest and darkest age in Fanmar’s history, the Fourth Age was marked by upheaval, migration, and the unraveling of a once-unified world.
It began with the Great Sundering, which devastated the continent of Solvar across the Sunreach Sea, forcing both Humans and Bramblefoots to cross the waters in search of refuge. As they settled across Fanmar, early efforts at diplomacy and religious conversion reshaped the cultural landscape of the continent. In response to the growing instability, the Nymvari retreated fully into Thornmere, while the Glimkin vanished from open record, concealing themselves among Bramblefoot communities.
What followed became a second great wartime era. The Crusades erupted as Humans and Veylari aligned against the elemental peoples, fracturing long-standing balances of power. The Fanmarens were believed exterminated, their legacy reduced to rumor and memory. The Battle of Kharok-Vale shattered Thaloren strength, leading to widespread imprisonment and the collapse of their influence across the continent.
The age reached its breaking point with the Second Sundering, when the interaction of Winterglass and Silvarith tore open the great Chasm, forever scarring the land. In its aftermath, Human and Veylari authority rose across Fanmar, marking the end of one world—and the uncertain beginning of another.
Years ~1700-Current
The Fifth Age - Modern Fanmar
From the ruins of the Fourth Age rose a new beginning. The Republic of the People of Fanmar was established, and the Grand Concord became the voice of a nation determined to rebuild. Cities flourished once more, trade returned to the roads and seas, and generations grew up knowing peace where their ancestors had known only war.
Yet much of the old world remained hidden. The Fanmarens endured in secret through the Tidebound resistance, while many Thaloren remained imprisoned within the Mines, with only scattered free communities surviving in Ennyweir and the Ember Isles. The Nymvari faded into legend, and the Glimkin continued to live unseen among the Bramblefoots. Beyond the reach of the Republic, the Smoldering Wake carried on its work from Red Harbor and Dwarves Landing, preserving stories that others sought to forget.
Though the Republic looks toward the future, the echoes of the past have never truly fallen silent. It is in this age that the stories of Fanmar begin.