Transcephalos

Click on a region of the map to explore in more detail.

Regions

• Medartha Peninsula – Controlled by the collapsing Republic of Ellyssar.
• Crucible Lands – Ancient kingdoms conquered by the Mortan Empire.
• Asherah and the gelion Rift Valley – Holy-lands and city-states under Mortan control.
• Jalanon Sea – Coastal city-states of sun-worshippers and pantheists conquered by the Mortans.
• Raj-Lands – Realms settled by the Vedanya pantheists in the centre of Transcephalos.
• Lalayman Islands – Homeland of the Elder Races, ruled by the Raj states.
• Hadazag and Nozhmak Deserts – The realm of lama Bedouins and Vedanyan Nomads.
• Zibamba – A region of exotic kingdoms and the front line in a war between the Mortans and sun-worshippers.
• Kurekha – Banebrood savannah, perhaps the most savage place in the entire world.
• Cephelatra – A jungle land of ruins inhabited by Animists and Elder Races.
• Azmaka – Land of step-pyramids and sun-worshippers.

Overview

Trans-Cephalos is the most exotic sub-continent of Ghorn, and rich in history, having been settled and invaded by numerous peoples. Now more so than ever, Trans-Cepahlos is a land of adventure with fascinating cultures and vast regions of ancient ruins. In the north, stand many old cultures lying now under the control of the Mortan Empire, but still every bit as unique as ever.

Moving south are the port-cities of the Jalanon Sea, where merchants ply their trade and where culture after culture has made left its mark. Through the vast red deserts of the interior, trade-caravans wend their way and nomads roam.

Further south are the deadly savannah plains with the mysterious lands of the fallen Cephalatran culture. Then the Savannah transitions into rain-forest where lay the colourful cities of Azmaka.

This sub-continent is separated from Pancephalos by the Gelion rift, and separated from annyrion by the Dhannus river valley.

A long chain of mountains runs down the western side of Trans-Cepalos, blocking much moisture from reaching the interior, and creating a lush, tropical coast. The Central desert is cut by two chains of mountains, dividing the desert into four pieces – central (Hadazag), western (Nazman), eastern (Zibamba), northern (Jorn-Jarosh).

Three races currently dominate the majority of Trans-Cephalos, Yamirans, Ithyans and Anthalons:

• Yamirans – “red-skinned” humans who are sun-worshippers and who migrated to Trans-Cephalos from the continent of Notara, with their Firedrake and Sanddrake masters.
• Yamirans – “red-skinned” Animists who worship nature and who migrated to Trascephalos from the continent of Tonatopa along with their Elder-Race allies.
• Ithyans – “olive-skinned” humans who migrated from across Pancephalos to Transcephalos from the continent of Volturna. They settled the north-east of Transcephalos
• Anthalons – “white-skinned” humans who migrated to Transcephalos from the continent of Zephyr. They came in two waves, firstly as the lighter-skinned settlers of the gnostic Cabal and then as the settlers from the mighty Raj.

Amid the deserts and wastes of Trans-Cephalos are the crumbled ruins of ancient civilizations of the Leonite Empire, Theocracy, Happaron, Aetherions, Stone-Dwarves, Mystic Hierocracy and gnostic Cabal.

 

Cultures

The Dashadevara Pantheists – The Dashadevara pantheon are a group of the Asrae gods (gods of mortals) who sought to understand their own divine natures and that of Gaia and Chaos. They were ever the most mentally developed, possessing tremendous esoteric abilities and dimensional mastery. The influence of the Dashadevara among Mortals previously extended across many continents but today the Dashadevara

are worshipped primarily by the Vedanya Mortals of Zephyr, the Southern Archipelagos, the continent of Pharalan, northern Tonatopa and parts of Transcephalos.

The Dashadevara gods have become so tremendously multi-dimensional in nature that they each possess 30 or more varying aspects and a dozen avatars simultaneously. Each Aspect has its own minor temple-cult under the auspices of the primary cult of that deity. Kashnu from the Seloise Islands was one of the Anointed Champions and the Ilvarta are one of the Five Blessed Peoples. It was they who brought worship of this Pantheon to Transcephalos, where their power is greatest today on the western coast and central region.

Most of the worshippers are descendants of conquerors and settlers of the Vedanya people.  The Vedanya are of the Anthalon race of the continent of Zephyr who possess white and ruddy skin in the north. However, in the Ilvarta region of Zephyr where it is very hot, the skin tones are more olive, rather like the Ithyan race of Volturna. These Vedanya people have a long and glorious history of civilization from the Maha-Raj of the Pad-Paradshos Throne, through the Independent 40 Raj states, to the Blessed Vedanyan Empire of Kashnu.

Sun-Worshippers – The three suns of the cosmos are aspects of the Element of Fire, and those who worship the sun revere the gods associated with the suns and the element of fire.

Initially, all fire worshippers were the creatures of the element of fire, but mortals became enamoured with the suns and also began to worship them. In the days of the Ice Age a single miracle upon the tropical continent of Notara led to the creation of a sprawling culture.

That miracle was the transmutation of a human soul into an elemental spirit. Not even the gods had known such a feat was possible. Morguri Charging-Bull was that man – hero and prince of the red-skinned Yamiran people of the continent Notara. Those who looked upon him swore that the sun walked among them.

Morguri became a spark in the tinder of disillusioned Mortals, blazing the trail for millions to follow, and molded the sun-dance traditions of his people into an elemental religion which swept the world like wildfire. Psychomorphosis was the name of this transformation rite, and it is said that when these Children of the Pyre die, their spirits pass to the Elemental Plane of Fire, rather than to the afterlife of Hadon or the heavenly courts of Asraedia. The red-skinned tribes embraced the new faith and in time united with the Firedrakes of Notara, forming the Theocracy of the Sacred Flame, which embodied two sub-cults: The Dancing Flame and The Radiant Orb.

Though this development created an imbalance between the elements, it was nevertheless fortuitous, at the time due to the demonic-powered ice ages consuming the worlds. Theocracy culture filtered northwards soon after the ice age began to creep southwards; and so it was inevitable that the two juggernauts would one day collide.

The continents from Ghorn to Kassobar formed the stage whereupon a new age of heroism played out, as Pharaoh Morguri’s legions assailed the ice-demon hordes and barbarians of İshkalla. A thousand score drowned in the melt-waters as ice and fire magic collided, but the glacial advance was at last arrested. Relentless boiling and freezing hewed out a patchwork border region of water-logged chasms, henceforth known as the Scablands, stretching like a scar across the continents.

After a time the impasse was shattered when the glory-hungry Godquester Saphina Fleetfoot returned from the East, wielding a Godslayer in her bejewelled hands. Saphina vanquished Ishkalla’s daughter Shikrella upon the frozen Ar-Ghorna Sea, and in so doing, her own soul was frozen. The elimination of Shikrela’s infernal powers brought forth a flood-melt of the southern ice-fields, throwing the demon army into disarray. It is said that Morguri thawed Saphina’s soul, and the two were later married, but soon after, the heroine Saphina was called to her apotheosis, ascending to Asraedia, where she was crowned Goddess of Battle and Victory.

Soon after, Morguri cast off his mortal form and ascended to Sindaron, the Yellow Sun, where he cloaked himself in raiment of righteous stellar fire. The instant before his very essence combusted, he leapt forth, and fell through the heavens towards Calydorn trailing a fiery tail, becoming ever larger in the night sky for weeks. Fearing the worst, Ishkalla fled Calydorn, and when Morguri struck the ice city of Iskalborg, the arctic was boiled into a steaming sea.

The elemental god of Fire, Pyrdis, bestowed upon Morguri the apotheosis rite, igniting a new God of Light to replace dead Lucanus, and he ascended to the elemental Plane of Fire. Neela Firehair, his daughter by Saphina, reigned as Hierophant and Pharaoh of the Theocracy of the Sacred Flame.

The Sun-worshipping Theocracy came into a titanic struggle centuries later against two new Empires – The Gnostic Cabal from the western continent of Zephyr and the Kassobar Khanate from the eastern continent of Kassobar.

Wisely, the Theocracy gave ground, bringing the other two forces into yet greater conflict, and over two centuries, the Khanate and Cabal bludgeoned themselves into near collapse, leaving the Theocracy ascendant. As the Cult of the Sun spread across Calydorn and beyond, gaining ever more worshippers the Elemental Plane of Fire expanded, and began to consume the other cardinal planes.

Blazing with the glow of a million converted mortal souls, the Elemental Plane of Fire now held unchecked superiority in the cosmos, instilling fear in the other elemental races. Fireseason (summer) grew savagely hot each year and the suns burned all 20 hours of each and every day. In accordance with their cosmic mandate the Troglodytes, who represent the balancing element of shadow, launched an all-out assault upon the Theocracy in order to return elemental balance to the worlds. Their efforts though dramatic were repulsed.

At this point the Troglodytes formed a grand coalition against the Theocracy. Armies of Sylphs (Air), Dwarves (Stone), Tritons (Sea) and Troglodytes (Shadow) assaulted the Theocracy from the sea, the air, from underground and from the shadows. This fragile alliance of foes managed to halt the tide of fire but could achieve no more than a stalemate.

Troglodytes now comprehended the enormous threat posed by Mortals, for their souls were capable of being transformed into elemental spirits by means of the Psychomorphic rites. Mankind represented an unacceptable threat to cosmic balance. However, in the short-term, they decided to use Mortals as pawns. The great Troglodyte empires forged an alliance with the Theocracy’s mortal enemies – the Kassobar Khanate and the Gnostic Cabal. While the Theocracy of the Sacred Flame waged war on many fronts against the elemental races, the Khanate and Cabal seized the moment to attack the colonies of their mutual enemy, collapsing the Theocracy into anarchy. Eventually a coalition army led by the goddess of Shadow sacked the mountain pyramid of Hoxetek, extinguishing the Sacred Flame in a shadow-ritual of quenching.

In the moment she extinguished the Sacred Flame, Umbranth (goddess of Shadow) gave birth to the ravenous Black Maw which set about devouring the red sun. Sindaron blistered and shrieked as the

entity proceeded to eat her alive over a period of months until all that was left were dull embers. These tumultuous cosmic events led to a mysterious but altogether catastrophic turn; the Black Maw swelled and decayed into a new element – Darkness.

In the sky above, the red sun had been extinguished and the peoples of the worlds cowered in terror of the new element called Darkness. Empires collapsed, millions died and entire species of plants and animals suffered extinction.

The gods looked for a champion; not one to reverse the scales once again, they sought someone to restore balance.

Se-Hedi-Ra, glorious grand-daughter of Saphina and Morguri, was the youngest Mortal ever to undertake the psychomorphic rite of incandescence. Upon reaching womanhood she quested across Calydorn, consuming the Divine Anima of a dozen Celestial Vortexes. Upon her odyssey she recovered the Godslayer of Saphina, and defeated the nine greater Djinn.

Though now a spirit of fire, even the Asrae gods of mortals recognized in Se-Hedi-Ra their own salvation from the Black Maw. Each of the Asrae imparted to her their greatest talent, and Se-Hedi-Ra ascended the Six-Worlds battling the abominations of Darkness.

Upon Prothenus she unearthed an ethership of the cabal, and sailed to the edge of the cosmos. Se-Hedi-Ra returned with a cargo of pure stardust which the Whitefire Sages of the Magma Isles fashioned into a suit of armor impervious to heat, and which Umni Silverskin, Lord of the Rhundras, used to re-forge her Godslayer.

The Red Sun Sindaron flickered wanly, shivering in the coldness of her death throes, and onle the more distant Yellow sun Helcia preserved life upon Calydorn. The freezing survivors on the Six Worlds dug in the ground for roots and hibernating animals to eat. Millions died, and still the temperature plummeted.

Donning her Armor of Starfire, Se-Hedi-Ra set sail upon the Steamsea of southern Calydorn, whereupon her dragon-scale boat entered the Plane of Fire. Se-Hedi-Ra traversed the Smokelands and Inferno Domains, then navigated the Magma Rivers toward the centre of the Plane, where light itself is said to melt. Her armor bubbled as she embraced the elemental anima at the core, taking it unto herself, and sculpting it in mirror image of her consciousness.

In this way she swelled her essence a thousand-fold, waxing so mighty as to rival even the Dawn Gods, and an instant before her self-awareness shattered, she unsheathed her Godslayer, completing its re-forging, and naming it Helios – Sword of the Second Dawn. Following secret paths, Se-Hedi-Ra departed the Plane of Fire, emerging among the embers of the dead sun, where she imploded her own soul, re-igniting the red orb. Within days the sun had waxed to its earlier moderate power, but

Darkness was not deterred. Se-Hedi-Ra battled the new element and was defeated, but in failure she then re-ignited her form. And thus was the struggle renewed, day after day, until the shadow goddess Umbranth brokered a pact between Fire and Darkness called the Solar Compact, thereby formalizing day and night.

Today, sun-worshippers are still a strong force in the far south of Transcephalos, especially in the region of Azmaka.

Leonite Sun-worshippers – The first culture believed to have clawed its way out of the pit of Dark Age barbarity was the Leonite Empire – a rekindling of the embers of the mythical Theocracy of the Sacred Flame.

These red-skinned sun-worshippers led by the emperor Leaping-Three-Lions re-established civilization on the continents of Notara and Ghorn, astride the backs of winged lions called Lamassu. But it was short-lived, for a mere five centuries later, the souls of the most of the population were mysteriously snuffed out in a single night. Only much later could the cause of this calamity be guessed at for it was one of the first acts of the recently awakened Arch-god of Entropy, men call Valokh.

The Leonite Empire gave new impetus to all of the lands around the Jalanon Sea and further south in Intaka and Molonek. Many of the realms bear the imprint of the Leonite architecture of white-painted circular buildings with bronze domed rooves.

Animists – Several Mortal cultures embrace the path of the Animist; devotees of the dead Mother of the Cosmos, called Dhannya, whose shattered essence courses within the life force of nature. These nature-worshippers commit their souls to the circle of life, and their aim is nothing less than the resurrection of The Goddess.

The first animists were the Elder Races who were created directly by Dhannya to order the world and take care of nature. After the entry of other races into the cosmos (especially Mortals), the Elder Race Animists acquired a second sacred duty which was they also took on a second sacred duty of protecting the Omphalos portals – gateways to the reality maelstrom at the base of the cosmic tree Yggdrasil. Here the 12 Keraunoi gushed out of the Material Plane, offering a potentially devastating quantity of power to any sorcerer mad enough to attempt channeling the flood.

As some great Mortals and gods began to suspect the existence of the Omphalos, the Gurloth founded realms among Mortals to aid and assist them safeguarding the portals which led to the Omphalos. Indeed the Elder Races and their Animist allies fought a devastating war against the Wu-Wei Sorcerers of the east and only just succeeded in their mission.

During the demon wars, the great mother of the cosmos, Dhannya, was slain sacrificing herself to save reality. While her consciousness was snuffed out at her death, fragments of her shattered god-soul were splashed upon the Nine Worlds. Much of this essence merged with the life-force of nature which permeates all living things; and so these non-sentient fragments of The Goddess have lived on within particularly verdant regions of the Nine Worlds.

During the dark night which were the centuries following her Celestial Death, the animists apprehended by signs and portents a second purpose in their creation – to initiate The Cosmic Awakening – the reconstruction of Dhannya herself!

It would be an undertaking to be realized over a period of ten millennia. Among the mortal Animists and the shamanic cultures, the Elder Races went and upon these Mortals, they conferred the secret ways to contact the portion of Dhannya’s Anima which had survived death and rested within the lifeforce of nature.

These Dhannyan Animist cultures came to revere nature, rejecting the eternal rest of Hadon or

a glorious afterlife among the gods; instead they bound their souls to the very cycle of nature itself. This binding of millions of mortal souls to nature was but one of the many facets of a vast plan spanning worlds and ages.

Most Animist cultures evolved a threefold culture with one sect epitomizing each aspect in the circle of nature – life, change and death.

During the Age of Ancients, the North of Transcephalos was largely Animist in culture after being conquered by the White Horse tribes of Pancephalos.  Milennia of the gnostic Cabal’s esoteric traditions, followed by millennia of Pantheist invasions and finally centuries of Mortan aetheist culture wiped out the Animist culture there, but in the rain-forests of the south, many animist tribes thrive.

Othanon Pantheists – Most Othanon Pantheists are descendants of settlers and conquerors of the Halodynes and Threxians.

Mighty, magnificent, and sophisticated, the Halodyne culture has been the most influential in recorded history. Advancing to its drumbeat are the navies of oared triremes and the armies of bronze-clad hoplites – the might of the Halodynes made manifest. Three harmonious strains entwine to form their culture – its breathtaking arts, erudite learning and exalted faith. One should not however mistake sophistication for pacifism, for the spear that is the Halodyne military remains ever sharp.

The Halodynes are first and foremost a people of faith, devoted to the Asrae gods; indeed they are counted among the Five Blessed Peoples whom the gods favour above all others. Their pantheistic worship is so intrinsic to the culture that Halodyne society could be likened to the weave of cloth; for through the political might of the secular city-states is woven the religious power of the twelve temple-cults. This interlaced balance of influence makes the fabric of society both strong and flexible, but also renders it prone to internal strife due to the lack of centralized rule.

The Halodynes believe themselves a superior, noble people chosen by the gods to lead mankind. Over the centuries, this immense pride has fermented to hubris, and after five centuries of decline, the Halodyne nations no longer wield the indomitable power of yesteryear, and many believe its climactic crescendo has already been played.

The Halodyne civilization was carried across half the world in two waves. Firstly by the settlers from these city states near the height of their power, and secondly by Jendor the glorious, the demigod emperor of Threxia. Although Jendor’s empire fragmented, Halodyne culture can still be found two continents away. The City states lost control of their more distant colonies in Transcephalos, which were located on the eastern side of the Jalanon Sea: Tabonakh, Lateris and Illenys.

Mortans – Gripping the lands of Ghorn in its cold, gauntleted fist, the Mortan Empire is the mightiest nation on the continent, having assimilated dozens of conquered realms. This expansionist, human culture is at once magnificent and morbid, enlightened and superstitious, with the glory of its accomplishments eclipsed only by the malevolence of its methods. The winged-skull emblem of the empire – the Calva

Alata – is said to symbolize mortal transcendence of death through necromancy, but in a way it also epitomizes Mortan culture – macabre imperialism. Centered upon the metropolis of Catharsium which sits in the caldera of an extinct volcano, the empire was founded almost 800 years ago by the 13

Godeater renegades of the Scarlet Order of Enlightenment. Guarded by cohorts of the praetorian legions, these Emperors now rule from their palace-tomb within Mount Ashgod.

The immortal Lichelord emperors reputedly seek to liberate humanity from its subservience to the gods, and to empower mankind to achieve its own ascendant destiny by fashioning a world-spanning empire of Mortals.

Religious nations despise this anti-theist empire, labeling it an infernal abomination, and claim the accursed Lichelords seek only to empower themselves. The empire’s sinister use of assassination, alchemical weapons, necromancy and overwhelming military might certainly undermines its image as compassionate philanthropist, but the truth is probably that the Mortan Empire is neither a paragon of goodness nor irredeemably evil, but rather a multi-faceted, sprawling edifice of amoral decadence, defying black-and-white classifications.

Within the central federati (states) and the far-flung provinces of the empire, peace and prosperity reign, enabling a thriving network of trade and a sophisticated urban culture. This Pax Mortana is bought with the blood of its crimsonclad legions – the largest and best-coordinated military on the

entire continent of Ghorn. Cohorts of the legions march to war beneath the golden standards of the Calva Alata, supported by devastating war-machines and black magic. Civilian society is equally well regimented with a ubiquitous civil bureaucracy, precise social strata, and a complex code of legal rights.

Mortan imperialism advocates grandiose cities of extravagant civic monuments. Vast forums, aqueducts, coliseums and mausoleums are constructed in conquered lands to imprint the world with the stamp of Mortan culture for all eternity.

Reaching skyward from the heart of Ghorn tower the Dolmatenine Mountains – a region that was settled by diverse ethnic groups during the Golden Age when the borders of the great empires of old crept back and forth across the continent. By the beginning of the Classical Age, the Dolmatinines were home to olive-skinned Ithyans, red-skinned Yamirans, white-skinned Anthalon and eastern Kassobari, all separate independent tribes partitioned by 4,000-meter-high mountain ranges.

The Empire portrays itself as champion against all of humanity’s many enemies, among which the Mortans include the gods, blaming them for many of man’s woes. Conversely, the pantheistic cultures of the Halodynes, Wyldfolk and Skannfyrd view the anti-theist empire as a rapacious monstrosity; but it was not through oppressive might alone that the Mortan Empire was built, rather in many lands the legions were welcomed with rose-petal joy as deliverance from the tyrants or anarchy which had previously prevailed.

Masterminding the Empire’s ascent are the Lichelord Emperors who wield more power than any of the Asrae gods, and to date only one has ever been destroyed. At the turn of each decade one of the Lichelords takes the Ashgod throne during the bombastic decennial requiem, and rules as emperor for the following 10 years, assisted by the senate and the four bureaus of the empire.

In place of theistic religion the Mortans practice ghoulish ancestor worship, shepherded by the Ashen Priests of the agency known as the Ossinatum. These priests officiate at morbid ceremonies to placate the deceased and administer the catacombs, mausoleums and necropolises throughout the empire. Within these somber tombs rest the bones, corpses and the Lapis Manali (spirit stones) to which the souls of the dead are anchored in the material plane by means of necromantic rites.

Despite its amenities and proven record as champion of humanity The Empire has a dark side which many cannot endure.  It is an officious and often oppressive necrocratic regime. Vast necropolises of mausoleums tower over the humble homes of the poor.  Shrines of the ancestors are everywhere, requiring frequent prayers to be performed for unknown heroes just in order to walk up one’s own street.  The Ordo Custodes watch citizens, reminding them of their duties.  Grand festivals for the Passage of Return of the dead are performed monthly which all citizens must attend.  Slavery forms the bedrock of the society, and Ogres, while mortal, are second-class citizens. In the recent times of hardship people are encouraged to disregard the needs of the living body, and harsh training abounds.

A man’s life is worth nothing except in relation to his ancestors, and greetings address only one’s forefathers, not the actual person.  Paranoia and fear rule the streets, while rich families live in splendor.  Bread and blood-sports pacify the masses that bear the tax burden of financing ever more legions.  Citizens feel comfortable in their cities, but outsiders consider them dark, oppressive, with buildings piled against each other and large government structures towering over the normal citizen’s dwellings.

Nomadic Peoples

Katlakan Bedouin Tribes – These are red-skinned Yamira Bedouin tribes, who ride Alpacas. They are sun worshippers. They wear long robes colorful robes and jewelry and have beaded hair.  They live in the deserts of Zibamba and Nazman of Transcephalos. In the deep desert, they are traders, while on the edges, savannah and steppe they are llama herders.

Makaar – The Makaar are one of the Elder Races. They look somewhat like mongooses standing on two legs. Makaar are very social and intelligent, but they have a reputation for being a little devious. Makaar are the most neutral, widely accepted race in the world, and they have a gift for languages. This has made them the greatest traders on Calydorn. Wherever there is a trade route, you will find Makaar owning caravans or operating trading posts. They are also accomplished thieves and acrobats. They are at home in any climate and any terrain. They are common in the deserts of Transcephalos as traders, and in the borderland steppe and savannah as goat herders.

Chlamphors – Are man-sized mamals with fur on their front and flexible scales on their backs. They are happy in any kind of terrain. Chlamphors are approachable and can often be found with Makaar.

They can be found in nomadic tribes spread all across the savannah and deserts of Transcephalos. Clamphors have amazing endurance (more than any mount), so they normall walk instead of riding other animals. Their way of life is herding, but whereas the Makar prefer the steppe and savannah, Chlamphors are happy in the deep desert, herding lage lizards.

Vedanyan Nomads  – The Vedanyan Nomads are very similar to the Dashedevara Pantheists of Transcephalos, the main difference being the fact that they are Nomadic. The Vadanyans prefer camels to Alpacas, but they also use the towering 6-legged Brontodonts.

Transcephalos through the Ages

Dawn Age

• Elder Races settled in most parts of Transcephalos in small isolated communities.

Elemental Age

• Stone Dwarves lived in some mountains during this period, while Salamanders colonized the volcanic lands on the eastern coast, and Slyphs settled the Westerwall Mountains. Tritons moved in from the sea, settling rivers and lakes further inland, evolving into Niads. Nevertheless, the Elder Races were still the dominant power of the age. At that time the only desert was in the centre of the continent (Hadazag).

Age of Immortals

• The Aetherions settled a powerful kingdom in the north of Transcephalos, called Shekesh.  The kingdom was instrumental in crushing the demon realm of Agjaganoth situated in the jungles and savannah of the south.

Golden Age

• Mortals began to arrive on Transcephalos – first were the Yamirans, then the Ithyans.  They were mostly hunter-gatherers, later developing into proto cultures.  The Aetherions assisted them, especially the Urkon Kingdom of the south and the Rhino riders of the northern plains.
• The Ogres of Knossus expanded up the Halocine River and into the Gellion Rift, but the greatest of all kingdoms during this age was Happaron in the North of Transcephalos. Several wars were fought between Happaron and Minaxos, ending with Happaron gaining domination over the gelion Rift, Jalanon Sea and the Crucible lands.
• At the end of the Age the Dreamweaver culture created a permanent peace between them and civilization blossomed
• During the Everkill War, the Aetherions of Shekesh turned on the Mortals of Transcephalos and massacred them.
• At the end of the war came the Baneplague, which turned 80% of mortals to into Banebrood.  Kaphtron, a Knossian ogre kingdom, survived by ruthless culling and isolationism.  Since then, Banebrood have been common all over Transcephalos, spawning particularly hideous new creations. Happaron collapsed as did Minaxos and the other human empires of that age.
• Shekesh was crushed by the Asrae, and the Aetherions were turned to wraiths.

Halcyon Age

• During the Wars between the Wu-Wei Sorcerers and the Animists for control of the Omphalos, the Elder Races recruited many mortal peoples to their cause, creating a vast number of Animists on the continent of Tonatopa just to the west.  This nature-worshiping animist culture spread to Transcaphalos and blossomed within the jungles to the south.
• The Theocracy of the Sacred Flame became the dominant force in southern Transcephalos, establishing the client state known as the Holy See of Cephelatra, which lasted almost a thousand years. Many of the Nature worshiping animists were converted forcibly to Sun-worship.
• Cephelatra was constantly challenged by the Gnostic Cabal who held the northern half of Transcephalos, The Holy See of Cephelatra was ruled by a Pyrophant, who was normally a member of the Pharaoh’s family.

Age of the Second Dawn

• The Malentians ruled Transcephalos for 500 years, with many fortresses in the north of Transcephalos. Mortals worshipped the empress of Malentis until the Asrae caused the Nine Woes, destroying the Malentian and atheist empires.

Dark Age

• The subcontinent was in Chaos. Demons and Banebrood ran rampant, and civilization collapsed in all places except Kaphtron and Hadazag. Malentian Exiles, fleeing their homeland, established kingdoms along the north-western coast and on the island of Pharsis.
• The Maeltian Exiles cooperated with the descendants of the Gnostic Cabal, creating a new culture uniting their traditions.

Age of the Ancients

• Vast number of settlers, adventurers and military expeditions spread Halodyne culture across Pancephalos, as far as the Jalanon Sea.
• The Leonite Empire arises from the ashes of the Theocracy of the Sacred Flame.  It comes as a more liberal and modern version of the sun-worship traditions. It conquers Western Transcephalos, and establishes many kingdoms, including Zapocan, Intaka and Molonek along the south-east coast. Meanwhile in the south, Urkon is re-settled by the Mocotan, and Azmaka arises from the ashes of the Cephelatran Empire, but they refuse to submit to the Leonite Emperor.
• White Horse Nomads from Pancephalos conquered and settled the lands of Kadatria, Dhannyricum,
• Clont, Shaynor and Rubicum.  These lands had the remnants of ancient civilizations going all the way back to Happaron. In most of these lands there were enclaves of Gnostic Cabal descendants.  The white Horse found them easy converts to Animism, and this religion together with the political and military might of the White Horse formed the basis of a new civilization. This so-called Dhannic Empire arose in the Dhannyricum Valley, and ruled all of northern Transcephalos during the Age of Ancients. It was cobbled together from remnants of the Golden Age empire of Haparon, and led by Gnostic Cabal settlers who had embraced Animism.
• While the Cabalists converted, most of the other cultures resisted conversion although they gladly became part of the Dhannic Empire.

Blessed Age

• The Blessed Races are selected by the Asrae gods to revive the covenant between gods and men, and the Anointed Champions are born. All of north-eastern Transcephalos is conquered by the unstoppable crusade of Jendor of Thraxia before he turned east and crossed two continents.
• At the same time, in the West, Kashnu from the Seloise Islands; the third Champion replanted the seeds of civilization in Ilvarta on the continent of Zephyr, the verdant homeland of the Vedanya tribes, where the Raj-states had replaced the former Pad-Paradshos Empire. Kashnu’s holy crusade spread worship of the Asrae’s Dashadevara Pantheon across the western continents of Calydorn, and reached as far as ghorn, There in Transcephalos, the conquered the western coastal lands and spread across the north as far as the Jalanon Sea. Here they established worship of the Dashadevara pantheon, up to the border Jendor had created in his march from the east.  In this way, the north became pantheist again while parts of the south clung to their sun-worship, and the deep rain-forest remained Animist.

Age of Woe

• Most of the Jalanon Sea Kingdoms of Transcephalos broke free of Jendor’s Threxian empire, as it collapses upon Jendor’s death.
• Just to the east in the Ar-gorna Basin a new empire was arising – the Mortans. The Dhannic Empire was the first great challenge faced by the Mortans and was finally conquered in 2250 after a war lasting 180 years. Dhannyricum and Kadatria have since been thoroughly mortanized, while Baaldesh and Badatra still retain a good deal of their culture.
• The Mortan Empire expanded, into the Asherah Sea region and then down the gelion Rift, conquering city after city.  And then taking the entirety of the Jalanon Sea states.
• The New Pharaoh of Notara recently invaded south west Transcephalos. Now these two major powers are fighting for control of east Transcephalos,
• Now Transcephalos is a patchwork of exotic cultures.