History & Timeline
The ages of Astrylis, from the first threads of creation to the arrival of the Azure Light
The history of Astrylis is fragmented — no single civilization remembers the full truth. What follows is the best reconstruction from ancient texts, Council records, and the whispered memories of the Ethereal Web itself.
The Primordial Era
Before magic, before light and shadow, the Three Pillars — primordial forces — structured reality. The Weaver, The Abyss, and The Keeper shaped existence itself. Astrylis is far older than any mortal calendar can measure. What scholars call '6,000 years of history' is merely the remembered record — before that lies unknowable deep time.
The Three Pillars emerge as primordial forces
The Weaver creates the Ethereal Web — the fabric of magic
The Keeper seals away forbidden knowledge
Vey'Khareth, the Fourth Pillar, is sealed for eternity
Earth and Astrylis may have once been connected — different civilizations remember a severance differently, but no single authoritative account survives
The Age of Weaving
The Ethereal Web spreads across Astrylis, magic flows freely, and the first civilizations begin to form. The gods of the Mortal Pantheon emerge and shape mortal worship.
Magic flows freely through the Ethereal Web
First civilizations arise on the continents
Sol'Rathis, Nyxirath, and other deities gain force and followers
The Guardians of Old are created and many races blessed — the Guardians are created, at first believed to protect the balance
The Shattering / Age of Kaelthir
A cosmic catastrophe unfolding across the world. Caelnyxia explodes and its continent shatters into microplate fragments. Khaross the World-Burner is mortally wounded and flies south to die in the Red Sands. The Xan'Therra civilization is wiped out, Shadewalkers scattered, shadow magic forbidden. At the heart of the catastrophe, Kaelthir — a proto-elven runebinder from a family of keepers and archivists of the old runic ways — confronts the cosmic threat behind the collapse. Her sacrifice is the decisive act that ends the Shattering and stabilizes reality. From her sacrifice, a single original artifact forms and immediately splits into four relics: Balance, Knowledge, Innovation, and Sovereignty. The Apex Chamber — already ancient by her time — is activated by her for the last time. Her sacrifice anchors a global ward network across Astrylis. The Äilender lineage is founded — her people take her name afterward: 'Those who descend from light.' The exact nature of what she fought remains unknown in canon. Kaelthir is remembered through ritual, wards, and lineage — legendary but not historical.
Caelnyxia explodes and shatters into microplate fragments
The Crater of Light appears — an arcane scar
Khaross the World-Burner is mortally wounded and flies south to die in the Red Sands, his body becoming the foundation of what will one day be Ash'Khaross
The Xan'Therra civilization is wiped out — the Shadewalkers vanish, scattered or killed
Shadow magic becomes extremely rare and dangerous — its use is forbidden for generations
Kaelthir confronts the cosmic threat behind the Shattering and sacrifices herself — ending the collapse and stabilizing reality
At the moment of her sacrifice, a single original artifact forms and immediately splits into four relics — Balance, Knowledge, Innovation, Sovereignty
The Apex Chamber (already ancient by her time) is activated by Kaelthir for the last time; her sacrifice binds its residual power into the Kaelthir Wards
A global ward network is anchored across Astrylis — Elyndor's white walls, trade routes, the Protector Forest, sanctuaries, and allied-city ceremonial seats
The Äilender lineage is founded — her people take her name afterward, 'Those who descend from light'
The four relics are entrusted to different civilizations across Astrylis as instruments of guardianship
The Age of Kingdoms
The longest remembered era — a time of kingdom-building, cultural divergence, trade expansion, and the flowering of distinct magical traditions across all seven continents. New civilizations rise from the ashes of the Shattering. The Bron'Darin people build a diverse empire in Dhul'Azhar, Central Varnoth — built atop older Xan'Terra ruins. The era ends with the catastrophe of the Last Darkness.
Elyndor established as the elven capital of Eldvaria
Mer'Faldhur Arcane Order founded by dwarven scholars
Solarae rises as the seat of the Sacred Flame Order
Goldspring's gnomish Council of Cogs develops tech-magic
Verdantia becomes the heart of Verdani druidic tradition
Stoneheart established by elemental dwarves
Stormhaven's Thunderyeti monks build their mountain discipline
Steamford's goblin technocracy emerges in Northern Varnoth
The Bron'Darin Kingdom of Dhul'Azhar flourishes in Central Varnoth — one of the last civilizations with a genuine connection to shadow magic
Mystaris endures as the ancient Fae Queendom of Eldvaria, a secluded arcane power built atop ancient ruins
Maelis Arkhanouros founds Nebularcea as a sanctuary for the Spellborn in shattered Caelnyxia — a multi-layered domain of floating crystalline towers, singing gardens, a Hall of Threads, and repurposed ruins, governed by the Arcane Conclave
City of Eternal Dusk and Blood Moon Bastion established in Tenebralis
CoralKeep's underwater civilization flourishes beneath the southern ocean
Port of Sealune becomes the maritime crossroads of Astrylis
Otorongo Ixchel rises as the Jaguar Lords' domain in Southern Varnoth
Trade routes established between continents
The Last Darkness
Vaelorin Shadowrend, a Bron'Darin and the Last Guardian of Old, loses control of his shadow powers. The fertile lands of Dhul'Azhar are consumed by shadow corruption. Gates of darkness open across Astrylis. A cataclysmic sacrifice seals the gates but devastates Central Varnoth — the thriving Bron'Darin empire is destroyed, its lands becoming the forbidden dark dunes, rotten forests, dark swamps, and haunted villages that remain to this day. The Sacred Flame Order uses the catastrophe as justification to declare all shadow magic heresy.
Vaelorin Shadowrend, a Bron'Darin from the Kingdom of Dhul'Azhar, is chosen as a Guardian of Old
A Celestial Being mentors Vaelorin — he becomes a Shadebinder, wielding both shadow and celestial light
Vaelorin's powers spiral beyond control — the fertile lands of Dhul'Azhar are consumed by shadow corruption
Shadow gates open across Astrylis, unleashing the Last Darkness — his family, friends, and people are turned into shadow beasts or lost
Lyriana Starwhisper, an elven priestess of Elyndor and Vaelorin's former lover (not of the Äilender lineage), leads a band of heroes against the darkness
Lyriana reaches Vaelorin's heart with a medallion — reigniting his celestial light and purging the shadows
Vaelorin sacrifices himself in a cataclysmic explosion of light — sealing the gates and cleansing the corruption
Central Varnoth is devastated: rotten forests, dark swamps, destroyed cities, haunted villages, and the dark dunes of Dhul'Azhar — the lost Kingdom of the Bron'Darins
Vaelorin's legacy preserved in the Royal Guard Hall of Heroes — many believe Varnoth remains cursed with deep-rooted darkness
The Age of the Council
In the aftermath of the Last Darkness, the leaders of the relic-bearing peoples form the Council of Elders. The four relics become official thrones of authority. The Aïlender bloodline — descended from Kaelthir herself — heralds the Council. An uneasy peace holds, but the Elders inherit the ritual shell without the full truth of what the relics once were.
The Council of Elders convenes in Elyndor — the four relics become thrones of authority
The Aïlender bloodline heralds the Council, carrying Kaelthir's legacy through the Lady of Dawn ritual
More than 700 years later, Lady Elira becomes Leading Elder
Trade routes established between continents
CoralKeep, Otorongo Ixchel, Verdantia, and many other civilizations join the Council
Tensions rise between unallied factions, independent regions, and enemy lands — the ruling order becomes the Order of Sacred Light
The Arrival
Thomas Kessler, a 17-year-old from Earth, is transported to Astrylis through an azure shard. His arrival sets in motion events that will reshape the balance of the entire world.
Thomas Kessler arrives in Astrylis through an azure shard
Nimh'Riel Aïlender discovers Thomas in the wild
Thomas is brought before the Council of Elders
Ancient Guardian tattoos awaken on Thomas's skin
The quest to understand Thomas's connection to the Ethereal Web begins
This timeline will expand as more ages are revealed across the four tomes of The Ethereal Web saga. Many eras remain lost to time — or deliberately hidden by The Keeper.
Explore the forces that shaped these ages.