CHRISTOTÉ


Timeline

955:         The "Twin Strike" against the Erish Empire. Tars Tukas' forces push north-west from Zabrial as the Noriscans attack the Erish from the other side of Teraf. A host of local uprisings are sparked off by the Strike.

957:        Yaleth, then capital of Dorlaf, is captured from the Erish; massacre of Erish troops and civilians in Bhundu Hall.

958:        Victory at Aldanse in western Elsey effectively ends Erish control over the whole of eastern Teraf.  Gesund rebels against the Erish, supported by Dorlaf, Notruf and Elsey.

963:         Erish driven out of Gesund.

967:         The Wesseldale Treaty marks the birth of the Confederacy of Christoté. Signed at Wesseldale Castle (S. Kratz) by the leaders of Dorlaf, Zabrial, Notruf, Elsey, Kratz, Schall and Notruf, the Treaty agrees a union between the lands, albeit mainly a military/commercial one at first, with each of the states remaining semi-independent. Tars Tukas is appointed to act as overseer of the Confederacy, acting from East Zabrial.

969:         The re-building of the Reyston Prison, wrecked during the overthrow of Erenland, is completed.

974:         One of the points agreed at Wesseldale, the moulding together of the various armies and militias into a single, semi-standing army, comes to pass with the formation of the Christotan National Guards. Originally the Guards have no civic function, simply a safeguard against re-invasion from Erenland.

975:         Tars Tukas is re-appointed Chancellor by the seven Barons of Christoté.

978-86:    The Emissaries/Councillors system of local government is gradually phased in to replace the somewhat chaotic situation existing since the collapse of Erenland. As yet, elections for them are limited to a small number of people, and the selection of Barons doesn't take place.

979:         Peace signed with Erenland.

985:         Elsey and Kratz send aid to the lands rebelling against Astmad. Tukas reluctantly agrees to support this action, marking the start of Christotan interference in the area.

993:         The Eltringchan Treaty between the seven Barons. Agrees on more concrete political ties, including a single system of government to be gradually phased in; on increasing considerably the power of the Chancellor; on establishing a central Parliament; and, nominally, to shift the head of government from East Zabrial to a more central location.

994:         Gladiatorial combat is outlawed in Dorlaf, reputedly at the request of Tars Tukas

1000:       Tars Tukas re-elected as Chancellor.

1002:       The Yariston Declaration is signed between Christoté and the Elves of the Yelen Forest, declaring peace and friendship between the two.

1004:      Tars Tukas forced to formally step down as Chancellor, after a serious stroke the previous year left him half-paralysed. Marcas Welverton, a Dorlafan dignitary, is selected to become Christoté's second Chancellor.

1002-5: The Tukas Emporium is built in East Zabrial.

1008:       The first major construction projects that create the Triple Cities begin; Huwdone House is the first building to be started. Lasting until 1032, the first wave of construction threw up most of central Jalkin and Forgar, including the Jalkin Library, Brighthaven Prison, the University of Dorlaf and Jalkin and Forgar town halls, as well as most of the Cities' central streets.

1010:       Rudanc Masterson is elected Chancellor after Welverton's shambolic 6 year reign.

1011:       Death of Tars Tukas, aged 87.

1021:       The completion of the Cannes Bridge marks the opening of the full stretch of the South Passage Road.

1022:       Following his re-election as Chancellor in 1020, and the completion of Huwdone House a year afterwards, Rudanc Masterson moves the centre of Christotan government from East Zabrial to a half-built Jalkin. Though a fairly protracted move, it was more-or-less completed by 1026.

1023:       Formation of the Huwdone Guardsmen regiment.

1028:       Building of a new statue on the spot of St Olig's Shrine in Yaleth.

1032:       Outlawing of the Labourer's Brotherhood, the left-wing Mankho-influenced society in Dorlaf.

1037:       The harvests are burnt in the Central Plains, making the start of the Garreday uprisings.

1037-8:    The Uprisings escalate, with armed conflict breaks out across Dorlaf in the spring.

1039:       Capture of the Green Bridge by Helden Gorric's northern Dorlaf rebels. The independent commune set up in the Brown Hills.

1041:       The Levelling March converges on Jalkin in June, though the most militant stage of the Dorlafan revolt has petered out by November.

1049:       Founding of the Stolach Financial House in Forgar.

1038-50:  Serious migration into the Cities, mainly from nearby rural areas. The wealthy gradually drift from the centres to the edges of each town as conditions grow more overcrowded.

1044:       The first Tinners Market is held in Jalkin, on Garreday.

1045:       Rudanc Masterson steps down as Chancellor, succeeded by his son, Piers.

1049:       The Stolach Financial House is founded in Forgar.

1052:       The Chancellor agrees to Mankho Arner's proposals to make Emissaries elected by general mandate. The Barons reject the agreement imprison Piers Masterson.  The Uprisings flare up even more fiercely.

1054:       The Uprisings spread to Kratz, and Zabrial. Fighting takes place in nearly every part of Dorlaf & Elsey, and flares up again in Gesund.

1055:       The Domes Theatre opens.

1057:       The Third March is organised.  The Barons meet Mankho Arner and sign the Linden Accord.

1057-8:    Parliament, the Barons Council and the Federations Councils all agree to pass the Linden Accord, making Emissaries popularly elected.  Marks the end of the Garreday Uprisings and the start of the Reconstruction - the rebuilding of Christoté on more progressive lines.

1060:       Goran Balbo replaces Piers Masterson as Chancellor

1062:       North Lewis holds the first popular election for an Emissary,

1063:       The                Act begins a series of rural reform statutes, severely limiting the maximum acreage which can be owned by one family.  Slow to take effect, it gradually shapes the small-farmer system in the Central Plains.

1068-70: The first wide-spread popular elections for Emissaries, mainly in Dorlaf and Elsey, are held, along with a number of Council elections.

1060-90:  Migration to the Cities gradually shifts from nearby to further off areas - prompted initially by the outbreak of conflict in many Flaugian states.

1071:       The Civic Education Act begins Dorlaf's drive to educate its newly-franchised citizens.  Taking a number of years to come into place it created the four-tiered education system still basically in place in 1334.

1073:       Chancellor Goran Balbo dies in office, publicly of pneumonia but allegedly of syphilis.

1074:       The National Justice Act is passed across Christoté, except Notruf and Zabrial.  It considerably liberalises the penal code, removes the death sentence from most crimes and removes many censorship rights from the authorities.

1075:       Playwright Stayson Cooper and his circle arrive in Jalkin, fleeing the troubles in Hyath.

1077:       Huwdone House attempts a not wholly sucessful coup against a junta ruling Hyath.  It sparking off civil war in the country and Christotan troops are pulled into both that and the broader Flaugian War it becomes part of.

1077-8:    Stayson Cooper's two most famous plays, The Scarlet Earl and The Comedians are performed to huge acclaim at the Domes.

1078:       Fighting between Christoté and Marlan, as well as the forces of the junta, for control of Hyath.

1079:       The first major Five Crowns tournament is held, in the Ruarn Arena. First held in July, the games are moved to Garreday 7 years later.  The Dorlaf Central Bank is established.

1080:       The Mellertang Way road re-route, bending north to incorporate Jalkin, is completed with the opening of the Elrich Bridge.

1081-2: The old royal palace in eastern East Zabrial is demolished, the process slowed down by demonstrations

1082:       Gesund holds its first elections, in doing so becoming the first area to give women voting rights equal to men.

1085:       A more sucessful second Huwdone coup wipes out the Hyathan junta, restoring democracy in the country.  Christotan troops invade Craiglothe, defeated in 1086.

1086:       After years of holding out against one part of the Civic Education Act, Brightlace University is finally forced to admit women students.

1087:       Trade guilds are outlawed Dorlaf and Elsey, later in the rest of the country.

1088:    Completion of Vaclan House to hold  Town Council.  The building is immediately criticised for being too Dorlafan in style.

1088-9:    For the first time, Emissary posts throughout all Christoté are universally decided by popular election.

1091:       Velex Hall is bought by the province of Dorlaf and converted into a conference facility.

1091-4:    The Flaugian War comes to an end piece by piece and Christotan troops gradually withdrawn.

1094:       The first statues are placed on the Mellertang Way approaching Jalkin.

1095:       The Summers Bridge half-collapses into the Culn.

1097:       The so-called Eight Point Reform act is introduced in most of Christoté.  The most important points are a further lessening of penal codes, and the introduction of elected judges into criminal trials.

1102:       The Treaty of Anzerich is signed between the seven Barons. The result of years of long chivvying by Dorlaf, central government and the middle classes & local worthies, it completes the Christotan democratic process by making the Barons a post elected by local Emissaries & Councillors. The Treaty also finalises the split between economic & political power by declaring posts of Baron, Emissary etc. are political only, carrying little property qualification and no direct effect on wealth (beyond a small-ish fee).

1106:       Support is given to Quern Waface's rebellion in Kakranfé. Within a year he had established his new government, signing an alliance with Huwdone House.

1107:       The law requiring all printing presses in the Cities to be licensed is revoked.

1108:       Sardacs' textile works opens for the first time.

1109:       The Town Councils begin to annually subsidise the charity works of the Church of Ella.

1112-3:    Dorlaf, Kratz and Elsey, autonomously but within months of each other, all agree to incorporate women into the elective process - that is, extending the franchise to them, and allowing them to stand for Emissary and Baron positions. Societal pressures mean the actual effects this had were very slow to come.

1113:       Christoté engineers a revolution in Craiglothe to overthrow the royal family.

1114:       The Garrath Temple in Vellers Square is completed.

1115:       A particularly virulent famine in the winter prompts the passing of the first Amenities Acts, a series of regulations to ensure a regular food/fuel etc. supply from the country to the Cities. Somewhat egregious to middle sized/small farmers, stirring up the old antagonisms for the first time this century.

1116-24:          Construction of the Parklands district in north-east Jalkin; now known as Artists Quarter.

1123:       Passing of the Mulzzo Codes in Dorlaf, a series of reform of existing social, familial and sexual laws.  The Codes essentially renounce the government's right to dictate individual codes of conduct and decriminalise various acts, notably homosexuality.  They also confirm the man as legal head of the household and the chief heir.  The Mulzzo Codes were hugely controversial, and only very altered forms were passed in other provinces.

1124:       The Acreage Law is passed in Dorlaf, though only applying to the Central Plains.  An extension of the 1063 rural acts, it further limits the maximum amount of land one family can own in the Plains, and formalises the growing number of communal farming associations.  As with the Mulzzo Codes, the Baron of Dorlaf is ambushed into agreeing to the Acreage Law, and resigns in disgust.

1128:       Bruchers Eve: The massacre of protesting Torgun Guardsmen takes place on the Dydsan Shore.

1132:       Christoté enters the latter stages of the Second Asatan War between Kakranfé and Labland, on the side of the latter  Huwdone House sends the now-notorious "Whisperer's Army" - a collection of spies, diplomats & secret agents to turn the Asatan people to Kakranfé's side and to drum up dissent in Niche itself.  The tactic is an outstanding success and Kakranfé celebrates victory in 1136.

1140:       Elriak Lendle is voted out as Chancellor, amidst increasing anarchy and turmoil, but refuses to go.  Casp Hianti is elected in his place.

1141:       Lendle is declared a traitor and outcast by five of the seven Baron-Electives. Barons of Notruf and Elsey are conspicuous by their absence from the emergency meeting in the Cities - they eventually join Lendle's side.

1143-7:    First Christotan Civil War.

1144:    Zabrial declares its support for Elriak Lendle.  Start of clashes with (loyal) Port Crabal and Dorlafan coastal towns,

1145:       Civil War fighting reaches the Cities - Lendle's forces fight the loyalist's for control of the Halls of Justice.  Subsequent fire and looting destroy many areas of Yaleth, including the Eastcastle Bridge, and the Thoj itself is left half-wrecked.  Port Crabal besieged by Zabric forces.

1146:    The Zabric Baron abruptly switches sides, declaring loyalty to Huwdone House.  Mass protests, birth of the Partisans and (some would say) the whole independence movement.

1147:       Final defeat of the Lendle faction in the Grezan Moors in Notruf.

1148:       Lendleton is given a show trial at what remains of the Thoj and executed in Swallow Square.

1149:       The Pockleton Declaration is signed by the seven Barons - a rather feigned display of unity and reaffirmation.

1150:       An Ellan priestess, Kael Echson, begins the modern midwife network.

1151-8:    Second Christotan Civil War.  It is sparked off by dignitaries from Dorlaf and Kratz allegedly attempting to cement their victory in the last war by seizing total power and definitely by seizing the land/possessions of many linked even remotely to Lendleton.

1152:          Assassination of Chancellor Casp Hianthi; whilst riding in secret from Yaleth to Jolton he and his band of bodyguards are intercepted and slaughtered.  The identity of the murderer's was never discovered, though almost a rival Civil War faction.  Thels Erno, one of Hianti's ministers, is eventually executed on the charge of betraying the Chancellor's movements to the enemy, again the truth behind this remaining a mystery.

1158:       The Treaty of Ministone brings the second civil war to a thoroughly inconclusive finish.  Little is decided, but the whole pointless spectacle alone prevents any major civil conflict in the future.

1159:       Erenland, rather embarrassed at finding its troops on the losing side in the recent civil war, re-establishes its alliance with Christoté. The result is the so-called Treaty of Jade, or Jade Alliance, signed by Christoté, Erenland and Kakranfé, making a double declaration of non-interference in the internal politics of the others, but promises of aid in case of invasion.

1159:62:   Several serious typhoid and cholera epidemics in the Cities and central Christoté, exacerbated by the mess left over from the Civil Wars.

1160:       Church of Torgu followers are given the right to celebrate Bruchers Eve.

1161:       The formerly Schallic island of Savacia is granted free elections by Kakranfé to determine their status.  A majority vote takes the island into the Confederacy.

               November: The Guards are given greater autonomy from the political sphere in an attempt to prevent the Civil Wars situation of politicians turning regiments into their own private army.

1165:       Christos Dalbic's Travels Across The Central Plains is first printed.

1166:       The half-rebuilt Eastcastle Bridge in Yaleth is destroyed by fire.

1170's:  The East Zabrial independence movement begins in earnest.

1171:       The "Submerged Spring" - particularly widespread flooding of central and southern Jalkin in the spring rain/defrosting season. The sides are highly banked during the summer to try & stop this happening again.

1174:    Completion of Massinga Hall in East Zabrial

1175:       First implementing of the Ritchells Method, a means of irrigation of arable fields. The first in a series of innovations, sparking off the 'Amber Revolution' that transformed Dorlaf's plains; drainage, watering & fertilising being the three areas concentrated on. The government was soon offering tax relief to pioneers & encouraging small farmers to work together to implement the methods.

1177:       Major fire destroys much of eastern Forgar.  Death of Mankho Arner.

1183:       Troops sent to aid Hyath, invaided by Marlan.  Marlan forces mostly driven out of Hyath by 1186; though large contingent of Christotan troops remain in Fobes.

1196:       Completion of the Alsani neighbourhood, expanding Forgar to the east.

1199:       The Vaslo Hall in Yaleth, a relic from Kingdom of Dorlaf days, is gutted by fire. Levelled rather than rebuilt, the site was eventually taken over by a glass-blowing factory.

1203:       Founding of the League of Gentlemen trade association.

1204:       Beginning of women's struggles for emancipation & equal rights with men, sparked off by                        . Originally focusing on unfair property & trading laws, and the barring of women from the franchise in some areas (i.e. Zabrial & Notruf), the campaigns soon widen into struggles against family oppression, the legitimacy issue and sexual assault. They rumble on-and-off for most of the century.

1205:       The New Ecumenacalist Acts further extend the rights of minority churches in Dorlaf, including establishing Bruchers Eve (Torgu) as a public holiday.

1207:       The first Pantheon in Parliament Square burns down.  Vaccio the Banker's opens its Forgar office, taking over the offices of the bankrupt Miembiss Bank.

1209:       Dorlaf divides into two, east and west, with a Baron ruling each.  "For administrative purposes only" it claims, but it also wants each Baron to vote in the Chancellorship selection, so doubling its influence.

1211:       Christoté's one and only Dragon appears in the eastern Dorlafan plains and is - eventually - slain.

1212:       Christoté enters the 'Baldran War' between Astmad and Nesal, sending a regiment in support of the latter.

1214:       Ayresons the Brewers moves from Forgar to its vast premises in Fortune Square, Jal.

1215-8:    A number of concessions, mainly to do with giving women equal property and trading rights, are passed through Parliament. The Barons also agree that a woman should be eligible to stand for Chancellor.

1219:       End of the Baldran War in a Christotan-brokered peace.  Many of the Christotan troops remain in Astmad to protect it, supposedly a temporary measure but the force is still there today.

1220's-40's: The Sisterhood Pilgrimages; a series of women either visiting or emigrating to Charlae, believing it to be a superior nation.

1221:       Beginning of a series of laws to restrict migration to Dorlaf, and the Cities in particular, aimed particularly at foreigners.

1225:       Death of Chancellor Molan Ulrint in a riding accident, after just 5 years rule. 'Mad' Myers Lianti is elected Acting Chancellor in his place.

1226:       Allinon Smithson's play The Mirror is performed in Rykes Gardens.

1227:       Christoté controversially gives aid to Kakranfé in their naval invasion of Cuorn Tall.  Aid withdrawn in 1231.

1228:       In September, protests against the pro-abortion message of Allinon Smithson's play The East Street Birth erupt into running battles in Jalkin's streets between women's emancipation groups and followers of the Church of Torgu.

1229:       Temporarily abandoned for winter, the abortion/rape battles start up again in May, with a huge march by women on Huwdone House to demand changes in the laws. With the Church of Torgu again opposing them, the Church of Ella now throws its weight behind the emancipationists, practically bringing about a mini-religious war.

1230:       Outward expansion of the Cities is blocked by surrounding farmers refusing to sell their land; an empasse which remains to this day.

1231:       A year after first being elected Full Chancellor, Myers Lianti persuades all seven Barons to re-establish rape as a capital crime throughout Christoté.

1232:       Ayresons the Brewers opens its factory in south Jalkin, taking over the site of a livestock market.

1234:       Myers Lianti makes the licensing of approved Herbalists a matter solely for local government authorities, removing Academy of Magic power from the process.

1237:       Christotan troops, the ones supposedly safeguarding Astmad, march into Yoll in support of a left-wing rebellion against the crown.  Elzerbeth Maylin publishes Inside the Matriarch, a hugely controversial book exposing the myriad faults of Charlae which effectively ends the Sisterhood Pilgrimages.

1239:       The second, and final, attempt to rebuild Yaleth's Eastcastle Bridge is ended when the structure is totally vaporised by a magical accident.

1240:       Freshly re-elected, Lianti tries to issue an edict forcing Notruf and Zabrial to give women the vote, but defeated as this violates the terms of the Treaty of Anzerich. Elzerbeth Cooper attempts the same gambit 14 years later, with equal lack of success.  Lianti also bows to pressure and withdraws his troops from Yoll, leaving the rebels to their fate.

1243:       Completion of the         Dams on the Brail and Brulos, just north of Forgar and Yaleth respectively, siphoning excess water onto purpose-built reservoirs.

1244:       Ocheverry Works opens in Yaleth, one of the most sophisticated printing-houses ever seen. Originally specialising in book production, it soon moved into the newsheet world with the capture of the Huwdone Times in 1261.  Expansion of Sardacs Textile Works to give it its three distinctive citadel towers.

1245:       Reuniting of Dorlaf as a single province, after its rather blatant double-your-vote ploy failed.  The Dorlaf Chronicle newsheet is founded.

1247:       Myers Lianti dies of a heart attack while still in office. Partially to appease women's rights campaigners, still very active in the Cities, Elzerbeth Cooper is made Acting Chancellor, the first woman ever to reach this office.

1249:       Completion of the Lianti Bridge crossing the Culn in Jalkin, christened after the recently deceased Chancellor.

1250:       Elzerbeth Cooper becomes the first woman to become Chancellor in the decadal elections.

1255:       The "Great Collapse" summer; unprecedented number of buildings & apartments (as well as the Summers Bridge) fall down, particularly in Jalkin. Due mainly to dodgy building practices & adding more floors than the foundations originally intended, though sparked off by land-tremors, the Great Collapse claimed scores of lives, including that of playwright Allinon Smithson.

1256:       The Equal Rights Act is unanimously rejected by all Christoté's provinces.  First launched in 1255, it was a hugely ambitious attempt by Cooper to make gender equality laws across Christoté, which would have meant some major amendments in Zabrial and Notruf especially.  Its launch united the Barons against Cooper, its failure effectively neutered her and was a cause celebre  for the feminist movement.

1257:       The First Star textile works in Yaleth goes bankrupt.  An unsuccessful coup against Cooper is launched, with some senior Guards figures and a few minor politicians implicated.

1258:       Artists Quarter, under the leadership of a group of anarchists and feminists, declares the district to be an independent province and barricades it off.  The rebellion peters out fairly soon.  The Sun in Splendour inn opens.

1260:       Elzerbeth Cooper is voted out of office, after a few fairly radical amendments to the laws were shoved through by her (and a quite a lot of others failed to be passed). Helden Bryakkan is selected in her place.

1261:       The Huwdone Times, the official government gazette, is farmed out to the private sector, captured by Ocheverry.

1263:       The Baron of Dorlaf, Casp Mexan, falls to his death down Yaleth's Priac Steps.  A women's freedom campaigner, Geshrick Olbac, is tried with his murder but acquitted in 1264.

1264:       A mutiny of the Guards engineered from Lake Harmone is suppressed.  It causes the Guards to lose much of their autonomy from the political sphere.  Completion of the Farrison Cultural Centre in Artist's Quarter, Jalkin.

1266:       The Christotan Guards move their headquarters - more or less under protest - from Lake Harmone to above the Courts of Justice in Yaleth.

1267:       The Festival of Christoté, to mark the two hundredth anniversary of the Wesseldale Treaty, is held in July. Long-planned, it is the biggest, and most chaotic, fair ever seen in the area.

1272:       A particularly horrendous typhoid epidemic hits the Cities April-September.

1273:       Jiri Roccardo produces the first of the Roccardo Chronicles, satirical and hugely popular summaries of the past year in the Cities.

1277:       Completion of the Oelring Bridge in Rykes Gardens.

1280:       Completion of the second Pantheon in Parliament Square.

1281:       The University of Dorlaf is badly damaged by fire; the university used the chance to level the old building and construct an entirely new campus, completed in 1285.

1282:       Successful aid given by Huwdone House to rebellion against the monarchy in Narkusk.  The asmiro becomes the only musical instrument to ever be outlawed, after the Academy declared the hypnotic pipe had sorcerous components.

1284:       A major bribery scandal erupts regarding the allocation of market pitches; the fall-out eventually leads to the city Councils taking control of the process of the praetors.  The Ocheverry printing house takes over the long-established newsheet The Herald. 

1285:       Completion of the modernising of the Corilean Glass Works in Forgar.

1287:       Completion of Estarlan, the first of three 'migrant towns' close to the Cities.

1288:       "The Mill Up the Hill" is re-built and modernised.

1291:          Establishment of the Stantle Merchant Bank

1293:       Labland invades Elsey, beginning the Ten Years War. Capture of Dydesbury and the rest of the Dydsan shore.

1294:       A second Labbish army invades and overruns much of Schall.

1295:       Falcan Ollia is persuaded to resign, following an emergency meeting by the Baron-Electives in wake of the Labbish invasion. Sebastin Tannerz, whose uncle's estates were then desperately trying to repel the invaders, takes the Chancellors staff from Ollia. The Labbish south-western advance is halted just north of Chorley, but the eastern forces plough through Kratz.

1297:       The Battle of Briers Field in northern Dorlaf ends the Labbish advance and marks a turning point in the war.

1298:       Christoté wins control of the northern shores of the Sunken Sea,

1300:       Rifton is captured from Labland after a short, bloody siege.  The Summers Bridge in Jalkin is destroyed again, burning down this time.

1301:       The Kakranfan navy does its now-famous sail up the Asat against the Labbish, ending up besieging Niche. By winter, Christotan troops have joined them.

1303:       The Labbish king, Tenrif II, is overthrown by his nephew Machell. The latter surrenders to Christoté and Kakranfé, ending the Ten Years War. The annexation of southern Labland begins.

1302-10:  Callism reaches its height amidst the chaos of the Ten Years War. Twilight is published in 1303, banned the next year; Cane Callar makes a string of speeches castigating the government in front of thousands 1304-5; scores of young people, some of them nobles, accused/tried for necromancy 1306-9 ; Artists Quarter declares it had become an independent Nowhere Nation in deference to Callar's teachings 1306; Callar found dead in his lodgings, apparently through suicide, in 1308.

1305:       The South Quay Riot in East Zabrial effectively marks the start of the independence struggle.

1306:       Zuan Telmass becomes leader of the Partisans, starts moving them overground. New Harkanas Gates are put up in Jalkin & Forgar.

1308:       The Councils in East Zabrial, Jalkin & Yaleth, are deselected & not re-elected, to force Sebastin Tannerz into holding full elections.  Completion of Kopan, the second Cities migrant town.

1309:       Ham Driak begins his infamous stint as Governor of Rifton, appointed in wake of a minor uprising in the town and surrounding lands. Mass release of Partisan prisoners from jail. The Jalkin Theatre, bankrupted after having to be completely rebuilt after a fire in 1301, closes after 66 years.

1308-10:  Chancellor Sebastin Tannerz finally holds full elections, the first since the 10 Years War, and ends up being slung out of office, replaced by the Elsan nobleman Piers Acrippa.

1309:       Brianda Nask designs a series of radical 'houses of the future' to stand in Elder Avenue, Jal

1310:       Brael Landisso publishes the highly controversial Thinking Man's Empire, a clinical attack on Christotan policy, past and present.

1311:       Holin Callar's most famous play, Houses of the Spirits opens at the Domes. Like all his work at this time, he publicises it under an assumed name to avoid association with younger brother Cane.

1312:       (17 March) Piers Acrippa becomes the third Chancellor to be assassinated while holding office; just two years after his election he is stabbed during a public address in Parliament Square. His assassin, Merez Hito, is apprehended immediately, and later hung. Hito was a Labbish from the annexed lands, though no links with any other individual or group was proved. Piers' elder brother Sebsen is elected in his place.

               (11 October) Henri Desherman - "Blue Henri" - pulls off "The Friday Heist", a raid on The Stolach Financial House, then Dorlaf's most prestigious bank. Hundreds of gold's worth of coins and jewels are stolen from the banks' storehouse - and, with breathtaking audacity, the Heist is carried out in the middle of the day. Most of the felons are eventually caught, but Blue Henri - and the bulk of the valuables - vanish to pastures unknown.

               Sebastin Tannerz dies, the suspected victim of witchcraft.

1313:       Completion of Sisto, third migrant town close to the Cities.

1314:       All of Brianda Nask's houses of the future are simultaneously toppled by some very minor earth tremors.

1315:      High-profile conference between the Partisans and the Baron of Zabrial.

1316:    A string of riots in East Zabrial, followed by mass arrests of Partisans.

1317:       The Great Flood - the annual March flooding of the Dorlaf Central Plains is the worst for a hundred years. Acres of farmlands in the north are swamped, scores of people drowned, even more made homeless, and both Nesla's Bridge and the Green Bridge are swept away. Opening of the Bear Pit in Jalkin.

1318:       Tomas Listel takes over his fathers business empire, and begins taking it to the epic heights of today.  Lord Holan Brightson appointed Principle Secretary.  The first Partisan supporter is elected to East Zabrial Town Council. Uhan Elcco becomes Master of the Baelan, the fourth new head in five years.

1318-22:  Chela Tatel becomes Chairwoman of Yaleth Council and, in 1321 & 1322, Chairwoman of the United Cities Councils. Though stepping down when recruited to work in Petitions Office, the ability she showed counted a lot in eventually securing her Highest Office.

1319:       The heavy armaments and defences are added to the Stantle Merchant Bankers building in Jalkin by Filo Luperz, giving it the Filo's Fortress nickname.  Holstace Fortraine elected Baron of Dorlaf in the decadal elections.  Stacey Elparto completes her celebrated state-of-the-nation account Building On Sand.  Opening of The Trove market hall. Another wide release of Partisan prisoners.

1320:       Sebsen Acrippa re-elected as Chancellor by the Barons.

1321-2: A string of riots, protest rallies and political murders all linked to the independence movement.

1322:      "The Crossbow Conspiracy" - a major rigging of last year's Garreday Games in the Cities - is exposed. Kierlan Estel, a young nobleman related to the Griegson family, is convicted of conspiracy, and Melton Senmier, a prominent banker, jailed for the assault on two of the Garreday athletes. The Serpent Laboratory, the Academy of Magic's laboratory in Forgar, is ordered to close by the government following a series of accidents in experiments.

1322-4:    Lerithan Jenks leads The Wolf Pack against the Orcs of the Zanzin Mountains.

1322-6:    The Hernecastle Murder trials. Owan Hanson, a servant at Brindle Court, Hernecastle, was brought to trial accused of the brutal murder of his master's wife and eldest son. In a case that gripped the Cities, the lawyer Allark Liarno brilliantly defended Hanson, got his acquitted - and then produced enough evidence to force the trial of Hanson's master, Antolin Selten, a prominent farmer. Selten's trial was held in 1324, the government prosecutor none other than Molan Grist, and Selten was found guilty of the murder of his wife and son. Selten was bunged up in the New Reystone until his execution in 1326.

1323:       Zaian Elcco establishes Cities Carriages, the first regular omnibus service in the Cities.

1324:       Increasing unrest in East Zabrial- and doubts as to the loyalty of local politicians and electorate - cause the government to declare the key Council Post of Justice & Welfare to be Baron's Prerogative. This meant the post was no longer publicly elected, and, in effect, appointed by the Chancellor (whatever the Baron thought). Protests turn into riots in the spring. Forgar Council moves from the Walteshalle to Farlingdale House.   Elak Griegson becomes Jalkin Council Chairman.

1325:       A labour dispute in Gesund leads to a region declaring itself to be autonomous, although the matter is eventually solved peacefully.  The beleaguered Baron-Elective of Zabrial, Falcan Lennerson, is voted out of office by the region's Emissaries. Tomas Fielan is appointed in his place, and becomes rather beleaguered himself almost immediately.  Fielan was allegedly Brightson's favoured man, the Principal Secretary also showing his muscle by manoeuvring Radav Mestic out of the Federations Office command.  Lars Verstanel becomes Captain of the Yaleth Guards.  Opening of the Jianda Theatre in Yaleth.

1326:       Ten ships and hundreds of lives are lost as the Second Fleet merchant convoy to Ellniss is decimated by April storms. Navy Commander Antolin Berise, who'd ordered the sailing despite threatening weather conditions and despite orders from above, is dismissed as a result. Eventually he is banned from ever holding a senior command post again.  The Messenger, hitherto an independent newsheet, is taken over by printing house Ocheverry.

1327:      The full consequences of East Zabrial's Justice & Welfare post becoming Baron's Prerogative is realised when Bitan Salmass is hauled off the post (a misguided sympathy vote takes him back onto the Council, in charge of Housing, a year later), to be replaced by none other than Ham Driak, the Rifton Ripper.  Rodan Strace becomes Commander of the Eleventh Regiment.  A grandiose reconstruction of Jalkin's Westgate is completed.

1328:       The decadal Emissary elections show a rather left-leaning tendency.  Allark Liarno is first elected as Emissary of Asterdale.  Alib Reggino is appointed head of Federation Office.

1329:       Kael Arlint unseats her ex-husband as Baron of Elsey.  Rudanc Orlac narrowly holds Gesund, and Holstace Fortraine keeps Dorlaf, rather more comfortably.  Conflict between Cities Carriages and the hire-gig companies culminates in a sustained pitched battle in Forgar.

1330:       Chela Tatel is elected Chancellor, the second woman to hold Highest Office.  Rebuilding of the Swans neighbourhood in southern Jalkin.

1331:       Chela Tatel passes the Residencies and Hospitalities Ordinance - the most important legislation on urban life since the last one.  More substantially, she initiates an anti-corruption department operating under Allark Liarno and expands the scope, if not the power, of Fundings Office.  Arrival of Calli Brenton, a young wizard charged with improving relations between Christoté and the Academy of Magic.

1332:       Some summer rioting in East Zabrial, quelled by Ham Driak who earns severe criticism from Central Command for his pains (they claim he helped stir up the rioting in the first place).  Falcan Kelp's epic history of Christoté is finally finished.  Radav Viem, a Privy Councillor, is accused of taking bribes; in 1333 he is barred from public office.

1333:       Murder of the Erish Ambassador, a case never solved though widely believed to be connected to the Musrich Territory disputes.  Allark Liarno becomes a Principle Member of the Privy Council following the death of Marcas Lindell.

1334:       Now, type-thing. Major news the implication of Jerez Esterson, a Privy Council member, in the Zabric uprising. Esterson had long been accused of leaning towards the rebels, but the first evidence came with two senior prisoners claiming Esterson supplied their organisation with money and weapons. Also happening: assorted minor business/politics scandals, the most mysterious leaving nobleman Sebastin Tenlich (Lerithan Jenks' brother) dead in a ditch and the most promising the accusations of two Forgar councillors of pinching hundreds of gold intended for a Garreday Uprising monument; a Kakranfan gladiator, Carlin L'Janier, wins the Garreday Games; and Jalkin finally manages to buy a stretch of land just south of its walls to prepare for some much-needed outwards expansion.

1335:       The first serious fighting erupts in East Zabrial. Ham Driak is murdered by a crossbow bolt on 24 February; two days later, Falcan Robiddo, the respectable face of the succession struggle and hugely popular figure is arrested in connection with the murder, sparking public rioting.  Uhan Elcco is killed in mysterious - allegedly Huwdone House inspired - circumstances.