Shattered Dynasty Era
“Over four hundred years ago, the bloodiest civil war in Elonian history came to an end. Almost sixty years beforehand, a series of pretenders to the throne attempted to unite the nation. Some claimed to be the descendants of legacies reaching back to the time of the Primeval Kings. Others raised the banners of long-lost dynasties, attempting to resurrect the ideals and beliefs of the past. Historians now call this the period the Shattered Dynasty Era, a time when empires rose and fell in bloody conflict.
Warfare brought suffering, weakening civilizations against unseen horrors. By some accounts, widespread bloodshed and warfare strengthened malefic forces in the world. A few arcanists claim that such evils could very well have been the cause of such strife--yet wherever there is shadow, there is light. The Shattered Dynasty Era was a time when holy warriors roamed the countryside, learning the chants and prayers of the first few Dervishes to drive back the darkness. Paragons speak of a time when gods chose them as a select few: champions who would fight in conflicts more vital than the petty struggles of warring defenders.
The end of the Shattered Dynasty Era offered a time to rebuild. At this turning point in history, Elonians dedicated themselves to the ideal of a nation untroubled by the horrors of war. In 840 DR, long after the exodus of the gods from the world, the modern nation of Elona was born--a union between three provinces that has survived to this day.
After the fall of the Great Dynasty era in 783 DR (583 AE), the Shattered Dynasty Era took place with the start of the Pretender Wars. The Dervish profession was founded during this era. It ended in 840 DR (640 AE) when the last of the "Pretender Kings" fell and the three provinces - Istan, Kourna, and Vabbi - were formed.
