Tower Mountain Timeline
This is a condensed version of the Tower Mountain Timeline, covering the major events of the Tower's first ten thousand years. The complete timeline runs over forty pages, and covers the lives and actions of several hundred characters. (We're still working on the next ten thousand...) If you want to look at the Tower's history in more detail, you can access the full timeline here:The Complete Tower Mountain Timeline The Nightmare/Possession/Crisis Timeline The Hostage Crisis Timeline
? -- Fall of the Palace of the High Ones.
TWR -8833 -- Ketsal's followers set out to cross the frozen ocean
TWR -8433 -- Recognition of Ketsal and Isilien, the first Recognition to take place among Ketsal's band
TWR -8431 -- Birth of Meiron to Isilien and Ketsal
TWR -8350 -- Birth of Tyaar to Isilien and Ketsal. These are the first two children born to the group. Many others follow.
TWR -5900 --Foundation of the Settlement (later known as the Old Settlement), after Ketsal's band finally gets far enough south to have the glaciers stop chasing them
TWR -5439 -- Death of Ketsal in a rockslide. Isilien abandons physical existence in order to follow him. Leadership of the settlement, as decided long before, passes to Meiron and Tyaar.
TWR -2000 --(actually a timespan of perhaps 20 - 30 years) The elves, led by Meiron and Tyaar, abandon the Old Settlement, which has been flooded as the glaciers recede. Traveling inland, the group is split when a flooding river carries some of the elves away on a raft. Once on dry land again, Meiron's group travels hubward, finds and settles the Hidden Valley. Tyaar's group travels away- from-hub, finds and settles Tower Mountain, the plug of a dormant volcano. Meiron and Tyaar become Lords of their respective settlements.
TWR -1980 -- Beginning of the "First Millennium" of Tower evolution. Most of the major building, shaping, and "great works" are done during this period, as are the more representational works of art: Vayree's historical tapestries, Mikail's story-dances, etc. Other achievements, such as the taming and breeding of the giant hawks, the institution of the Declared, many other customs and practices also date from this time.
TWR -1900 -- Tanyel becomes fascinated with the giant hawks that inhabit the Redrock Valley and begins trying to capture and tame some
TWR -1770 --The Mraal (humans) discover the Redrock Valley and settle there. The mountain becomes the primary focus of their worship. The elves, not sure what to make of their new neighbors but remembering all too well what happened to the High Ones, do not initiate contact.
TWR -1763 -- The Mraal discover that the Mountain is inhabited. To the elves' surprise, they conclude that the "mountain spirits" are sacred, and transfer their affection and worship to them, forming cults following individual elves. The elves remain aloof until they are certain it is not a trick.
TWR -1720 -- Twillor discovers the technique of animal bonding. He begins to show other hunters how to do it.
TWR -1680 -- Twillor begins developing techniques of aerial combat and begins training the other "serious" hawkriders.
TWR -1600 -- The first Declared (all hunters/hawkriders) take oath. The first human servants enter the Tower. ("In Search of Honor," Tales #12 -- M. Capriola).
TWR -1225 -- Vayree named first of the artisan Declared, upon the completion of her first set of historical tapestries.
TWR -970 -- Beginning of the "Second Millennium" of Tower evolution (no sharp demarcation between this and the previous period). Artists and artisans turn to refinement, abstraction, baroque profusion of detail, and other strange and obscure (though by no means unfruitful) paths as dictated by their individual personalities. Tower elves become more decadent and self- centered. They start taking the humans for granted and begin to believe the Mraal's image of them as gods. Self-indulgence becomes more prevalent as boredom increases and genuinely new stimuli occur less and less often. At the same time, concern starts to grow about the lack of Recognitions and of vitality in general. It is a period of complacency, stagnation, self- indulgence, and pleasure-seeking, with a growing undercurrent of unease.
TWR -6 -- Recognition of Lady Tascha and Lord Tyaar, the last Recognition among the elves of Tower Mountain until the Fourth Millennium.
TWR -4 -- Birth of Wisprian to Lady Tascha and Lord Tyaar
TWR 1 -- Wisprian is killed accidentally in a fall from the Grand Stair. ("Fallen Angel" --T. Gardner) Tascha's attempted healing of her lifemate's grief backfires; he goes mad instead. He proceeds to work on destroying her sanity. After a time, her "self" split into four distinct personalities, she leaves Tower Mountain and strikes out on her own. Meanwhile, Tascha's cousins Foi and Baz take exception to the way Tyaar is treating Tascha. Tyaar turns his fury on them; Foi, a rockshaper, escapes into the stonework and takes the name of Widget. When Tascha leaves, Baz tracks her and also disappears. Beginning of the Third Millennium of Tower evolution. The increasing darkness and cruelty of their lord's spirit infect everyone in the Tower. Pleasure-seeking becomes at once darker and more desperate. Intrigue, only a game before, becomes serious business. Dissidents and "dangerous" people (e.g. healers and rockshapers) are eliminated in one way or another-- killed, or more often turned into "Functionals" (i.e. "Door," "Brace") against their will.
TWR 10 -- A hostile tribe of humans, the !Nekwethir, invade the Redrock Valley. Many Mraal and some elves (including Meroe) killed, but the invaders are driven off.
TWR 461 -- One of the Declared, Taywar, begins talking to others about Tyaar's change and what might be done about it. He is betrayed to Tyaar and put to trial for "treason;" he commits suicide. "Taywar's Rebellion," as it comes to be known, sparks several other attempts at rebellion in the next few years; all are quashed.
TWR 581 -- Mikail discovers his healing Talent. Realizing what has happened to every other healer in the Tower, he conceals his Talent to protect himself. ("Magic Touch," Tales #1 -- M.[Purdy] Dean)
TWR 611 -- In the Hidden Valley, the Recognition of Periel and Lord Meiron occurs.
TWR 613 -- (HV) Birth of Piet to Lady Periel and Lord Meiron
TWR 641 -- (HV) Hidden Valley sacked by trolls. Most of its inhabitants killed or captured. Periel safeguards Piet by having a preserver cocoon him; shortly afterwards she is killed. Meiron is captured along with several other rock and metal shapers, but chooses to collapse a cavern on the lot of them after seeing what is left of an earlier captive of the trolls.
TWR 1079 -- (BT) Longshanks and Bugdance discover the Hidden Valley and release Piet from the preserver's cocoon. ("Opening Ceremony")
TWR 1087 -- The "Gang of Four" arrive at Tower Mountain; Piet is recognized by Tyaar as Meiron's son and therefore his nephew. Piet visits the Mraal village and unwittingly inspires the cult of the Lovebringer. At the same time an escape attempt is being organized by Twillor and Airwolf, with assistance from Mikail and Widget (clandestinely). The escape is a partial success. Most Tower elves trying to escape are reported killed, but in fact most survive, scattered. Twillor is chased down and forcibly returned to the Tower. After several months spent torturing him mentally and physically, Doleera flies Twillor away from the Tower and drops him off in an anonymous forest, where he is found by hunters from Great Water Holt. Doleera named flight leader; Ayla becomes hawkmaster. secret.
TWR 1091 -- Mikail learns from his servants Adrovic and Shadaln of the forbidding and persecution of the Lovebringer cult. He assumes the cult is dead.
TWR 1094 -- Birth of Lake (aka Dove)
TWR 1111 -- The Sickness strikes and runs rampant at Great Water Holt. Twillor succumbs to the Sickness and dies. Lake's adoptive parents die in the plague. Lake leaves the holt.
TWR 1118 -- Lake is found by Jand and Malra, who decide to give her to Lord Tyaar; Peysol is involved in making her presentable. ("Gift Wrap," Tales #3 -- M. Dean)
TWR 1119 -- Tyaar realizes that his "pet," (who he has discovered thinks of herself as "Lake") is a healer. Obsessed with the idea that two healers might be able to force Recognition, he heals her to full awareness, though not sanity, and begins to train her as his prospective consort. Peysol and Leravie, at Tyaar's request, begin to tutor Lake in social graces.
TWR -- ?) Lake turns down Tyaar's offer to lifemate and leaves Tower Mountain to search for her own empire.
TWR 1175 -- After being captured and healed by the Great Water elves, Lake assumes the tribename of Dove. (Retribution, GW supplement -- R. Pruehs) Dove Recognizes Raventongue ("Capture," GW -- R. Pruehs).
TWR 1178 -- A group of elves from Great Water, on their way to Wolfgang, are captured by the Mraal as a gift for the Spirit Lord. Dove assumes Lake guise in order to infiltrate the Tower and rescue the captured elves. Mikail and several other Tower elves leave with them. Tyaar is critically wounded by Dove in the course of the escape and lapses into a coma. (Novel in progress, Nightmare -- D. Beaver/R. Pruehs) Beliel, unwillingly at first, becomes acting lord of Tower Mountain, ruling in Tyaar's name. Beliel discovers Tyaar's death while making his periodic report to his lord. ("The Devil You Don't," Tales #24 -- R. Pruehs)
TWR 1179 -- Tyaar being dead, Beliel fully accepts his role of Tower Lord and begins planning a war of vengeance on the Outsiders who disrupted the Tower, as Mikail and the Outsiders return to the Tower to set things right. In the aftermath of these events, Beliel, Doleera, and several of their followers are exiled from the Tower, and Widget and Shadaln become the new Lords. A colony, New Hope, is established for those who wish to brave the Outside. (Projected novel, Crisis -- any and all Tower writers!) Beginning of the Fourth Millennium of Tower evolution. On the one hand, the oppresion and isolation of the Third Milennium has been shattered; many elves feel that an era of hope has dawned. Recognitions begin occurring again, and many new projects are begun. However, the Tower faces political upheaval from within and without: not everyone is happy with the choice of the new Lords, and the Tower elves must now deal with other elf tribes for the first time, and with the defection to New Hope of many of their own. And Tower Mountain has not seen the last of the Exiles...
TWR 1279 -- The Exiles, having established a base in the Hidden Valley and gathered allies to their cause, send a force to attack the Tower. They are repelled, but at cost. Shadaln resigns her possition, leaving Erik the sole Lord of the Tower.