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History of Xelthar & The Empire

1. The Age of Awakening & The Enchantment Age (Pre-Golden Era)​

Long before the rise of the Empire, humanity was fragile, fragmented, and overshadowed by the physically superior ancient races. Human civilization ascended through a series of arcane and martial revolutions led by five historical pioneers (detailed further in Mana & Magic System):

  1. Edward the Wise (The Father of Magic Theory): Using his soot-covered parchment device (Edward's Needle), he etched the first recorded Sine Wave—shattering religious dogma by proving mana is a physical vibration and classifying Mana Waveforms, Elemental Affinities, and Mana Density.
  2. Heimer (The First Enchanter): Discovered Inner Channeling (Heimer's Pulse) and the Focused Veil, turning mana inward to reinforce human muscles, bones, and reflexes—giving birth to Knight Orders and the Age of Dual Paths.
  3. Evelyn (Mother of Magical Steel): Pioneered Elemental Blacksmithing during the Mid-Enchantment Age by infusing molten steel with elemental mana particles.
  4. Alan (The Silent Seer): Formulated Wave Listening (Mana Reading), discovering that a living being's mana shifts with emotion, fear, and killing intent like a heartbeat.
  5. Calion (The Accidental Prophet): On the eve of the Golden Era, the shy red-haired prodigy revolutionized warfare with Castflow Theory (ending long verbal chanting and internal frequency forcing by shaping mana during discharge) and Body-Embrace (stable outer mana shielding). Crucially, the archetype of the Hero was born from Calion's theory; fusing swordsmanship with sorcery was only made possible through his breakthroughs, creating the first true magic-swordsmen.

2. The Golden Era of King Laius (500 Years Ago)​

Armed with Calion's Castflow and Body-Embrace techniques—which allowed frontline warriors to wield blades and instant magic simultaneously—and weaponizing Alan's Mana Reading into Combat Sense, King Laius and his companions ushered in humanity's Golden Era.

  • The First Heroes: The vanguard commanders and warriors of Laius's era were history's very first examples of warriors who harmonized swordplay with instant, chant-less magic—establishing the martial paradigm that later produced the Eight Heroes.
  • Conquest of the Continent: Although humans were physically weaker and slower than the ancient races of Xelthar, Laius read the mana flow and intentions of his foes before their blades or spells could even move—conquering the entire continent.
  • Extermination of the Dwarves: During his campaign, Laius completely exterminated the Dwarves, wiping them out from all of Xelthar after the forging of the greatest weapons.
  • Mass Enslavement & The Bedrock of the Golden Era: Following his conquests, King Laius captured and enslaved the non-human races on an unprecedented scale—including Elves, Giants, Trolls, low-level Demons, and various beast species. Rather than purely imprisoning them, Laius systematically put them to forced labor across imperial villages and agricultural fields. Their monstrous physical endurance powered the Empire's agricultural output, quarries, and infrastructure—establishing the true economic and material foundation that sustained the Golden Era and freed human citizens to advance magic, culture, and conquest.

3. The Ash Era: The Great Rebellion & The Eight Sovereign Realms​

King Laius's triumph ended abruptly when he challenged and fell to the Dragon God, Xyronath. His death plunged the continent into centuries of fire, bloodshed, and collapse—an era remembered in Imperial chronicles as the Ash Era.

  • The Great Rebellion: Fuelled by incandescent fury over generations of brutal enslavement in fields, villages, and quarries, the Elves, Giants, Trolls, and Demons rose in a coordinated continent-wide rebellion, slaughtering human settlements and reducing the Golden Era's grandeur to smoldering ash.
  • The Eight Blades & Sovereign Kingdoms: In humanity's darkest hour, eight extraordinary vanguard warriors took up the Eight Imperial Swords forged under King Laius. Dispersing across the burning continent, each warrior waged brutal wars of survival. In every region they managed to liberate and hold, they established their own independent, fortified sovereign kingdoms—defending their borders against the relentless non-human hordes.
  • Arachne & The Rebirth Period: During the desperate reconstruction of the Ash Era, Arachne (The Weaver of Spirit Silk) discovered how to infuse mana enchantments into spirit-spider silk, replacing heavy, ruined plate armor with lightweight, mana-reactive attire for Heroes and nobles.

4. The Founding of the Empire: Queen Isabella von Aerium & The Covenant of the Eight​

Decades of localized warfare and fragile peace among the eight sovereign realms finally culminated in continental unification under a singular, revered monarch: Queen Isabella von Aerium.

  • Founding of Aerium: Establishing the royal dynasty, Queen Isabella founded the grand imperial capital of Aerium at the exact geographic heart of the continent, creating a centralized seat of justice, law, and defense.
  • The Covenant of the Eight Houses: Recognizing that humanity could never survive if fragmented, the rulers of the eight sovereign realms gathered before Queen Isabella. Laying down their blades, the eight warrior-lords swore sacred oaths of fealty to the Crown. In return, Queen Isabella granted them hereditary governance over their ancestral territories, formalizing the modern Eight Great Families system and transforming their realms into the sovereign States of the Empire.
  • The Holy City & The Rise of the Church: Ancient human religion had long been torn by bitter sectarian divides—divisions King Laius had suppressed by declaring himself both emperor and sole religious leader without ever founding a separate church. In the era following Queen Isabella, the Holy City was founded, initiating decades of monumental cathedral and basilica construction across Xelthar. Unseen, mysterious figures designated as the "Holy Maiden" and "The Holy One" were proclaimed the supreme spiritual leaders. As sermons and parishes spread, the Church transformed into a formidable political leviathan—eventually elevating the Holy Maiden to an authority considered equal in power and sanctity to the King himself.

5. The Wars of the Old Era (Recent Decades)​

In the generation preceding the main story, Heroes such as Zaek Evarard, Vahram Kaelgrin, and Vermis Edevry fought in brutal campaigns:

  • The Elven Wars: Prolonged border wars against the Elves that left veterans like Zaek disillusioned with human greed and propaganda.
  • The Siege of Kirsk & The High Demon: When a High Demon manifested near Kirsk, swarming the surrounding cities with legions of rotting ghouls, Zaek Evarard slew the High Demon—the last time in decades that humanity witnessed the full terror of the ancient races.

6. The Current Era: The Unwanted Legacy (Volumes I–IV)​

Five hundred years after King Laius, peace has bred internal decay within the Empire across a tightly defined chronological timeline (dated in A.G.E — After Golden Era). For full chapter-by-chapter breakdowns and story arcs, see Story Arcs & Volumes:

  • Prologue & Volume I: The Unwanted Legacy (495 & 501 A.G.E): On a rainy full-moon night in 495 A.G.E, Lady Ellyssia Viremont dies giving birth to Aelira Viremont in a secluded cabin; Patriarch Sylas slaughters the witnesses and forces Vivianne and Wilkram to claim the child. Six years later (501 A.G.E), legendary Hero Zaek Evarard accepts six-year-old Aelira as his disciple, she awakens her mana in a single day, defeats Crown Prince Louis at the Imperial Palace in Aeliron, and returns home to find her beloved nanny Lassandra secretly murdered by Vivianne and Wilkram after being framed by Celdric.
  • Volume II: The Heir of Viremont (506 A.G.E): Five years later, Volume II opens with the sea-cremation funeral of Aunt Elda Viremont and the return of Cassian and Lucien Viremont from the Ursus Wall. While Zaek and Vahram Kaelgrin slay a 6-meter Warrior Giant in Kalrid, eleven-year-old Aelira hears the heartbeat call of Nixviel, solo-kills the monstrous bear Isengrim after awakening mana body enchantment, and defeats sixteen-year-old Lysric Viremont in the official succession duel to be named Heir to the Hero of Viremont.
  • Volume III: The City of Flowers & The Balcony of Blood (507 A.G.E): Travelling on foot with Zaek to Oryndel, Aelira masters All-Time Coverage, learns from Lassandra's blind mother Flora that Lassandra never came home, and meets merchant Tobias Herman (inventor of paper banknotes). Ambushed in a gorge by 400 New Elpis mercenaries led by Vael Verborough, they are rescued by Tuluğ Kağan and the Kökbörü nomads, where Aelira learns Mana Reading. Upon returning to Isenvale, Cassian drugs the estate with Widow's Sigh incense and manipulates Lucien into attacking Aelira on Ellyssia's sealed balcony; Lysric sacrifices his life to save Aelira, a remorseful Lucien commits suicide with Nixviel, and Celdric and Cassian are sentenced to exile.
  • Volume IV: The Imperial Shadows & The Old Wolf's Fall (508 A.G.E): Traumatized by Lysric's death and unable to touch Nixviel, Aelira travels with Zaek to Serenthia (securing a loan from Julian Evarard) and Aerium, where she defeats Prince Louis with steel blades (20–3) and infiltrates the Church's favor-brokerage brothel alongside Vermis Edevry. Betrayed by Caelith, Aelira fights and mercy-kills Vergas's brother Rhaen after Vael shoots him with a poisoned arrow. On the return journey along the Imperial Road, Vael, fifty New Elpis killers, and Zaek's former student Rael Evarard (wielding Ireviel) ambush and assassinate Zaek Evarard as he holds the line so Aelira can escape. At her closed-door coronation in Isenvale, Aelira draws Nixviel and swears an oath of vengeance against Vael.