(all dates by the Imperial Calendar)
| Date | Event |
| -340 | Start of the Nemesis War |
| -20 | End of the Nemesis War |
| -1 | Empress Zin appears before a band of refugees, leads them into space. |
| 0 | Founding of the Sunflow Republic. |
| 2 | Empress Zin makes peace with the troglodytes. |
| 2-200 | First Golden Age of the Republic. Much growth and prosperity. |
| 210 | Undead ships begin raiding the Republic, start of the Undying War. |
| 220 | Empress Zin ambushes the Lost King and imprisons him, end of the Undying War. |
| 220-550 | The Golden Age. Unprecedented growth and military buildup. |
| 551 | Beholder war. Republic nearly destroyed, beholders withdraw and are never seen again. |
| 560-630 | The Republic sinks into a depression after the destruction caused by the Beholder War. |
| 630 | In an effort to end the depression, the Empress begins many programs to revitalize the economy. |
| 645 | Depression is over, Republic's economy fully recovered. |
| 660 | Republic begins to expand and claim another island. |
| 675 | First sunhawk battlecruiser launched from the Arystal shipyards. |
| 695 | Republic seizes an asteroid that has already claimed by the city state of Kzar. |
| 700 | Relations between Kzar & the Republic continue to deteriorate. |
| 710 | In an effort to make peace, Kzar sign a treaty giving Little Stone to the Republic. |
| 712 | The Short War: Kzar and the Republic clash in a quick series of skirmishes. |
| 713 | Short War ends. Republic wins overall, but withdraws its forces from Kzar's frontier. |
| 754 | Troglodytes begin to riot against harsh conditions. |
| 762 | Troglodyte War begins. Troglodytes rise up against their harsh masters. |
| 767 | After a review of the conditions of troglodyte slavery, the Empress makes slavery illegal. |
| 769 | Troglodyte War ends, troglodytes granted civilian status. |
| 775 | Island of Tharken leaves the Republic, attempting to keep their slaves. |
| 776 | Tharken raids Republic ports in search of freed slaves. |
| 777 | Republic retaliates and invades Tharken. The wayward island is defeated in a 6 month campaign. |
| 800-990 | Third Golden Age of the Republic. |
| 998 | Year just ending. |
A thousand years ago, the world of Ethwuld was ravished by a terrible war. Many died, and many more were left homeless. During the height of the dark age that followed the war, a beautiful sorceress appeared to a group of starving humans. She offered them a chance at survival if they would become her followers. Through hard work and dedication, she told them, they could forge a place for themselves and rise to become a great nation. In return, she wanted to be named their Empress. With their only other choice being starvation, the people readily agreed, and thus Zin became the first (and only) Empress of these refugees.
Empress Zin led her people north, through a wasteland controlled by goblins and ogres. Amazingly, the humans managed to avoid the attention of the marauders, a protection apparently granted by their new Empress. She led them to a small cove with two galleons anchored near the shore. These ships, she told them, would carry them to their new home. The ships would not be big enough to carry all, so she would take one third of the people per trip. Those left behind must forage for the food and supplies that they would need in their new home. She would return shortly for the rest of them.
Over the course of a single week, Empress Zin took the refugees into the sky and dropped them off on one of the islands of the Sun's Girdle. The lush island was inhabited by vicious tribes of troglodytes, who proved to be the humans' first enemies. At first, the two races tried to co-exist peacefully. However, the troglodytes tried to exploit the colonists by drawing them into their wars. At first, the colonists were willing to ally with the troglodytes, but eventually tired of the constant warfare. After a generation, their numbers grew to such that the troglodytes, fearing being pushed out by the humans, all turned on them. The war was long and brutal, but after six months of fighting the war was won and the island was the sole property of the humans.
During this time of national infancy, the Empress worked diligently to build a stable government for her people. While the people were tolling at carving farmland from the thick jungles, Empress Zin choose the brightest and strongest of her followers to be the founders of the noble houses of the land. The majority of the laws of the land would be created and decided by these nobles. A council of the leading nobles was formed.
The next two centuries saw the Republic develop from infancy to a fully developed nation. The jungles were pushed back and crops were planted in the rich soil. Swamps were drained to create meadowlands for the purpose of raising cattle of all sorts. As the nobility grew in power, they raised keeps and citadels from which to rule their lands. The towns of Shining Cascades and Pearlport grew into cities as the population grew and prospered. The best and brightest of the people were chosen by agents of the Empress to travel to Shining Cascades to study magic at the feet of the Empress herself. She would teach her people the secrets to the arts of elementalism, which she thought was a superior form of magic. Eventually, after she had trained dozens of anxious magi, she established the University of Shining Cascades, where the magical arts were taught to all prospective magi. Her earliest pupils became teachers of the new generations of magi.
It was during this period of prosperity that the people adapted to their environment as their skins tanned and their fashion styles changed to suit the climate. Through a long process of trial and error, they learned what plants and animals were edible, what could be used for medical purposes, and where they could find mineral wealth. Mines were dug into the sides of mountains in search of the hidden treasures of the island. The first two centuries of the Republic was a time of growth by leaps and bounds.
Sometime during this period of growth and prosperity, Empress Zin cemented her government by creating nine noble houses to aid her in ruling the Republic. Each of these houses was given a vote in an Imperial Senate, who would handle the day to day affairs of the Republic. However, final authority would be the Empress' alone. She would be the undisputed head of the government and ultimate ruler of the Republic.
It was during the third century of the Republic's existence that it was faced with a fight for its survival. The lich known only as the Lost King began a series of raids upon the Republic. It's fleet was huge, probably over one hundred ships. The undead horde nearly destroyed the Republic and reduced it to a graveyard. However, the people rallied behind their Empress and fought back hard against the skeletal horde. The invasion attempt was defeated, and the undead fleet was thrown back. The Lost King did not expect such resistance, and lost well over half his forces without inflicting serious damage to the Republic. He was forced to withdraw to the moons of Chaos to rethink his plans and rebuild his fleet. Unfortunately, the Republic could not pursue the retreating horde because of the small size of its spelljamming fleet. The skeleton ships were equipped with weak helms that were unusable by the Republic, leaving the nation nearly helpless against further raids by the Lost King.
Fortunate was with the Republic, however. The Empress had contacts with the Arcane, who sold her two dozen minor helms. These helms were retrofitted to the small cutters used by the Republic to patrol the coasts. For the next two years, the Republic would learn the hard way the secrets of spelljamming combat and tactics. The two navies clashed in a series of battles across the entire sphere as both tried desperately to gain a decisive advantage. Worst for the Republic was that pirates, taking advantage of the weakened Republic military, raided her ports and her frontier.
The Empress could not let this situation continue for long. The Lost King was pushing her forces, ever so slowly, back to the Girdle and was grinding her fleets to debris. In a desperate gamble, she lured the Lost King near the Republic, where she personally led the fleet that ambushed the lich. As her ships destroyed the skeleton ships, she and her most powerful mages combined their power and imprisoned the Lost King and his lieutenants inside one of the nearby asteroids. Without the Lost King to control them, the skeleton fleet crumbled to dust.
With the Lost King gone, the Republic entered into a period of rebuilding. Top on the list of things to rebuild was the military, which had taken high losses during the Undying War. It was during this time of reconstruction that the Republic first developed a true space navy. A squidship was bought from another sphere to be reverse-engineered by Republic tinkers. A navy of a dozen of these craft was created and put under the command of the Empress herself.
The next three centuries were good for the Republic. It was golden age, when the vast mineral wealth of the island and nearby asteroids were exploited to make many families rich beyond their wildest dreams. The nine noble families established their power over the people during this era as well as dividing the richest lands between themselves. Additionally, they embarked on a military buildup, constructing many castles and fortresses throughout the whole Republic. At least two houses went bankrupt from trying to compete with each other in building more fortresses than they could possibly support.
Many of the people migrated to the underside of the island and began establishing towns and villages there, while many more headed across the Ribbon Ocean to found colonies on the next island down. The Undying War left the people somewhat jaded, so they thought nothing of conquering and enslaving the native troglodytes. The second island of the Republic became known for its plantations worked by troglodyte slaves. By the end of the third century of the Golden Age the population of the Republic was such that a third island had to be conquered and added to the Republic.
At the fourth century anniversary of the Republic, the Empress decided to create a permanent presence in wildspace. A small cluster of tiny asteroids with a common atmosphere was chosen for her visionary city. From her vision the city of Arystal was born. The nine noble houses all joined in the construction of Arystal, each choosing an asteroid from which to place their own towns. At first, the towns were equal in size and duties, but eventually the towns drifted towards specialization. Each of the noble house worked at what it was best at, taking its unique skills into the environment of wildspace.
This unprecedented military buildup would later save the Republic from another deadly foe, an attack from a beholder nation. The attack was unexpected and unprovoked. Where the beholders came from is a mystery even to this day. All that is know is that a horde of beholder ships descended upon the Republic in a series of brutal assaults that bordered on genocidal. Had the military buildups of the prior century not occur, the Republic would have been smashed and destroyed by the deadly eye tyrants. Even so, over half the fleet was left floating dead in space. After a year of bloody war, the beholders withdrew and apparently left for parts unknown. What they were after, or why the left, no one knows, for the Republic was unable to inflict serious damage to them. The withdrawal of the beholders surprised everyone, mainly because they were winning. Worst was news that the Empress had vanished.
In any case, the next seven decades were hard on the Republic. The devastation was crippling to the Republic's economy and military. The whole nation sunk into a deep depression, with everyone suffering. The population decreased for the first time as people avoided having the burden of children. Fields lay fallow for years, and the jungle crept on the borders civilization. After almost three generations of suffering, the Empress returned. She explained to her people that she had been magically teleported away during the height of the Beholder War to a distant sphere, and it took her seven decades to return. She brought with her a small fleet of spelljammers with vast treasures and equipment, which she used to finance programs to ignite the Republic's economy. Within fifteen years, her programs had caused the full recovery of the Republic's economy.
The next few decades were good, but failed to meet the heights the Republic achieved before the Beholder War. This time is noted, however, for the launch of the first Sunhawks by the Hawkwing shipyards. The Empress was impressed by the design and personally endorsed it. The other noble houses took note and contracted the Hawkwings to build them sunhawks for their own personal fleets. Each house averaged three sunhawks at first, but later some houses mothballed parts of their fleets to reduce costs.
The next conflict that the Republic faced was against the nearby city-state of Kzar. The human and dwarvish city was settled by refugees from the Beholder War, several decades earlier. They founded a city not too far from the Republic, where they built a small fleet of spelljammers. The city thrived on trade with other dwarvish ports. Its craftsmen were skilled and numerous, taking riches mined from nearby asteroids and creating stunning works of art. Jewelry was their most common export, but other exports included weapons and shields.
The Republic's relations with Kzar were never good, as the two competed with each other in a number of fields. The Republic was undergoing a time of growth, and began boldly claiming the asteroids that were closest to it. Of these claims, the most important was a small cluster of ten rocks collectively called the Little Stones. However, the dwarves of Kzar had already claimed the asteroids for themselves, and had even established a small base upon the largest asteroid. However, Republic merchants coveted the reputed wealth of the asteroids for themselves, and started up illegal mining operations. A Kzar warship discovered the mine, and shut it down. The miners were either killed or taken prisoner.
When word of the fate of the mine reached the Republic, the merchants were quick to spin the story to cast them in a favorable light. The Kzar were engaged in a war of aggression against peaceful mining operations. The merchants were so convincing that they managed to sell the people of the Republic on the story. There was considerable anger caused by the story, and many civilians started screaming for war. The city of Kzar could not be allowed to continue its attacks on Republic outposts, and its military must be put in its proper place.
In Kzar, the situation was just the opposite. The people were much at ease, as they paid little attention to the growing anger in the Republic. To the Kzar people, their warship merely broke up a simple smuggling operation, not a big deal. They had no idea that the merchants who backed the operation were doing their best to spark a war, nor did they know about the dangerous situation developing in the Republic cities. When the Republic closed its borders to Kzar merchants in 698 Y.P., they were shocked. In 700 Y.P., the city of Kzar reluctantly withdrew its ambassador and began preparing its defenses. For the next decade, the two nations clashed in a series of small skirmishes, neither fully willing to allow the situation to boil into a full-scale war. Instead, the conflict remained a series of heated skirmishes that caused little damage and took few lives.
Kzar took the worst of the skirmishes, loosing many ships and even a spelljammer. The city was taking an even bigger hit financially, as pirates sponsored by the Republic were becoming quite skilled in intercepting and sinking Kzar's trade ships. For Kzar, the Little Rocks were not worth the destruction of its financial future, and in 710, they signed over all rights to the asteroids to the Republic in exchange for a cease-fire. The two nations withdrew their ships from the front.
Unfortunately, the peace that they paid for would not be long lasting. Two years later, Kzar extremists sunk a Republic trade ship in retribution for the loss of their spelljammer five years earlier. The destruction of the trade ship was the last straw for the Republic. When the Republic declared war on Kzar, it was an act to save face. The sinking of the trade ship was a sign of weakness on part of the Republic, and they could not allow it to go unanswered. No matter what may happen next, the Republic's course was set.
In what would become known as the Short War, the Republic fought with and defeated the entire Kzar navy. The city was overmatched from the beginning, and it was a credit to their courage and skill that they managed to hold the Republic at bay for as long as they did. Yet, after a mere eight months, Republic military units were laying siege to the city, and its time was short. However, as the city was on its eve of defeat, the Republic withdrew its forces. Instead, the Republic signed a treaty with the city establishing it as a tributary state of the Republic, yet it would retain some of its independence.
For the next forty years, the Republic enjoyed a period of peace and relative prosperity. However, the peace was only surface deep. Trouble was brewing between the various islands of the Republic over the treatment of troglodyte slaves. The enslavement of troglodytes had always been a part of the Republic since its inception, but it was not particularly liked by most. Some worried that the troglodytes would rise in rebellion, while other, more liberal critics did not care for the harsh treatment that some slave masters gave to their slaves. As a matter of fact, the economic need for slaves had long ago diminished, and only a handful of spiteful taskmasters refused to release their slaves. Indeed, they treated their slaves as prisoners, brutally tormenting them. The harsh conditions became increasingly brutal as the economic need for slaves diminished, and some masters began programs of exterminating the troglodytes for good. In response, many troglodytes began rising up in rebellion against their masters. Most of these rebellions were put down, but some were successful. Frighteningly successful.
Among the rebels was Blackfane, a young troglodyte who slew a cruel taskmaster who nearly whipped his mate to death. Blackfane would become famous for leading the most successful rebellion, freeing over eighty slaves who fled into the wilderness. From these eighty lizards, Blackfane created the core of an army that began an offensive campaign against the taskmasters and the Republic itself. At first, Blackfane's rebellion was scoffed at; a year later, the entire army was mobilized to hunt them down.
For five years, Blackfane waged his campaign against the Republic, scoring numerous victories. His army grew from eighty troglodytes to over five thousand. They caused much destruction, concentrating their efforts on their taskmasters. Inside of five years, they had nearly completely destroyed the slave camps and driven humans out of the wilderness. Unfortunately, disaster struck the rebellion. Blackfane was captured and taken to the Empress for trial and execution. What happened next surprised everyone.
The Empress reviewed Blackfane's case, and after lengthy consideration, she freed Blackfane and all troglodytes throughout the entire Republic. Many where shocked, while many others were delighted. A shaken Blackfane returned to his people and slowly called off the rebellion. It would take him the better part of two years to regain control the troglodyte bands and pulled them from the fronts. When the war finally died down, the Empress gave the troglodytes pardons and civilian status within the Republic. Though the decision was unpopular, it was grudgingly accepted by most.
Unfortunately, not all accepted the freedom of the slaves. Six years after the end of the Troglodyte War, the island of Tharken rebelled. The noble house of Voidragon, which held most of the island, withdrew from the Republic and began enslaving the freed troglodytes. Many were killed in an almost genocidal attack on troglodytes. They were even so bold at to raid Republic ports in an effort to destroy the troglodytes.
This act of defiance and treachery angered the Empress, and she called upon the other noble houses to destroy the wayward house. Despite fierce resistance by Voidragon loyal forces, the house did not long survive. Within eight months of the Empress' call to arms, the house elders were brought before her for judgement. The house elders were called upon to repent, but they merely spat at the Empress. Barely controlling her rage, the Empress ordered that they suffer eternal torture until they died of old age. The elders were taken away for gruesome fates.
Ever since then, life in the Republic has been peaceful. Local problems crop up every once in a while, but overall the last two centuries have been peaceful and prosperous for the Republic. The nation is expanding, while ancient evils are stirring. Heroes are needed throughout the Republic to face these evils or to win land from the wilderness. It is an exciting time to be alive in the Republic.
