Before Creation

The Before Years were a seemingly endless span of time which existed long, long before even the Divines and most certainly before the world of Sosaria. During the Before Years it is said that there was nothing in existence save for raw mana. The mana, being so dense and powerful, rendered all surroundings bright white with light; yet there was nothing to be seen. There was no beginning, whether or not there was even a present can not be said for certain. All that is known is that millions upon millions of years later, some of the mana began to mutate and shift into anima. These atypical globs of energy, spread all across the known universe with no clear trigger, began to suck in all mana that surrounded them. Hundreds of years passed in the time it took this process to complete, leaving space a now black and empty void. The sole exception being the radiant beings gradually forming from the combining of mana with anima. From the universe's near limitless energy came the Divines at last. Each of their forms, abilities and even personalities differed drastically but they all shared at least one common belief. The universe was unacceptably boring as things stood. The Divines all gathered at the center of their dimension, the Divine Realm. It is here that they each argued not for hour or days, but countless years. The way this new world would work, how large it would be, what they would populate it with and so much more. Every little detail seemed to send the Divines into disarray. It wasn't until Lux, God of Light, took charge of the situation and established that all further decisions would be determined by majority vote. The others, some begrudgingly, agreed to this arrangement and within centuries, the world of Sosaria had finally seen completion. There were no living things as of yet; nothing more than land, mountains, lakes, rivers, oceans and other natural wonders.

Creation of Sosaria

All of the divines quickly populated the world of Sosaria with all manner of beasts and creatures. Even monsters roamed the land, bringing about death and destruction with them. Although this brought about ill will toward Yami by the other divines, she couldn't possibly care less. Even the plant-life was thriving, quickly taking over the vast majority of the landmasses in the world. It took hundreds of years but an equilibrium was inevitably reached. Many species had died out, whereas many others involved into something else entirely. The monsters had formed the most primitive of settlements and lived out their days comfortably with little to stop them from doing as they pleased. Even so, none among them possessed the intelligence to actually challenge the balance of things as they were. Even so, the majority of the divines felt that more would be needed if this world were to prosper and grow.

Children of the Divine

Inspired by the evolution of one of Lux's creatures, an ape-like being, into an advanced and intelligent creature (The First Primian, the other divines raced to create their own advanced life forms. These came about in the categories of Elves, Dwarves, Bestials and Monsters. Lux, however, disagreed with the creation of such life forms. He firmly believed that the natural order should be respected and such should be allowed to evolve freely. The first of the divine "children" to be born were the Demon race, created by Yami in Year 48. They were cruel, violent and invasive but devoutly loyal to their goddess. This only reinforced the sense of urgency the other divines had. In Years 49-100, a series of races were developed by the Divines. Irdenns, Fortians and Holzelves were quickly created by Irden by Year 49. Parvuns, Aurums and Avians introduced to the world by Ripi, God of Wind, by Year 57. By year 62, Altamas (God of Water) had completed the creation of Serpens and Marens. Even Sneg, perhaps the most reserved and shyest of the divines, created the Glacielves and Ingen. Not to be outdone, Yami created the Mondelves followed by the Magna in Year 65. Although the Primians settled in the northern continent had come to evolve into Celerons and Gigans by the Year 62 while in the southern part of the Serenian continent, the Primians who had migrated there had evolved into the Valens by Year 65, Lux still felt that the humans would need help if they were to survive in such a dangerous realm. Thus, he created the Luxelves in Year 70. They were created specifically to counter the creations of Yami, being naturally adept with the Light Element and having almost unparalleled ability to understand and utilize mana. The first order of Luxelves was created and heavily trained, taught from birth that their primary directive would be the protection, guidance and prosperity of the human races. By the Year 83 Fengbao, God of Lightning, finally joined in with his contribution of the Leoni race. Garsas followed suit in the Year 90 with the creation of the Canin and Goblin races. With the rapid civilization, development and ever-growing populations which now settled all across the land, Ripi called together a gathering of the Divines and proposed a new rule: there would be no further creation of races for the time being. Most of the Divines, aside from Yami, agreed with the idea believing it ideal to let things unfold with their creations thus far. Thus, the Era of Creation came to an end in Year 100.

Sosarian Age of Darkness

The Sosarian Age of Darkness is widely referred to by all nations as the half-century in which the most war, destruction and suffering took place. It was a time when most could barely survive the dangerous world and countless settlements were wiped out either by monsters, beasts or even other races and factions. There was minimal technological, magical or societal growth. Everything changed, however, when the first kingdoms began gaining prominence. Their leaders came together and established an international organization, the Adventurer's Guild, to handle all of the monsters, threats and other problems the kingdoms or world might face. Despite being an internationally funded and recognized organization, it was decided to be headquartered in Serenum and has since gained worldwide renown for the sheer number of mighty adventurers amongst their ranks. It is said that the Age of Darkness may have wiped out many races had the Adventurer's Guild not operated so efficiently and effectively. By the year 200, most kingdoms had expanded their naval fleet and completed countless cargo ships to run trade routes. Goods and money were flowing all over, which sent the development of civilizations skyrocketing. A different era was now coming, and quickly.

Establishment of Winter's Keep

Winter's Keep, intended to be an international school for the most magically gifted, was established in the Year 150 after the completion of a lengthy construction process. It was established and funded by not only many of the greatest mages of the time but by several governments as well; namely Serenum, Anemos, Madera, Miesta and Jazira. Although the vast majority of school's staff consist of all manner of elves, anyone from anywhere is permitted to attend the prestigious school so long as they're capable enough to pass the intense entrance exam. In the Year 198 tragedy struck, however, as the Lunarian Kingdom had mobilized their military in an attempt to take the island. The mages of Winter's Keep managed to fend off the invading force for nearly a week before Miestan and Serenian navel fleets arrived and drove off the Lunarian forces. It was then that all of the nations of Sosaria, sans Lunari, gathered together and drafted an agreement. No one would be permitted to set foot within Winter's Keep unless they were staff or student. No nation would ever lay claim to the Keep nor would they ever use their military might or financial wealth to boost the chance of admission for students of their nation. This agreement passed in the Year 200, with the addendum that Miesta and Serenum would take turns sending fleets to patrol the waters surrounding Winter's Keep, in case it ever came under attack again.

Era of Enlightenment

The precise origins of the Era of Enlightenment are difficult to pinpoint but it is generally believed that the kingdom of Serenum and the republic of Yew were responsible for the most prevalent philosophers behind the Enlightenment movement. This movement essentially posed that the right of a ruler to rule depended on the consent of the governed. That a ruler who failed to serve his people was a failure as a ruler and it was the duty of good citizens to rise up and overthrow such rulers. More importantly, this age brought about a wave of equal rights declarations across Sosaria, namely in nations such as Serenum, Yew, Madera and (for the most part, at least) Anemos. Also came a rise in taxes across all of the aforementioned nations, the bulk of which was invested into things such as building roads, expanding navies to protect shipping routes, upgrading and installing critical infrastructure and, last but certainly not least, it funded the first of state-funded facilities with the purpose of educating the young masses on critical subjects and cultivating them to be open-minded and critical thinkers capable of contributing to the technological and magical advancement of their respective nations. By the Year 285, nearly every major city in Sosaria had at least one public school and with the global economy having kicked into full swing, a generation of educated workers would be dearly needed.

Establishment of a Global Currency

While essentially every nation used gold, silver and bronze coins as currency, there was no uniform design or size/weight. This move, spearheaded by Serenum and Madera, proposed that all nations start using a centralized currency to be minted in accordance with the guidelines set out during the meeting. Even though there was now a central currency ("Sosars" as they were referred to), the nations now had the task of convincing all of their people to exchange their old currency for the new currency. They opened stations near just about every city where one could do just that, with the stations being remarkably efficient. By the Year 315, nearly all currency used in Sosaria consisted of Sosars. The value of one Sosar was established as being roughly equal to the value of the gold used to mint it. This made it a solid and robust currency and one that would surely stand the test of time. Sosars can also be smelted down into bars and weighed on a scale for proof of value when it comes to larger purchases.

The War of Sosaria (First Sosarian War)

Year 315 saw the beginnings of a global war between all of the world's powers. Sparked by the attack of a Serenian naval fleet by Lunari (who were fed up with the economic sanctions placed on them by the Serenian Kingdom), in Lunarian waters, the war saw Madera and Anemos quickly side with Serenum whereas Miesta and Jazira opted to side with Lunari. In the beginnings, the majority of the fighting done by naval fleets out at sea but eventually, landing forces made it to shore and the siege of cities across Sosaria begun. The bloody fighting saw cities conquered, albeit temporarily, and hundreds of thousands of troops and civilians alike accounted for the dead. Countless more were wounded or lost everything. The fighting seemed to take place everywhere but primarily near, and within, major cities. It wasn't until Year 369 that Serenum offered a peace deal to Lunari. All territory would remain the same as it was pre-war but the sanctions placed on them would be removed under the stipulation that Lunari pay reparations for all of the damage they caused throughout the war. Lunari begrudgingly agreed and the world was able to move on and begin reconstruction of all that had been laid to waste.

Era of Reconstruction

With the First Sosarian War now over, the Era of Reconstruction had begun. None of the nations, not even the strongest among them, dared to test the beginnings of such a fragile peace; rather, even the strongest lacked the resources and manpower to do so. Every land was falling on hardships and had suffered heavy losses, yet they persevered. Entire cities were rebuilt bigger and better than ever, navies were upgraded and expanded and the World Peace Council was established by the four major powers: Serenum, Lunari, Madera and Anemos. The aforementioned four were considered Core Members, whereas the other nations were simple members. The only difference between the two being that Core Members, if two agreed, could veto any measure the council attempted to pass with no recourse. Moreover, the Core Members were expected to contribute the most in maintaining peace and stability across Sosaria via the most funding and the most manpower. The nation of Lunari, however, felt shafted by the situation entirely. Serenum was extremely close allies with Anemos and even Madera would show clear favor for the Kingdom of the Sun over that of the Moon. This meant that combatting, or even achieving, a veto in the interest of their kingdom would be nigh impossible; and indeed, Lunari's fears were valid as the three major powers spent decades expanding their own influence while minimizing that of Lunari. This did, however, have the unintended consequence of the Member states (Shimaguni, Miesta and Jazira with Yew opting to remain neutral and having no interest in the World Peace Council), who also felt unfairly treated by the new world order, to form tight and long-lasting bonds with Lunari. Each of the four nations even came together, in the year 392, to form their own organization: the Four State Alliance, or FSA for short. The alliance, carefully drafted by the leaders of each nation involved, laid out the foundation for not only close and long-term economic ties between the four but even joint military training, the sharing of military information and technology, as well as even a Mutual Defense Pact. The latter meant that should any of the four, or future, signatories find themselves under attack, unprovoked, all other member states would treat it as an attack on they themselves and respond accordingly. This resulted in an initially gradual rise of tensions throughout the world with member states of both sides trying to secure their economic and military interests. By the year 424, tensions finally reached their boiling point when the Serenian First Naval Fleet mistook the naval vessels of Lunari for regional pirates and showed no mercy. There were few survivors and the vessels destroyed were worth countless Sosars. Even if the story of mistaken identity were true, Lunari demanded reparations.

The Flames of War Flicker Once More

Following the naval fiasco between Serenum and Lunari, the Lunarian King immediately inscribed a letter to be sent to the Serenian Royal Family. The letter demanded reparations in the form of Sosars and Lumber, as well as public acknowledgement and apology for their alleged incompetence. The King of Serenum at the time, a man by the name of Cassius Solaris, refused the terms outright and submitted a counteroffer. There would be no public acknowledgement nor apology and the amount of Sosars he offered were a quarter of what Lunari demanded, the amount of lumber was halved. This counteroffer only served to enrage Lunari, led by its current king: Aleksandr Lunari. He immediately mobilized the entirety of the kingdom's navy and gathered the kingdom's most distinguished generals to plot their course. Several months later, Lunarian naval fleets across the seas began to engage any Serenian vessels in sight, mercantile and private ships were not spared but rather boarded, exterminated and all goods (including the ship) taken back to the continent in the north. In a matter of mere weeks, roughly half of the Serenian navy was either sunk or so damaged repairs could take weeks. Serenum responded swiftly by ordering all Serenian vessels, of all natures, to attack Lunarian vessels on sight and to show no mercy. Privateers particularly took advantage of the situation, exchanging evidence of their feats in destroying navy vessels for vast amounts of Sosars from the Serenian government. Not long after, in the year 426, the first emergency meeting of the World Peace Council was called. There was one issue, however: the nations of Lunari and Shimaguni refused to attend. Those who did, however, were met by a proposition by Serenum: destroy Lunarian naval vessels on sight and sanction all trade with them. While Anemos agreed to the first term and Madera agreed to the second (wishing to remain as neutral as possible in the face of impending war), the remaining nations of Miesta and Jazira rejected the proposals entirely. Regardless, the measures passed and the situation almost immediately spiraled out of control. In the year 448, the nation of Miesta entered the war on the side of Lunari. Jazira followed suit not long after in the year 450. Shimaguni, on the other hand, had already sided with Lunari under the table from the very beginning. By the year 453 the lines were clear, it was the nations of Lunari, Miesta, Jazira and Shimaguni vs the nations of Serenum and Anemos.

The Second Sosarian War Begins

Despite the surprise attack on Serenum's navy, they made rapid use of their numerous ports to quickly produce a navy far larger than anything the kingdom had ever commanded. Taxes were at an all-time high but so was morale among the Serenian people, who were largely ignorant to the finer details of what led to the war or why it was happening. This was the same for essentially every nation's people, however. Despite being vastly outnumbered, Serenum and Anemos were major world powers. While Lunari could stand toe-to-toe with each one individually, the other three of TFA were small and fairly weak nations with the exception of, perhaps, Shimaguni. For what all the aforementioned lacked in naval power, they more than made up for in the overall size and power of their army. Throughout the years of 453-472, nearly all of the battles were purely naval in nature as neither side had managed to place troops on the soil of their enemy. This all changed, however, in the year 473 when the Kingdom of Lunari mobilized the overwhelming majority of their naval assets to dock in Shimaguni and take on as much of the Shimaguni army as their vessels could carry before ferrying them over to the Serenian continent. The FSA believed that if they could only break into the continent and deal enough damage, Anemos would be demoralized and both enemies would surrender. The years 473-475 gave way to a historical event which would forever be remembered as "The Serenian Genocide". While the Lunarian militants were calm, collected and reasonable, those from Shimaguni were comparable to wild beasts and demons, even. They tore through the continent slaughtering, torturing and even raping any human they came across. Entire settlements, villages and even a major Dwarven city by the name of Kolboldor were razed to the ground. Nothing was left behind beyond countless piles of bodies, charred wood and rubble. Not only did this bring about the opposite of the expected reaction, the pure and unrelenting destruction being wreaked in Serenum led the Maderan Congress to reach a near unanimous consensus: they had a moral obligation to aid Serenum militarily. Anemos and Madera both mustered around half of their naval assets and overall forces, sending them to Serenum where they met with the Royal Army (along with the militia of every city in the kingdom that could provide for one). Together, they pushed back the invading forces until, in the year 480, the FSA pulled out of the continent entirely. With Madera now firmly on the side of Serenum and Anemos, Lunari was soon pressured by Miesta and Jazira to reach a peace agreement; Shimaguni, on the other hand, wished to prolong the war until one side was completely and utterly defeated. After around a decade of skirmishes at sea and minor uprisings in most of the nations involved, a meeting was finally arranged in the year 491 by King Alexei Lunari, son of former King Aleksandr. King Sebastian Solaris, son of former king Cassius, agreed to the meeting. Leaders from all eight nations, save for Yew who had somehow maintained complete neutrality throughout the entire fiasco, attended the year-long meeting.

New Peace, and a New Council

With the World Peace Council, and the FSA alike, both failing entirely to prevent escalation to full-blown, world-wide war, the nations of Sosaria sought to redetermine how the council would operate. Each nation would send a single representative, preferably one with the authority to make decisions on the nation's behalf. There would be no distinction between member states this time, as all would have an equal voice and equal vote with no power of veto this time. All measures which received a simple majority of approval (the majority comprising all member states, including those whose representatives may not be present) would be passed and all member states were expected to uphold these measures and agreements. By the year 500, the (now shortened) World Council had been solidified and was faced with its very first task: who was owed what by whom and how things would be handled moving forward. This ended with the nations of Lunari and Shimaguni, in particular, being expected to compensate the most toward Serenum, Anemos and Madera for not only material losses but the countless lives of civilians which were snuffed out or permanently affected. The two nations begrudgingly agreed, however, and the path toward peace seemed inevitable. Each of the nations involved spent decades rebuilding and restructuring in an attempt to mend all of the damage brought about by the war. By the year 521, the Republic of Yew became the next and final nation to join the World Peace Council (despite the objections of the Serenian representative). This now meant all of Sosaria had reached the consensus to participate in and respect the decisions of the new World Peace Council. At least, that was how things seemed for the time being. Both sides of the now past conflict still harbored hostility and grudges towards one another and mostly opted to only deal with those nations which sided with them in the war. The primary exceptions to this being Miesta, Jazira and Madera who prioritized the value of taking part in a global economy as opposed to the pseudo-isolationist policies of the other nations. By the year 548, it seemed that the current peace would last for some time. The economies of the world were slowly recovering and each of the countries were now focusing on internal development of social programs, infrastructure and other responsibilities while slowly scaling down their military might. The prime exception to this, however, was the nation of Shimaguni. Always eager for battle and war, with an unshakeable fixation on all things militant, they continued to invest in the growth and advancement of their military in secret. Whenever pressed by other member states in the WPC, the Shimagunian representative would simply deny all claims and insist that they too were scaling down their military forces.

The Beginning of Global Policies

With the newly established World Council being structured the way that it was, it left very little room for dissatisfaction. Each of the nations, at least for the most part, seemed to agree that the details of the arrangement were fair and reasonable. There would always be times each of the representatives didn't get their way but this was accepted because there were many times that they did. The Council met, for the first time since its establishment, in the year 550. The representatives from each nation took turns offering proposals for not only the prevention of war entirely but to also place limitations on the manner in which it may be conducted should it occur. This series of proposals, debates and voting took place over the course of 54 years. By the year 602, it was decided that military action of any nature, outside of defense, would be outlawed. Any disagreements, which might ordinarily turn to war, would be settled by majority vote amongst the World Council. The targeting, or negligent mass slaughter, of civilians during war was outlawed. Any soldier who surrendered could only be captured rather than killed outright and any form of torture, starvation or otherwise inhumane conditions were forbidden. The presence of naval forces within 200 kilometers of another nation's shores was forbidden. The razing of villages, cities or other settlements was deemed forbidden. Finally, the last policy was that while any nation could match the naval might of the mightiest navy, they could not exceed it. Moreover, the mightiest navy was also not permitted to grow any further unless surpassed. The Council felt that by limiting the naval power of nations, they would limit the possibility of another global war.

Pursuit of the Elemental Orbs

Users of the various elements could feel it in their bones that something was coming in the year 602. By year 604, these feelings were validated. Elemental dungeons suddenly sprung up from the ground below all across Sosaria, filled to the brim with elemental creatures and guardians tasked with defending it. Should one make it all the way to the lowest level of the dungeon (as the extend downward rather than upward) then one will find a portal to the Domain of the dungeon's respective element. Moreover, the location of these dungeons draw in those who are Legendary level with the respective element, revealing its location to them through visions and dreams with the promise of unparalleled elemental power. Thus, the race for this power began as elemental users across Sosaria set out on their respective journeys to find and acquire the elemental orbs, granting them immense elemental power. These orbs may either be used one of two ways. The first way is by absorbing the orb, granting the user a Legendary form centered around, and boosting the power of by one level, the respective element. The second way is by clasping it in one's hand and envisioning a Legendary weapon or magical artifact they desire, which the orb will then take the form of. In the latter case, the weapon or magical artifact may have unique properties and abilities. Furthermore, all attacks dealt using it (of the corresponding element) will have their power boosted by one level.