The supplement "Beyond the Prism Pentad" deals with the world up until Free Year 11. Free Year 10, the Year of Friend's Agitation, includes the reappearance of Rajaat, the death of the Dragon and two other sorcerer-kings, as well as the exile of another. A great earthquake rocked the western part of the Tablelands, and Tyr-storms began to boil out of the Cerulean Storm in the Sea of Silt.
With the second boxed set, we cast our eyes both northward and westward, learning of two lost sorcerer-kings and their cities, as well as a sea far to the north, where some lizard men still dwell. To the west, we learned of a vast savanna, where a Kreen empire stood, and halflings, living on the cliffs, using strange, living, devices.
But all of this was the immediate aftermath of the Prism Pentad; the lava under the Cerulean Storm hadn't even cooled. Rise and Fall of a Dragon King told us that Hamanu would soon leave the city of Urik, not to return for a thousand years. The world had changed considerably since the first boxed set.
With this, I have laid out the course of the world in the next King's Age, starting with FY 1, when Kalak was overthrown, and continuing to FY 77, the Year of Desert's Slumber. This is a convenient spread of time for the people of Athas, who treat King's Ages much like we treat centuries. From this point, it is the 191st Kings Age. The heroes from the "Decade of Heroism" that started in FY 1 are dead; even Rkard, born during that decade, is now of venerable age for a mul. Save for some dwarves, most of those who lived in those days are now dead, or similarly aged. It is a time of stories, while life under the dark sun concerns the now.
This is based, in part, on the later supplements of the Dark Sun line; Beyond the Prism Pentad and the revised and expanded boxed set. It is not rules-agnostic, as I reference 2nd edition AD&D levels and, as above, life spans. However, it is very rules-light, with what it there relatively easy to convert into your system of choice. It is organized as a gazeteer, for ease of reference, but with a timeline at the end.
City-States
Balic
Immediately after the battle at Ur-Draxa, the merchant houses of Wavir, Trombaldor, and Rees seized control of the government, each following a different goal for New Balic. Wavir sought a democratic and free Balic. Tromblador sought to reinstate the Dictatorship, with a Tromblador as the Dictator. House Rees viewed the citizenry as their resource, to be used and discarded as they liked for the profit of House Rees. The three were able to cooperate enough to administer the city, but no further than that. With Androponis imprisoned, but not dead, the templars lost much of their power. Those who had spellcasting abilities retained them for the rest of their lives, and they did have control of the treasury and the half-giant troops Androponis had gathered, but as the treasury waned, so did their influence. The deciding factor was the patricians.
In the year of Ral's Agitation (FY 31), the most of the patricians sided with House Wavir in exchange for concessions to Tabaros Wavir's plans. Slavery was officially outlawed, but many arrangements, such as sharecropping and convict labor, kept former slaves in something that was slavery in all but name. Defiling was declared illegal, but those who kept their heads down were mostly ignored, especially if they had powerful patrons to support them. The government became more democratic, with a patrician-controlled Senate, which makes the laws, and the popularly elected Dictator oversees their execution for a five-year reign. The Dictator controls the Templars (still elected on ten-year terms), and thus the courts, and serves as judge in disputes between patricians. In The Year of Ral's Fury (FY 53), the start of the King's Age, the patricians attempted a coup, trying to pass laws to undermine the freedoms of the new age, but popular support quashed it; the patricians maintained much of their power, but it was clear that Balicians would not relinquish their rights.
Tabaros Wavir's vision of a free and fair Balic did not come to pass, but the new system avoids many of the hardships of the old. Free people are largely able to avoid slavery, and preservers can openly live in the city. There is still slavery, though it goes by a different name and the slaves have some protections, if they are able to claim them. The Templars are a combination of police force and bureaucracy, with all that that entails. Houses Trombaldor and Rees have a much reduced presence, moving much of their operations to Altaruk. House Wavir continues to uphold the ideals of democracy, but they cannot bring the entire city under their wing, and independent Guilds strive to control their own workers, rather than let them be influenced by Wavir, who they view as not having their best interests in mind.
Draj
The templars, bereft of their magical powers, initially allied with the masters of the Way, whose power waxed as the templars became functionaries of a quietly psionic-led society. Tectuktitlay's disappearance is portrayed in Draj as an ascension, with the Father of Life leaving behind his son, Atzetuk, to rule. Atzetuk was, in reality, a charismatic and gifted young psionicist, psionically conditioned believe that he was the rightful heir. When the Messenger reappeared in the year of Dragon's Slumber (FY 14), Atzetuk had grown in power, and he began to resist the manipulations of Ixtabai the Blind, whose power had waned with age. He declared that the Dragon was no more; that Tectuktitlay had slain him before his own ascension. Ixtabai was sent to Tectuktitlay, to serve at his side.
Within two years, Azetuk called upon the Moon Priests to carry out his will, and named two as his chief priests... former Templars who had become priests of the paraelements of Rain and Sun. Close to the Sea of Silt, Draj had seen many Tyr-Storms, and so the lure of Rain's destructive renewal of life was well-known, while the merciless Sun's purification of the world through blinding light matched well with Tectuktitlay's warrior traditions. Draj's Templarate, now the Temple of the Sky, is filled with priests of these two para-elements. The Temple of the Moons remains, but is lesser in status, worshiping the ascended Tectuktitlay; Azetuk makes appearances to venerate his father.
Azetuk is older, but still vital, seeming to have discovered a way to resist aging, though none know what it is. What is known is that Azetuk possesses an incredible breadth of psionic power, demonstrating skill as a Telepath, Clairsentient, and Psychometabolist, in addition to less-developed psychokinetic, psychoportive, and metapsionic powers.
Draj continues to gather slaves, both to appease the Temples of the Sky and Moon, and for labor in their fields. Economically, House Wavir's distraction with Balician politics ended its protection of the Dedys Consortium long enough for Tsalaxa to destroy them. Raam's upheaval provided them with desperate markets that needed the fruits of Draj's fields. Hamanu's disappearance provided an excuse to cut ties with House Stel, further weakening their rival. As a result, Tsalaxa is more powerful than ever, wielding the depth of Draj's granaries as a weapon against the starving of other lands.
Eldaarich
Uninvolved in the events in Ur Draxa, Daskinor at first regarded word of them as lies; Rajaat was a long-forgotten foe, until rumors returned the name to his mind. As a result, he spent a decade tormented afresh by fears of his return... ironically, after the return had been thwarted.
In the year of King's Vengeance (FY 27), things changed. Daskinor accepted, for the moment, that Rajaat was not trying to kill him, and settled upon a new enemy: Oronis of Kurn. This was confirmed, in his mind, when a preserver was captured and, under interrogation, revealed that he was sent from Kurn, and the true nature of Oronis and New Kurn.
This shocked him to action, and resulted in the razing of Silt Side and Old Kurn, but Daskinor was unable to pierce the defenses of Fort Protector. He battled against Oronis in skies above Old Kurn, but was laid low by a surprising thing... a heal spell cast upon him by one of his templars. The madness that had gripped him for centuries was dispelled, and the psychic feedback that had kept his people subdued disappeared. Eldraarichians fled in terror from him, and locked the city against him, and the defenses he had made locked him out. His templars were mostly killed in the uprising, save for a few who were outside the city with him.
Eldaarich is now a fortress, rather than a prison; the people live in fear of Daskinor, who continues to assault the city, and all who would follow the trade way north towards Kurn. Within the city, a new method of studying the Way has developed, as no formal study of it was allowed for centuries, as have new religions, based on the appeasement of Silt, Sun, and Rain, rather than their glorification.
Trade is governed by House Azeth, which is now half-military, half trading house. Daskinor remains a threat, with a raider army led by his new templars, but access to the gold and silver of Eldaarich is a powerful draw for the Drajan house of Tsalaxa. Azeth is experimenting with psionic transport; using psychoportive powers like wormhole to appear beyond Daskinor's usual raiding range. It is expensive; few psionicists are able to create or maintain such portals, even in convergence. Azeth has also purchased some silt skimmers, but their capacity is well below what the city needs, and the trip over the Silt Sea is fraught with danger.
Giustenal
In the Year of Priest's Agitation (FY 45), Dregoth launched a war upon the surface, aiming to claim the Pristine Tower, wanting to control its power and use it to become a god. He was blocked first by armies from Nibenay, who were then aided by jugada from Gulg, and soon warriors from Raam, Draj, Tyr, and Urik joined in the fight against him. The war continued for two years, culminating at a battle near the Pristine Tower. Sadira, the Sun Wizard of Tyr, battled Dregoth himself for most of the day. As the day waned, however, she realized that her power as a sun wizard was fading with it. Sadira channeled the last light of the setting sun through her body; the act killed her, but badly wounded Dregoth, forcing the army of Guistenal to retreat.
Though Guistenal was heavily depopulated in the war to claim the Pristine Tower, it is slowly recovering. Sadira's suicide strike destroyed his left arm and wing, so Dregoth has spent the past few decades attempting to rebuild his mangled physical form, without success; even the magic of his templars has been unable to repair the sun-seared limbs.
Fully half the dray perished or were otherwise lost (qv Fort Inix) during the war, many of them templars. The current population stands at around 2000, but more than 200 of those are templars; Dregoth has been the god to the dray since their creation, and finding new priests was no great feat.
Before the war, Dregoth has destroyed the small clan of first generation dray living in Kragmorta; their undead forms were the vanguard of his march to the Tower. Now, only a few first generation dray remain, all born to second-generation dray after the war. These are kept as slaves and breeding stock by the second generation dray; when mated, the two generations are 75% likely to produce second generation dray.
Gulg
After the battle at Ur-Draxa, Lalai-Puy and Nibenay reached a tentative peace; the Oba no longer objects as strenuously to the harvesting of the forest, but Nibenay has pledged to plant two trees for each they remove. The Oba still does not like the removal, but has agreed to the terms, as she knows that Gulg could not resist Nibenay, should the city go to war.
Lalai-Puy viewed the renewal possibilities offered by the Tyr-storms as revelatory; she sought not to be merely the Goddess of Gulg, but of all of Athas, by extending her forest across the globe. After the war against Dregoth, she made a curious choice... she became a druid, whose Spirit is the Forest itself. She cannot turn away from being a Dragon, but has discovered how to free herself from the prohibition of learning new magic. In doing so, she has forsaken her defiling magic, and no longer uses it, lest the Spirit disown her. She purged her defiler corps, reached out to the Veiled Alliance, but kept her templars. The Veiled Alliance has monitored her, and offered some support, but remains skeptical of her change of heart; a dragon cannot, to their mind, change its scales.
With almost thirty years to work and grow, the Oba is now an 11th level druid, with major access to Earth and minor to Air and Water (it's good to be the queen). She continues to use her psionic powers, but has been unable to undo the dragon metamorphosis. She has received word of Oronis's transformation, filtered down from those who escaped the attack on Kurn, but hasn't been able to establish contact (either mental or practical) with Oronis. Oronis, for his part, is observing her through templars and other spies.
House Inika remains the primary trade house of Gulg, but now serves an additional purpose; members in its employ serve to spread the word of Lalai-Puy, the Goddess who will save Athas. In many cases, they are circumspect, but travel with the well-regarded Inika provides safety, and the influence of the House can keep those who are not too obnoxious out of the worst danger. The horror of the Tyr-storms has faded with familiarity, and so the claims that the Oba has preserved the Crescent Forest, and can grow more, receives more attention.
Kurn
After the war with Daskinor, Oronis has let the gates of Fort Protector stay closed; no one walks into or out of the valley of New Kurn. Flight and teleportation, however, are another matter. He had always intended to abandon Old Kurn one day; the attack by Daskinor became that day. It was also the day that his true nature was revealed, but no one but Kurnites knew what it meant for him to appear as an avangion; there are barely even legends of them.
Most of New Kurn is under teleportation denial; Oronis developed a psionic enchantment similar to Forbiddance, of vast area of effect and not requiring consecration. There are only a few areas to where one can teleport, and those require passwords and/or are under guard. Passwords to most areas are issued rarely; more common are teleport keys, single-use teleportation potion fruits that will bring the user to a heavily-guarded teleportation area.
Flight is less restricted, especially as aarokcra visit the valley. Some live there, and fly for a living, keeping watch on the skies above New Kurn.
Kurn maintains almost no contact with the outside world, only sending out a few spies to monitor things in the Tablelands, and with some few still maintaining contact with House Azeth, now of Eldaarich (qv). Oronis wants to help the outside world, but not at the cost of the safety of New Kurn. Because of this isolation, New Kurn has no clerics or druids; templars, loyal to Oronis, are their clerical corps, as preservers have replaced defilers.
Nibenay
Nibenay is still ruled by its Sorcerer-King, but his grip has tightened over the last Age. Immediately after the battle in Ur Draxa, he spent three decades in consideration of his armies. In the year of Priest's Agitation (FY 45), Dregoth's armies emerged from the ruins of Giustenal, his seeming goal to seize the Pristine Tower. Nibenay led his armies against the Dray, and when the war ended in the Year of Dragon's Contemplation, he retained his alliance with Gulg. Aside from that, little has changed in the city of Nibenay. King Nibenay is seeking a form of draconic metamorphosis that will not lead to years of animalistic savagery, but has been unable to find a way that he has confidence in; until then, he dares not advance beyond 24th level.
House Shom maintains much of its influence, but has declined as lavish spending of the last King's Age has caught up to its once-deep coffers. It's tentative hold in Cromlin (qv) is the fastest way from Nibenay or Gulg to the vast food stores of Draj's mud flats, but much of its trade is filtered through House M'ke in Raam. Conversely, they have stepped into the bulk sales that Inika of Gulg has chosen not to pursue, especially agafari wood, and buy much of House Fyra's salt.
Raam
Following the very public death of Abalach-Re, the city shattered into several armed factions, and the civil war continued for two years. Raam, once the most populous city in the Tyr Region, lost half of its population, both to violence and to others fleeing the violence. Part of what fueled the violence was the number of Offspring (the children of Abalach-Re) who claimed the throne, some of whom had their own factions loyal to them. Some templars joined these factions, destroying any chance of the templarate forming a unified bloc. The templars, with little means to recover their influence after raids on the treasury (attributed to both the Night Runners and rogue templars themselves), fell within the first year, and an uneasy tripartite state developed, with the nobles controlling much of the land, House M'ke controlling the guilds and trades, and the Night Runners holding the Elven Quarter.
This collapsed in the year of Enemy's Contemplation (FY 40), after an army from Draj swept through the conveniently-empty elven quarter, leading to pitched battles in the streets. In the aftermath, M'ke made (or forced) a series of advantageous marriages, which led to members of House M'ke controlling a sizable bloc within the noble's areas of control. House M'ke is now the royal house of Raam, and has been for 37 years.
House M'ke is not a traditional royal house; the monarch is appointed by M'ke's leadership, and often steps down in favor of new monarch. There have been four monarchs of House M'ke, only one reign of which was due to an assassination attempt, and that unsuccessful. Other noble houses still exist within the city, but M'ke's wealth and power has not been seriously challenged in twenty years.
The Night Runners control the Elven Market, and have turned it into the Tableland's finest and largest livestock market, and a place to find dirty deeds done at dear cost. The market is overseen by the tribe, but employs many half-elves. They are not acknowledged members of the tribe, but often have the trust of several tribe members. Raam has the largest population of half-elves in the tablelands as a result.
Saragar, the Last Sea
Already separated by great distance from the events of the "Decade of Heroism", and neither the Great Earthquake nor the Tyr Storms had any effect on Saragar and the rest of the region. But that does not mean nothing has changed; the Mind Lords are no more.
In the year of Enemy's Fury (FY 18), Barani had one of her frequent disagreements with Thesik. However, this coincided with Kosveret's instability surging, and he encouraged their argument, even appearing to each of them as the other, inciting more hatred between them. Thesik, enraged as Kosveret-as-Barani taunted him with her lack of love, disintegrated her orb. Kosveret was shocked into lucidity, and Thesik then disintegrated Kosveret, and finally himself; there was nothing more to be done.
This freed the Guardians. Some destroyed themselves, finally free. Others went on psionic rampages, and were destroyed. Many others just slept, still buried. All the things once powered by obsidian orbs now only have a 10% chance of working, and more will break as the years pass. The Seaways broke entirely. Without the Mind Lords, the lawkeepers had a few years of running amok but, without the might of the Mind Lords behind them, devolved into banditry. The smaller settlements protected themselves, and, as time went by, the banditry became less and less.
The Crag Giants, no longer constrained by the Mind Lords, moved from the Lonely Butte to their fabled home in the Thunder Mountains, and the lizard men of Xhenrid declared the entire north side of the sea... all north of the butte... to be their own kingdom. They fought a war against the other two tribes, but with the advantage of a defensive position, the other tribes were eventually convinced to leave them be; it was too expensive to remove them, and not worth it.
But that was sixty years ago.
Saragar itself has a much-shrunken population; barely 10,000 people, all in one portion of the once-great city. With the absence of the Mind Lords, and the depredations of the lawkeepers long in the past, the people turned to the Lawtenders, whose ranks swelled and whose duties expanded, so they now form much of the government; a bureaucracy that attempts to keep the city as it stood for millennia. The lawtenders have frantically maintained the Distillery and water tower, but they do so by their individual psionic efforts, and so the availability of running water is limited.
Sylvandretta remains isolated, but those who were willing to mingle their bloodlines without outside elves have begun to do so, but anonymously; some few ghost elven women have found lovers among the elves of Marnita, and brought their children back, passing them as the child of someone else of the ghost elves. This is not discussed, and there are less than a score that have done so... but, in a population of only 500, twenty is a substantial number.
The other settlements are less pleasant, now; the threat of harmonization is gone, and so what used to be small, tightly pleasant communities, are now more varied. Kharzden is still under the rule of Queen Elakta, and Shallat is still ruled by its Dukes and Duchesses, who still perform water magic. The druids of the Last Sea are still often found on the beach in small cliques, but others have begun exploring the Lonely Butte.
Guardians will awake and rampage anew several times a year, until they are found and destroyed... no one knows how many still sleep. Hundreds? Thousands? Even if only one were made each year, it would be thousands, and all know that more than one was made each year.
With the Border of the Guardians gone, more people have entered into the region. Ssurans have established a trade route through the South Pass, reaching out to Tradenest. Some exit the West Pass to trade with tribes of pterrans on the cliffs; the people of Sahr-tosh, the closest rhulthaun city, still reject contact with outsiders. Recently, the ssurans have been encountering an increasing number of thri-kreen packs on the Scorched Plateau, many of them the dark-chitined J'ez. Several small ssuran parties have gone missing if they go further west than South Pass.
Tyr
In the early days (the second decade of the Free Year calendar), Tyr had a large influx of freed and escaped slaves; many crossed the desert to reach the city where they would be free. 40% of the increase, almost 5000 people, were Raamites fleeing the rivers of blood flowing through that city's streets. The city has more than doubled in size, and now many free farms spread across the valley; regardless, Tyr grows only barely enough to feed its people; it will be decades before the magic-ravaged soils can support life again, and the rare Tyr-storms don't provide enough water to keep rehyrdate the whole valley.
The city of Tyr continues much as it had immediately after the events in Ur-Draxa; the Overcouncil, representing the Free Citizens, the Nobles, the Templars, the Preservers, and the Guilds have become a relatively stable, if highly contentious, government. With the death of Rikus in the Year of King's Slumber (FY 49), none of the heroes still lived, and those who were on the Overcouncil were largely people who had been raised in the freedom after the death of Kalak. The Preservers have largely withdrawn from governance; they maintain a seat on the Overcouncil, but contribute few members to the Council of Advisers. The Raamites remain as a sizable culture within the city, and have begun to demand a seat on the Overcouncil, and in the Council of Advisers. This has led other groups to demand representation; that both Nobles and Preservers have their own seats, but Raamites do not, is seen as injustice, and that they are represented by the "Free Citizens" does not sit well. How can a few advisers, representing the vast majority of the city, address their needs? The Overcouncil is seeking a solution, but the nobles are reluctant to relinquish their share of governmental power. They hold one of five seats on the Overcouncil. How much would they lose if it was one of six? Or seven? Or ten?
The city's iron mines continue to produce ore, and form the basis of the city's prosperity. Tyr's House Vordun was a major merchant power, but have reduced considerably; unable to transition back from Thaxos's dreams of taking Tyr to more conventional trade, and with many of the dummy houses seizing the chaos to become their own minor houses, Vordun is now based out of Fort Amber, and has become, instead, a mercenary force, hiring themselves out as guards, and even armies. Vordun mercenaries have a decent reputation, but have been known to turn against employers when promised spoils didn't materialize, or pay was late. "Every client is one missed payment away from becoming a target" is their well-known, but not publicized, credo.
Instead, the city is served by House Ianto on the northern routes; Urik, Raam, and Draj, while the houses of the Renythi League cover much of the trade with the Ivory Triangle and the Estuary of the Forked Tongue. Ianto and the Overcouncil both support the Renythi League; the combination of cooperation and competition appeal to the new Tyrian way.
Ur Draxa
A King's Age is a long time for a storm to rage, and it has slowed, somewhat, with storms hitting the Tyr region only five or six times a year. However, the caldera of magma that once rendered all the rain into boiling steam has long cooled, and so now it fills with water; the Mind Lords no longer possess the last sea on Athas. Water is beginning to overflow the valley, converting silt to mud flats. It will be the 200th Age before the flats have a chance to reach even the Mountains of the Sun, far out into the Sea of Silt from the Tablelands.
The original inhabitants of Ur Daxa were killed in the disaster, or soon thereafter destroyed by the boiling rain. Now, beneath the surface, live creatures of elemental water and rain, and Tithian has achieved part of his goals; he is now a sort of sorcerer-king, able to grant spells of Rain, Water, and Air to his followers beneath the waves.
Urik
Hamanu left Urik in the year of King's Reverence (FY 16), disappearing beyond Athas to places unknown. Prior to his disappearance, he had closed the city to outsiders; Urik allowed only limited trade, and destroyed those refugees who dared to approach its walls. Like those of Balic, his templars retained their powers until they died, but rather than dilute their own ability, they have sought to join with Earth clerics. In the absence of Hamanu, obsidian is the might of Urik, and care for the Earth keeps Urik strong and well-defended. Earth clerics would, in days past, sacrifice their own life force to power the spells of defilers, but there is now a small group of preservers that work with the templars, who retain control of the city. Officially, the High Templar serves as regent of the city; their acts are carried out in the name of Hamanu, who is still king. The High Templar is served by various important Templars within parts of the city, and the General of the King's Armies has substantial influence but, for now, loyalty to Hamanu is still foremost in their minds. Who knows when the King may return and judge those who held His City in His Name?
Urik is not an open city, but nor is it tightly closed anymore; there is a visitors quarter outside the city, and citizens of Urik may visit it freely. Access to the city by outsiders is heavily restricted, often requiring direct intervention of a Templar. House Stel, once the leading house of the city, has waned considerably; they flourished due to relationships with templars in Raam and Draj, which is a losing proposition, these days... Raam has no one who will still claim to be a Templar, and that eroded their power enough that Draj would rather deal with House M'ke. Instead, the smaller house Klethira has risen to prominence, taking much of the northern trade route from Ogo to Draj, while House Ianto prospers in the trade to and from Tyr.
Smaller Settlements
Altaruk
After the reorganization of the government of Balic in FY 31, Altaruk was invaded by Houses Trombaldor and Rees, seizing it from its then-current leader, and expelling House Wavir. In the intervening decades, Wavir has rebuilt a presence there; it is hard to deny the principle merchant house of a city-state, but the city is still under the joint control of Trombaldor and Rees. Backlash against Wavir's outlawing of defilers (scant though that law is enforced) led to Altaruk developing something of a defiler's market, where components are openly sold, and services openly hired. The defilers wreaked havoc on the giants, such that the town has not been destroyed in the past 20 years. It is now a town of five thousand, and traders from Tyr and Balic still do business there; like it or not, it sits athwart the only land route to the south side of Estuary of the Forked Tongue, save the bridges at Ledopolis.
The Bandit States
Daskinor, formerly of Eldaarich, is the ruler of the Bandit States of the Glowing Desert and Scorpion Plain. He was freed from the madness that gripped him more than 50 years ago, and has since undergone several more transformations; now 25th level, he has entered a new kind of madness... the savage times of a mid-level dragon. He is prone to rages, but can act with lucidity for months at a time. When he rages, he batters himself against the wards he created in Eldaarich, or attacks the gates of New Kurn. When lucid, he wages war within the Glowing Desert, having brought several lesser dragons into his service, and installed them as overlords in the villages which he hopes to grow to cities. Still accompanied by a force of templars (as he is still able to grant them power). Daskinor's chief templars have made a habit of extorting trees of life from the druids of the region... "Create trees of life or I will unleash The Dragon upon your lands" is a powerful coercive, even for high-level druids.
When not gripped with madness, Daskinor wishes to take the fertile lands of Troll Grave Chasm; it's resident defiler was killed some decades ago, but its troll-lord still hunts, aided now by druids who claim different parts of the valley and the old city. They have a community, made up of druids of the chasm, who aid each other should the Dragon come. Daskinor's templars are also looking to the west.. both Wrath and Kel's Lot have been raided by thri-kreen packs numbering in the hundreds in the last year; only the might of their resident dragons, Daskinor's subordinates, kept them at bay. One of those dragons, has turned away from researching further dragon metamorphisis, for now... she seeks the ability to empower her own templars, convinced that Daskinor merely possesses a secret she does not.
Celik
The mercenary city of Celik has undergone several upheavals in over the last Age, most notably an invasion by undead in the Year of Friend's Slumber (FY 21), a subsequent slave revolt in Desert's Defiance (FY 22), a psionic republic that endured between Mountain's Contemplation and Mountain's Agitation (FY 26-59), when it became the domain of the necromancer Gelba, who still rules. Gelba has several enslaved apprentices, and uses them to lead slaves into the ruins, freeing undead from their tombs, and amassing them into an army that... waits. Rank upon rank of undead stand beneath a massive stone structure, shading them from the light. Gelba uses this concentration of undead to power a connection to the Gray; it is said that he has learned of dragons, and wishes to become something more than a mere mortal, something beyond the power of a mere kaisharga. It is unknown what that might be.
Celik, on the edge of the Hinterlands, south of the Ringing Mountains, has seen the packs of thri-kreen exploring their borders. The kreen seem to be taken aback by the vast plains of obsidian less than a hundred miles from Celik; mostly To'ksa, they have been preventing Celik from looking west, lest Gelba draw back a rotting stump instead of the arm he reached out.
Cromlin
Cromlin was destroyed early in the war against Dregoth, but its location on the Sea of Silt was too valuable to remain vacant. Nibenay paid for it to be rebuilt, this time with strong defenses... including defenses against the House Shom's decadence. The Shadow King installed one of his templar-wives to oversee Cromlin, and offered land to select nobles, if they could turn it prosperous. Shom still controls the trade of the city, and the silt-skimmer route to Draj, but High Templar Dreen has executed three factors who failed to meet her standards.
Fort Inix
Fort Inix was taken from House Shom during the days of the war with Dregoth. Following Dregoth's retreat, it became home to dray trapped outside, all of them second generation; the first generation dray were not used in Dregoth's campaign, save as undead fodder. Dregoth, wounded, abandoned them on the surface. Many of the older dray remain loyal to Dregoth, but the younger "third generation", as those born and raised on the surface are termed, have less devotion to their god, and many have wandered. Third generation dray have no penalties in bright light, but receive no bonuses with dray-crafted weapons, nor a bonus to intelligence, as the education of the young has taken a back seat to survival.
The surface dray continue to harass Nibenay, but their numbers (less than 300 second generation, and 100 third generation) render them unable to pose much threat. Dregoth has not removed his gifts from their templars, but no new ones can be made without his consent. Instead, there are some ten to twelve defilers amongst the dray, and seventy of varying psionic ability, from wild talents to psionicists.
Fort Sandol
Once upon a time, there was a dwarf named Pendle. Pendle spent much time at Fort Sandol, first as a slave of House Stel, then, having bought his freedom, making maps. In making these maps, which he did for more than a decade, he realized that Fort Sandol should be more important; that the walk from Silver Springs to Fort Isus would save considerable time if it passed through Fort Sandol. Thus began an idea, which became a focus.
Pendle learned surveying. He learned engineering. And then he began to make a road, eventually attracting a group of dwarves to join in his great work. In the Year of Ral's Vengeance (FY20), the road from Fort Sandol to Fort Isus was completed. In the year of Mountain's Slumber, FY 70, the road from Fort Sandol to Silver Springs was completed. It is a fine road, expertly graded, canyons solidly bridged. This has cut days off of the travel between Tyr and Nibenay.
Urik's closure means that much of House Stel's business in the Tablelands has relocated here. The original fort is now surrounded by a shifting array of tents, anchored to a few stone buildings. It is said that Pendle is now considering new wells, or ways to build an oasis.
Silver Springs
The Silver Hands still hold the Silver Springs, but Toramund, their defiler-leader, is no longer their chief. In FY 33, the tribe awoke to Toramund, and his daughter Torami, dead, and Penthis, a Silver Hand and Water Cleric, claiming to be the chief. Unknown to the tribe, she was backed by her half-elven son, Jorun, who was the Druid of the spring and its environs (and a bard, which comes in very handy when poisoning a chief).
This did not significantly interrupt the Silver Hands' business model; neither Penthis nor Jorun were inclined to change how the spring naturally comes to the surface. The defilers were killed (many by Jorun's poison), and have slowly been replaced by preservers... but all are Silver Hands, through and through.
A half-elf, Jorun was unable to inherit the chieftainship, but did not particularly care, so long as his lands were respected. Penthis has retired, now living with Jorun, and a new water cleric took control (after several contenders had mysterious accidents). The new cleric is K'son, Penthis's apprentice. Jorun has another half-elf as an apprentice in both the arts of a druid and a bard, but has reached the point where he is seldom absent from his guarded lands.
Elven Tribes
The changes in Tablelands culture have had a significant impact on the elven tribes. The improved position of wizards, especially preservers, means that the tribes now have open markets in Tyr and Balic for their spell components, spell books, and enchanted objects; though these are still monitored and marginally controlled, they are far less illegal. The Night Runners have done much the same in Raam, though they're less particular about who they deal with. Draj, Gulg, Nibenay, and Urik remain closed to such trade, however.
Of note, for those who have Elves of Athas, is the fate of the Silt Stalker tribe, which was completely destroyed during the war against Dregoth. The war took place on their home range, and, at first, they thought to profit from it. One strike against a Nibenese supply caravan was enough to discourage that thinking; while they initially escaped with great profit, the retaliation from the armies of Nibenay was overwhelming, with every elf met with two Nibenese warriors. It was a slaughter, and only a few were able to escape, and those faded into the sands, possibly joining other tribes.
Wizards in the 191st King's Age
The social place of defilers and preservers has undergone a significant change over the last age. The City-States of Tyr and Balic openly welcome preservers, and Urik and Gulg have small cadres of them. Defilers are still reviled tools, but are used widely by Raam and Draj, and somewhat sparingly by Nibenay.
Some of this comes from the loss of sorcerer-kings. Firstly, sorcerer-kings no longer execute preservers just for being preservers; indeed, five of the sorcerer-monarchs of the past ages no longer persecute anyone. Secondly, though, is that by removing such powerful defilers from the land, elemental clerics have been able to flourish and, while they may not like preservers much more than any other Athasian, they don't hate them like they do defilers; preservers are not considered de facto enemies by the elemental powers.
This is not to say that wizards are loved or even liked, on Athas. It is still illegal in many places to be a wizard, whether a preserver or a defiler, and while three human generations have passed, the prejudice against them runs deep; for centuries, they were tools of sorcerer-monarchs, and the ring of ash and wrench of pain with each spell cast reminds people that to be a wizard is to borrow, if not steal, from life to power one's own ambition.
The existence of Sadira the Sun Wizard, and the growth of knowledge about power sources such as the Black, the Gray, and the Cerulean Storm is also leading to exploration about other sources of energy... what if wizards didn't need to use plant-life at all? So far, the alternate sources haven't played out; no one has been able to harness the Sun like Sadira did, Ceruleans have called too many Tyr-storms down on their own people, and shadow wizards and necromancers have never been popular. Some have experimented with blood magic, others with attempting to fuel magic with their own psychic potential, but none have hit upon a viable alternative.. yet.
The Veiled Alliance is still active, including in the more open cities like Tyr and Balic. To some extent, this is to support cells in other cities; Raam, Nibenay, and Draj are still hostile to preservers, and the Veiled Alliance serves them. In more open cities, though, some are unconvinced that the current glasnost will continue; they'd rather stay in hiding, prepared for when some new power drives them from the public sphere.
In the wake of the death of The Dragon, other, lesser, dragons have emerged from hiding; some are hundreds of years old, having managed to keep beyond the reach of the sorcerer-kings. Many lived north of the Tyr region, in the vast expanses where the Dragon did not go. None have reached 23rd level, and most are now regents of Daskinor, the Dragon of the North.
Beyond the Ringing Mountains
While Kurn, Eldaarach, and Saragar are beyond the Tyr region, we look now to the Hinterlands, the Jagged Cliffs, and the Crimson Savannah. The halflings of Ogo, who have the most contact with the Tyr region (filtered through Urik) report that much of the Hinterlands are home to Kreen packs, mostly roaming northward from the Great Rift. Rajaat's Curse slowed their infiltration to the Hinterlands, but their short life cycles means that many clutches have been born beyond the swamp, and have now traveled up the Great Rift and into the Hinterlands. They avoid the humid jungles, but the blazing plains to the north call to them. Many of the packs are black-chitined J'ez, to the point where J'ez are making an appearance in the Tyr region, but the To'ksa are well-represented; the Jeral are mostly in the Tablelands. The pterrans have lost the settlements of Pterran Vale and Lost Scale; they were not taken for food (for the most part), but they have fled east, towards the mountains, to where the thri-kreen cannot follow as easily. Most of the Tyr region, however, is unaware of the mass of thri-kreen beyond the Ringing Mountains, even as the Bandit States and Sorched Plateau stare into flat, black, eyes.
The rhul-thaun of the Jagged Cliffs are watching this expansion with trepidation; it is far to the south of all save Thamasku, but the expansion of the kreen has been alarming. Halfling windriders have flocked to Thamasku to monitor the kreen, but they have shown little interest in the Cliffs, now that they have been breached. The Chahn have gained ascendancy in the village of Yihn-tol in the year of Mountain's Defiance (FY 15), with the unique challenges, adventuresome visitors, and absence of lifeshapers allowing them unprecedented freedom. The people still learn the rituals of polite behavior, but forgo them in much of daily life. By contrast, the village of Sahr-tosh has come more firmly under the control of the Sanctuary of the Life-shapers, who have gone further into experimentation; since the year of Enemy's Contemplation (FY40), they have experimented upon captured kreen, seeking to recreate (and improve upon) the mutations created by the zik-chil. The pain these experiments cause is of no matter to the lifeshapers of Sahr-tosh. For every hundred experiments that fail, one will succeed, and these lifeshapers are seeking to revive the art long forgotten.
Timeline
Priest's | Defiance | Free Year 1 | Kalak Dies, Start of Free Year Calendar |
Wind's | Reverence | 2 | Free Tyr wars with Urik |
Dragon's | Agitation | 3 | Sadira becomes a Sun Wizard, Borys is driven away from Tyr and Kled |
Mountain's | Fury | 4 | Quest for the Dark Lens. Avangion Korgunard Slain |
King's | Contemplation | 5 |
|
Silt's | Vengeance | 6 | Githyanki invasion in Black Spine Mountains |
Enemy's | Slumber | 7 | Messenger Fails to appear |
Guthay's | Defiance | 8 |
|
Ral's | Reverence | 9 | Dark Lens recovered, Agis killed by Tithian |
Friend's | Agitation | 10 | Dregoth returns from Outer Planes; Abalach-Re, Borys, Tectuktitlay killed, Androponis and Rajaat reimprisoned; Great Earthquake in Hinterlands |
Desert's | Fury | 11 |
|
Priest's | Contemplation | 12 |
|
Wind's | Vengeance | 13 |
|
Dragon's | Slumber | 14 | Messenger reappears, visible until FY 19; Guthay's Contemplation. |
Mountain's | Defiance | 15 | Chahn gain ascendancy in Yihn-tol |
King's | Reverence | 16 | Disappearance of Hamanu; Azetuk assumes full control of Draj, creating the Sky Temple |
Silt's | Agitation | 17 |
|
Enemy's | Fury | 18 | Destruction of the Mind Lords |
Guthay's | Contemplation | 19 |
|
Ral's | Vengeance | 20 | Road from Fort Sandol to Fort Isus completed. |
Friend's | Slumber | 21 | Celik invaded by undead |
Desert's | Defiance | 22 |
|
Priest's | Reverence | 23 |
|
Wind's | Agitation | 24 |
|
Dragon's | Fury | 25 |
|
Mountain's | Contemplation | 26 | Psionic Repbulic in Celik |
King's | Vengeance | 27 | Daskinor learns of Oronis and Kurn; war against Kurn. Daskinor freed of madness, Eldaarich becomes independent |
Silt's | Slumber | 28 |
|
Enemy's | Defiance | 29 |
|
Guthay's | Reverence | 30 |
|
Ral's | Agitation | 31 | House Wavir gains control of Balic; new government installed |
Friend's | Fury | 32 |
|
Desert's | Contemplation | 33 | Toramund deposed in Silver Springs; Penthis assumes leadership |
Priest's | Vengeance | 34 |
|
Wind's | Slumber | 35 |
|
Dragon's | Defiance | 36 |
|
Mountain's | Reverence | 37 |
|
King's | Agitation | 38 |
|
Silt's | Fury | 39 |
|
Enemy's | Contemplation | 40 | Draj invades Raam, House M'ke controls the city in the aftermath. Lifeshapers of Sahr-Tosh begin experimenting on kreen captives |
Guthay's | Vengeance | 41 |
|
Ral's | Slumber | 42 |
|
Friend's | Defiance | 43 |
|
Desert's | Reverence | 44 |
|
Priest's | Agitation | 45 | Dregoth attacks from Giustenal |
Wind's | Fury | 46 | Dray War with Nibenay |
Dragon's | Contemplation | 47 | Dray War with Nibenay; Sadira dies, Dregoth injured; surface dray at Fort Inix |
Mountain's | Vengeance | 48 |
|
King's | Slumber | 49 | Rikus dies. |
Silt's | Defiance | 50 |
|
Enemy's | Reverence | 51 |
|
Guthay's | Agitation | 52 | Messenger reappears, visible for three years |
Ral's | Fury | 53 | Start of 191st King's Age; noble-led coup in Balic is defeated |
Friend's | Contemplation | 54 |
|
Desert's | Vengeance | 55 |
|
Priest's | Slumber | 56 |
|
Wind's | Defiance | 57 |
|
Dragon's | Reverence | 58 |
|
Mountain's | Agitation | 59 | Fall of Celik Psionic Republic; Gelba the Necromancer takes Celik |
King's | Fury | 60 |
|
Silt's | Contemplation | 61 |
|
Enemy's | Vengeance | 62 |
|
Guthay's | Slumber | 63 |
|
Ral's | Defiance | 64 |
|
Friend's | Reverence | 65 |
|
Desert's | Agitation | 66 |
|
Priest's | Fury | 67 |
|
Wind's | Contemplation | 68 |
|
Dragon's | Vengeance | 69 | Daskinor reaches 25th level, begins time of savagery |
Mountain's | Slumber | 70 | Road from Fort Sandol to Silver Springs completed |
King's | Defiance | 71 |
|
Silt's | Reverence | 72 |
|
Enemy's | Agitation | 73 |
|
Guthay's | Fury | 74 |
|
Ral's | Contemplation | 75 |
|
Friend's | Vengeance | 76 |
|
Desert's | Slumber | 77 |
|
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