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The Wandering Age

1,003 to 3,512

A time during The Magic Sword Kings Period immediately after the Vampyric Wars. Exhausted by their two-century struggle against the Vampyre lord Vhadxi and his minions, the remaining nations of the Twelve Realms collapsed. Without their presence, there were no soldiers to keep the peace or kings to command them. The world was lost to banditry, warlords, and darkness. Many times, the sole defense of a village or traveller was the appearance of a wandering hero to help them.

During this chaotic time, the Wang Kingdom reached the peak of its power, and so this time is also referred to as the Wang Era.

The Early Period of the Wandering Age: 1,003 to 2,300

• 1,003 - After 200 years of epic struggle (you take your time with things when you're undead), Kelembad launches an epicly Epic last-ditch offensive at the Chasm of Eternal Sorrow. The Vampyre threat is eliminated, but the last nations collapse.

• 1,003 to 1,026 - With no nations to provide security, the land falls into chaos. Warlords, bandits, and worse prowl the lands, and villagers have little to turn to for defence but wandering warriors and heroes. Because of this, it is sometimes referred to as The Wandering Age.

• 1,026 - Wang Yi the Magnificent Bastard joins together three clans of the Wang Region; together they establish the Wang Kingdom, which becomes the last (but not particularly effective) bastion of civilization during The Wandering Age. The Wang Era begins.

• 1,027 - Wang Yi the Magnificent Bastard becomes the first of the High August Jade Lotus Emperors of the Wang Kingdom. The township of Kimono is chosen for the capital. Construction of the Imperial Palace begins.

• 1,038 - Just as order stands to reassert itself, The Shadow Lord arises. Also known as The King of the Theives and The Walking Evil, The Shadow Lord unites all theives under his rule. The Wang Kingdom teeters perilously on the brink of chaos.

• 1,038 to 1,059 - Wang Yi remains suspiciously silent on the trouble facing his kingdom. Rumours claim that he is being bribed by the Shadow Lord; others hold that he is suffering from dementia. In fact he is fighting a lengthy secret war of wits, will, espionage and magic against the rising power of the Shadow Lord, which has absorbed all his energy and begun to take its toll on his mental stability.

• 1,059 - Wang Yi dies, leaving the throne to an heir of little value. Many suspect that the Shadow Lord personally chose the new Emperor, a privelege afforded by his massive bribes. In any case, the situation in the Wang Kingdom worsens.

• 1,059 to 2,001 - The reign of the second Emperor. Despair in the Wang Kingdom, due to the Shadow Lord.

• 2,001 - The second Emperor dies. His successor, the third Emperor (or rather the first Empress), is Shen Jingbing the Insane, and even less fit to hold the position, being evil, sadistic and mentally deranged. The situation worsens for the Wang Kingdom.

• 2,062 - The third Emperor dies without choosing a heir. The three clans of the High August Jade Lotus Emperors attempt to choose one together, but they are stopped by the Shadow Lord. Those who are not killed are forced into exile. The Shadow Lord's control over the Wang Kingdom is complete.

• 2,063 to 2,282 - The First Great Era of the Wandering Hero begins. As the situation worsens in the Wang Kingdom, more and more warriors take to the roads, battling villains and protecting the innocent. They represent a source of good pushing back the tides of evil. The conflict drags on for centuries.

• 2,282 - Donu-Ishu, a wandering, katana-wielding hero, becomes known to the lieutenants of the Shadow Lord. They attempt to kill him, but fail. To protect against future attacks, Donu-Ishu assembles a band of heroes, The Donu-Ishu Seven, to battle evil.

• 2,289 - The Donu-Ishu Seven attack the bandit stronghold at Stara Zagora. They destroy it and kill all 200 bandits there. Some believe that this was the beginning of The Bandit Swamps.

• 2,290 to 2,299 - Donu-Ishu recieves word from all over the Wang Kingdom, begging for help. Decided the only way to improve things for all is to bring in a new Emperor, he and his Seven assemble an army to dispose of the Shadow Lord. They battle their way across the Wang Kingdom.

• 2,300 - The army reaches the Imperial Palace with only 500 surviving soldiers. The Donu-Ishu Seven assults the palace alone, hoping to assassinate the Shadow Lord; all are killed. However, they slaughter so many minions on their way in that the Shadow Lord can no longer protect the palace. He flees.

The Middle Period of the Wandering Age: 2,301 to 3,326

• 2,301 - With the three ruling clans of the Wang Kingdom restored, it comes time to choose a new Emperor. Cao Shaitu and his brother, Cao Kyungah, are the obvious candidates, having fought valiantly as part of the army. The two decide to settle their differences through violence.

• 2,303 - Cao Shaitu emerges as Emperor after a hearty two years spent slaughtering those who oppose him. He thus earns the title "Slayer of All Things Slayable".

• 2,303 to 2,368 - Order begins to reassert itself in the Wang Kingdom. Bandits are routed, and Wandering Heroes hang up their weapons to become sushi cooks. Towns and cities that were ravaged are rebuilt. This is done largely without the Emperor, who gains a reputation for insanity.

• 2,368 - The Emperor dies after mistaking his reflection for an enemy and attempting to slay it. The throne passes to the Fifth Emperor.

• 2,369 to 2,425 - Reign of the Fifth Emperor. The Wang Kindom continues to flourish.

• 2,425 - The Fifth Emperor dies of natural causes; the Sixth Emperor takes over.

• 2,426 to 3,262 - The Reign of the Sixth Emperor. Little is known about him, other than that he was extraordinarily long-lived. Some readers suspect that this was used as an easy way to fix the massive inconsistancies in the number of High August Jade Lotus Emperors. During this time bandits begin creeping back into the Wang Kingdom; by the end they have regained much of their lost power.

• 3,262 - The three clans, tired of not having a shot at the throne, push the Sixth Emperor off a cliff. Kang Chi-Nu the Perverted, the Seventh Emperor, takes the throne.

• 3,271 - Kang Chi-Nu's policy of having his concubine's look exactly like him, even if it takes dangerous surgery, leads them to talk of rebellion. A girl named Wei Keiling attempts to take the throne, impersonating Kang. She is found out and killed.

• 3,290 - Reports indicate that the Shadow Lord has returned to the Wang Kingdom. Bandit activity increases tenfold.

• 3,316 - Ke Peirui is born. Kang Chi-Nu chooses him as heir to the throne, on the grounds that they look similar.

The Waning Period of the Wandering Age: 3,327 to 3,512

• 3,327 - Kang Chi-Nu the Perverted passes away. The Harlots, led by Fang Shu of the Long Wang Pass, seize the opportunity to take over the Wang Kingdom before the rightful Emperor, a young Ke Peirui, can assume the throne. Ke Peirui goes into hiding in the coastal city of Miyazaki.

• 3,327 to 3,342 - Fifteen years pass with Fang Shu as the official head of the Wang Kingdom. However, real power lies in The Shadow Lord. Under him, crime and despair spread through the state.

• 3,342 - Ke Peirui returns from exile to claim the throne. The Battle of the Falling Cherry-Blossoms follows, during which Ke Peirui earns himself the title of "Conqueror of the Harlots". Fang Shu dies on the front steps of the Imperial Palace; The Shadow Lord leaves to consolidate his power.

• 3,342 to 3,399 - Relative peace under the rule of Ke Peirui.

• 3,395 - Tobun's older brother-to-be, Iro, is born.

• 3,399 - Ke Peirui dies. His successor, the Ninth Emperor of the Wang Kingdom, is of so little renown that his name is not recorded in the Oriental Tales of the Wang Kingdom. Seeing his time has come, The Shadow Lord once again emerges for the dark.

• 3,400 - The Shadow Lord breaks into the Imperial Palace with an army of bandits. He personally assassinates the Ninth Emperor and installs Teruki the Coward as a puppet ruler.

• 3,405 - Wangdok begins his career as a wandering hero.

• 3,409 - Iro leaves home and joins a wandering bandit clan.

• 3,410 - Tobun is born.

• 3,420 - Tobun's father is killed. He joins his brother's bandit clan.

• 3,431 - Tobun leaves his bandit clan, steals a samurai sword from a rich nobleman and vows to commit his life to stopping The Shadow Lord. He becomes a wandering hero, righting wrongs as he sees them.

• 3,449 - Wangdok retires his battle spoons and begins to train The Cardboard Tube Samurai in the ways of Wang-Fu.

• 3,456 - The Cardboard Tube Samurai first appears on the battlefield. Wielding his legendary Cardboard Tube, he represents the first real threat to The Shadow Lord's Power.

• 3,458 - Tobun and the Cardboard Tube Samurai battle alongside each other for some time.

• 3,459 - Enraged at this new threat, The Shadow Lord sends his best lieutenant and a half-dozen assassins after the Cardboard Tube Samurai. The Cardboard Tube Samurai defeats them in the battle known as Hawk's Harvest and the Path Through Oblivion (see: Cardboard Tube Samurai).

• 3,460 - Tobun becomes possessed by an evil sword, which forces him to commit great attrocities. He is finally stopped by the Cardboard Tube Samurai, who releases Tobun from his torment. This battle is known as Famine-of-Winter and the Last Rites.

• 3,460 to 3,463 - The Cardboard Tube Samurai grows in fame (or, from The Shadow Lord's perspective, infamy) as he continues to fight evil in the countryside.

• 3,463 - The Cardboard Tube Samurai begins to take a more pro-active approach to fighting evil. The Samurai learns that the Shadow Lord's lieutenants will be visiting a nearby military camp, and decides to take destroy the camp before they get there. The battle is known as Waking-Dragon and the Feast of Afterwinter (see: Cardboard Tube Samurai).

• 3,464 - Fearing attack by the Cardboard Tube Samurai, The Shadow Lord has Teruki the Coward eject all citizens from Kimono. The entire city is then converted into a fortress.

• 3,465 - The Cardboard Tube Samurai returns to Wangdok, sensing that he is approaching the final battle. Wangdok teaches him the greatest secrets of Wangchieval.

• 3,466 - The Cardboard Tube Samurai is charted moving towards Kimono, fighting The Shadow Lord's minions as he goes. As he grows closer, tensions in Kimono rise. The Shadow Lord sends ever greater numbers of men in an attempt to stop him, but each battalion falls to the tube. On the last day of the year 3,466, Teruki the Coward hangs himself out of fear. By the end of the year, the Cardboard Tube Samurai is a mere ten ploisnu (see: Weights and Measures) away from Kimono.

• Primanary 1st, 3,467 - The Imperial Palace loses contact with the outer walls of the city early in the day. By noon, there is rampant chaos between the middle walls; those soldiers that do escape speak of a killing ghost, clad in yellow and wielding a tube. The Shadow Lord instantly understands this to be the Cardboard Tube Samurai, and so prepares the palace for attack. The preparations appear to be for naught; late in the afternoon, the Cardboard Tube Samurai breaches the palace walls. Most soldiers are not even aware that he has arrived until they find themselves at the end of his tube. At sunset the Cardboard Tube Samurai finds The Shadow Lord, and so begins The Shadow Lord's Last Stand.

• Primanary 2nd, 3,467 - The Shadow Lord ascends Mt Wang, pursued by the Cardboard Tube Samurai. Both are lost to history. This event marks the official end of the Wang Era.

• 3,467 to 3,512 - The citizens of the Wang Kingdom regroup, attempting to re-establish a government. The three ruling clans refuse to choose a new Emperor, fearing a return of the Shadow Lord. Instead, a Constitutional Monarchy is devised by a plucky carpenter known as Me-Ya Moto, with a parliament voted on by the upper class. During this time Wang influence on the rest of Battal wanes. With no great power left, regions of Battal move towards autonomy.

• 3,512 - Order reasserts itself, and stable kingdoms begin to rise.