Key:
VC: Vale Calendar
Author's Note:
Vale: A valley.
Veil: Something that covers or hides.
Our adventurers live in the Verdant Vale, that is also protected by the Veil of Selune.
Historical Events
VC -8: Voyage from Whiteridge. The Crown Prince is born.
VC -2: Landfall to Crescentia and the Veil falls on the refugees in the Vale.
VC 0: Moonhaven is established.
VC 2: The Great Fires of Moonhaven. Burned more than half of the town down, including the Imperial Manor.
VC 20: Moonhaven repairs are finally completed.
VC 37: Mass migration to other parts of the Vale.
VC 52: Other major settlements are established.
VC 69: Beasts from beyond the Vale begin slipping through the Veil.
VC 85: Trade routes between the settlements are established.
VC 101: Rogue tribes and pirates start attacking trade routes and settlements.
VC 123: The Vale Alliance is constituted, creating a militia called the Vale Wardens (the first Guild). They watch the trade routes and conduct patrols in the settlements.
VC 154: Technological developments in Moonhaven begin, causing the settlement to transition from an agricultural society to a slightly more advanced civilization.
VC 186: The first expedition beyond the Vale is conducted. 25 people left, none returned.
VC 198: The second expedition beyond the Vale is conducted. 54 people left, none returned.
VC 200 (current time): We are preparing for our third expedition beyond the Vale, but on the morning that the expedition team is set to depart, a ripple in the veil is noticed.
The first years flowed under the Veil of Selune. The people of Whiteridge were safe, if not without scars from the trauma of losing their home followed by 6 years of ship travel. Damien’s heir was born on one of those ships - Volatrius the I. A bouncing, healthy baby boy who did much to bring the light back to his mother’s eyes. He was much loved among the refugees aboard his vessel, rechristened mid-voyage as “The People’s Hope.” The Crown Prince’s birth was taken as a sign of hope and new beginnings.
As the Crown Prince grew on the ship, his mother began to keep him more and more to their quarters below decks. They took meals in their cabins, rather than joining the rest of the passengers as she had before. After the first year of the Prince’s life, the Empress declared him too ill for contact with the rest of the ship, and he no longer was brought from the cabin for any reason. And indeed, the year-old prince was very small for his age, scarcely bigger than a newborn babe. The other passengers on the ship began praying for the Prince’s health and vitality.
After making landfall, the refugees came across a devastated castle devoid of all life. Documents and signage labeled the stronghold “Eldergrove”. Perhaps it was once a capital city, a keep, or a small petty warlord’s seat of power. Whatever it once was, it paved the way for the establishment of Moonhaven. The ships on which the refugees arrived were quickly stripped of materials to facilitate the reconstruction and repair of both the keep and the civilization that had once surrounded it. The former citizens of Greenmarch finally had a home again, and all was bliss compared to the onslaught happening in the beyond.
Yet, all was not peaceful.
In VVC 2 (Verdant Vale Calendar), a great fire engulfed the majority of Moonhaven. The fire was extinguished by Selune's grace, but only just in time - much of the new settlement was destroyed in the blaze.
As the smoke settled and stock of the destruction began the people of Moonhaven realized, much to their growing horror, that the Imperial Manor, home of the last descendent of the Imperial bloodline, was destroyed in the flames. There were no signs of either the Empress or the young Prince within the wreckage.
It took years for the new village to recover. Many rumors were whispered about how the Great Fire of Moonhaven happened.
The popular theory is that opposition to the Imperial throne blamed Emperor Damion for the destruction of the world and deemed it their divine cause to rid the world of the Solarian royal bloodline.
Some dared to say that the Empress was a cultist of the Usurper. Even some spouted heresy, claiming that Volatrious was the Usurper reborn and needed to be eliminated. That Selune herself struck them down and their cultist.
With the near destruction of Moonhaven, the loss of their final connection to Selune, and the constant infighting, some people decided to travel within the Vale in hopes of a better future. Many did not survive the trek but, determined, the refugees pressed on and founded three smaller settlements.
All is still fine. A greater community will make us stronger
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