--- #### **The Primordial Age (Pre-Dalereckoning)** - **Before -35,000 DR: Formation of the Elemental Chaos** - The Elemental Chaos forms during the multiverse’s creation, a vast expanse of unshaped energy from which all elements flow. - The **primordials** emerge from the chaos, becoming its rulers and shapers. - **The Dawn War:** - The primordials clash with the gods in the **Dawn War**, seeking to destroy the ordered planes and return the multiverse to chaos. - The gods defeat many primordials, imprisoning them within the Chaos or other planes, while others are slain outright. - During the war, the god **Tharizdun** corrupts a shard of elemental energy, creating the **Abyss** at the deepest layer of the Elemental Chaos. --- #### **The Age of Elemental Sovereignty (-30,000 DR to -10,000 DR)** - **-30,000 DR: Rise of the Primordial Realms** - The primordials who survived the Dawn War establish elemental dominions, such as the **City of Brass** on the Plane of Fire and the **Great Rift** in the Plane of Earth. - The Elemental Chaos becomes a fractured realm of warring elemental powers. - **-25,000 DR: The Creation of Elemental Beings** - The primordials create the **elementals** to serve as soldiers, guardians, and agents within their realms. - Genies, more intelligent and independent beings, rise to prominence as rulers and intermediaries. - **-20,000 DR: Abyssal Influence Spreads** - The Abyss, a corruption within the Elemental Chaos, begins spreading its influence, creating demonic entities and corrupting elemental regions. - Demons like **Demogorgon** and **Orcus** rise to power, establishing domains within the Abyss. --- #### **The Age of Mortal Interaction (-10,000 DR to -1,000 DR)** - **-10,000 DR: Discovery by Mortals** - Mortals begin exploring the Elemental Chaos through planar magic, summoning elementals and bargaining with genies. - Early mortal civilizations use elemental power to create wonders but also inadvertently unleash chaos upon the Material Plane. - **-7,000 DR: The Elemental Pacts** - Mortals establish the first **Elemental Pacts**, binding themselves to elemental forces for power. - These pacts lead to the rise of elemental cults, some benevolent and others destructive. - **-5,000 DR: The Rise of the Elemental Princes** - Elemental beings of immense power, such as **Imix**, Prince of Evil Fire, and **Yan-C-Bin**, Prince of Evil Air, assert dominion over regions of the Chaos. - These princes clash with genies and other elemental rulers, fracturing the Elemental Chaos further. --- #### **The Age of Mortal Empires (-1,000 DR to 1358 DR)** - **-1,000 DR: The Elemental Wars** - Mortal mages and summoners exploit the Elemental Chaos, triggering conflicts between rival elemental factions. - Entire regions of the Material Plane are scarred by these wars, creating wastelands and elemental rifts. - **500 DR: The Founding of the City of Brass** - The **efreet**, led by their grand sultan, expand the **City of Brass**, making it a center of trade and power within the Elemental Chaos. - The city becomes a hub for planar travelers, adventurers, and those seeking elemental power. - **714 DR: Elemental Influence in Myth Drannor** - Elven wizards in Myth Drannor summon elementals to power their magical experiments, inadvertently creating unstable rifts to the Elemental Chaos. - These rifts persist after the city’s fall, allowing elemental creatures to enter the Material Plane. --- #### **The Time of Troubles and Elemental Chaos (1358 DR)** - **1358 DR: The Time of Troubles** - During the chaos of the gods walking Faerûn, elemental forces surge across the planes, destabilizing regions connected to the Elemental Chaos. - Mortal summoners lose control of their elemental servants, causing widespread destruction. --- #### **The Spellplague and Elemental Chaos Unleashed (1385 DR to 1487 DR)** - **1385 DR: The Spellplague** - The collapse of the Weave disrupts barriers between the Elemental Chaos and the Material Plane, creating **wild magic zones** and elemental rifts. - Regions like **Chult** and **Calimshan** are heavily affected, with elemental creatures wreaking havoc. - **1395 DR: Rise of Elemental Cults** - Cults devoted to the **Elemental Princes** spread across the Material Plane, seeking to use the weakened barriers to summon their masters. - Adventurers thwart many of these cults, though their influence lingers in remote regions. --- #### **The Second Sundering and Modern Era (1484 DR to Present)** - **1484–1487 DR: The Second Sundering** - The restoration of the **Tablets of Fate** stabilizes the Elemental Chaos, restoring its balance with the Material Plane. - Elemental activity diminishes but remains a threat in areas where rifts persist. - **1492 DR: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Elemental Intrigue** - Elemental cultists aligned with the **Princes of Elemental Evil** resurface near Baldur’s Gate, seeking to exploit latent rifts to the Chaos. - Adventurers confront these cults, sealing rifts and preventing catastrophic elemental incursions. - **Present Day:** - The Elemental Chaos remains a realm of raw, untamed power, its influence felt through elemental creatures, magical phenomena, and cultists seeking to harness its energy. - Adventurers frequently explore its realms, seeking ancient knowledge, treasures, or alliances with elemental beings. --- ### **Themes of the Elemental Chaos’ Timeline** 1. **Raw Creation and Destruction:** - The Elemental Chaos embodies the unbridled forces of nature, offering both the power to create and the potential to destroy. 2. **Primordial Legacy:** - The primordials and their creations continue to influence the multiverse, shaping the Material Plane and beyond. 3. **Mortal Exploitation and Conflict:** - Mortals frequently exploit the Elemental Chaos, often at great cost, triggering conflicts and unleashing its unpredictable power. 4. **Adventuring Opportunities:** - The Elemental Chaos offers challenges such as battling elemental princes, closing rifts, and retrieving treasures from the City of Brass or the Abyssal edges. ---