Gifted Saga Timeline

August 12, 1498: Wizards Enclave founded.

June 5, 1991: Von Druben makes his play to gain world domination. He fails, but his activity forces the Interworld Council of Wizards to act. They declare that the high concentration of magic on the Gifted Earth is affecting other worlds, and that at least half of the Gifted must leave voluntarily within six weeks. Otherwise, the Council will make them.

July 4, 1991: Those Who Stand Above, at the request of Yehudi, overrule the Council, granting

the Gifted more time for their preparations.

February 12, 1992: Half the known Gifted have by this time left the Gifted Earth, either traveling into space or to alternate Earths. This exodus is aided greatly by Jonathan Egger's invention of a spell which makes travel across great distances - either spacial or dimensional much quicker.

June 22, 1998: The Fire Giant is created, and causes great destruction through large tracts of the Appalachians. Unable to defeat it, a coalition of Gifted cooperates in a spell that jumps it forward in time.

2015-2208: The golden age, when technology and magic work together for all.

2209: The beginning of the Age of Doubt, marked by a downturn in the economy. The first prognostications of disaster are made.

2210-2340: The sudden collapse of the Greater Hong Kong government on November 12, 2210

begins a cascading series of events which begin the Long Slide. Several individuals and

organizations initiate frantic activity, first to try and halt the decline and later to try and preserve something of civilization. No attempt is fully successful.

August 8, 2345: The Redoubt is sealed.

2490: Centauria Founded

3304: Turnaround. If the prognosticators are right, from here on things will get better, albeit

slowly. The Empire of the East begins its advance across the Appalachians.

3306: The final collapse of the Empire. Large parts become wildlands with no central

government, while several sections reorganize as autonomous governments. Meanwhile, the

cooperation in West Appalach which was motivated by the threat of invasion has caused many

rulers to agree to form a federation. As time goes by, treaties, marriages and a couple of issueless deaths cause mergers which gradually bring more and more of the area under the control of a few families.

3313: Spurred on by Baron Greer, several of the largest groups agree to form the Peers Council. Greer, charismatic, intelligent, ambitious but fair, and a hero or the war with the Empire, is elected to head the council. Over the next year and a half Greer, aided by Baron Haver and Duke Otel, negotiates for an even more centralized government, an actual kingdom.

3315: The formation of West Appalach. Greer is chosen as King. The post is not hereditary, but

elected by the Peers Council. Any noble can be elected, and the position is for life.

3321: Part of the former Empire reorganizes as East Appalach.

3339: "Tiger Strides the Mountain" begins, and takes place mainly in the land of West

Appalach.

3352: East Appalach makes several raids across the mountains into West Appalach. These end

in a standoff, after West Appalach reinforces its borders. There will be several more provocations over the coming years, but no major trouble. However, relations between East and West are never warm, and at times are quite chilly.

3364: Marriage of Prince Caristo (Aleshia's son) to Baroness Grinette.

3366: Prince Ariston born.

3372: The Kingfish begins his holy quest.

3394: "Tiger and the Prince."

3398: Nofur born.

3417: Runner and Stave marry.

3335: Runner is located. She returns home for a brief period, then returns to the world where

she has lived the past fifty years. Stave and several others accompany her.

The Celebration

Every decade, on the anniversary of the Gifting, there is a party in Lexington. Hosted by Rickey's, it occupies more than a block. Before the party this is a barren patch of ground, owned by a group of Gifted and overseen by Rickey in exchange for free attendance. The day the party begins, a strange series of structures mysteriously appears. Some of these are the same from party to party; others appear once and never again.

The Gifted have already started arriving by this time. Many of them are there at least a day

early, and help set up. Some arrive weeks ahead of time, to help organize things. Many stay for similar periods afterwards, to clean up.

The party lasts a week. The forms of celebration are as varied as the people attending, and there is much overlap between the groups who attend the different events. The Rockers are a major and

very noticeable group. They are the people who traditionally end the celebration. Together with all the other Dead Dogs they have an outdoor block party (the weather is always perfect) which lasts until exactly midnight. At ten minutes 'till they begin singing "Dancing in the Street," which closes out the celebration for another decade.

All Gifted are welcome, and may bring friends. No Normal may enter without invitation, no

matter how influential or powerful he or she may be. Several attempts have been made over the centuries to stop the party, either ahead of time or during. These have never been successful.