♦ Birth of the People (4 Million Years Ago 〜) ♦

Humankind was born on the Southern Continent. Hominids diverged from apes, taking the first steps to becoming modern humans. However, their ability to adapt to their surroundings was very limited, so they could not wander far from home. Millions of years later, primitive humans were born and became the direct ancestors of modern humans.

Modern humans reach the Eastern Continent

45,000 Years Ago

Primitive humans had a similar cranial and skeletal structure to modern humans and were more adaptable than their previous incarnations. After primitive man was wiped out, modern humans spread throughout Sandail, crossing to the Eastern Continent 45,000 years ago and reaching all corners of the land around 8000 years ago.

Development of Agriculture

10,000 Years Ago

People who lived in temperate plains made tools and established agricultural settlements, bringing stability to the uncertain hunter-gatherer lifestyle. This led to rapid population growth and planted the seeds for civilization. The establishment of agriculture was a turning point in human history.

Villages appear

7000 BS

Agriculture caused people to live in groups instead of as individuals. Those groups became villages, then cities and entire nations. However, hunter-gatherer groups still existed in the Weissland region because of the harsh, frigid climate. They congregated in tribal groups, but were still considered primitive in comparison to the agricultural civilizations that emerged in the central part of the continent.

Weissland had been left behind while the Central Plains, what is now Lordless Land, began to consider themselves the center of the world.

■ The spread of humans

♦ Discovery of Spells (5500 BS) ♦

Weissland was a frigid region that did not benefit from developments made in the Central Plains. It was here that Spells were discovered. Spells as we know them did not exist at the time, but the discovery was of how to use Quells to achieve those effects. It has been theorized that Quells were discovered in every region before this, but any Spell effects were produced accidentally, not intentionally.

The reasoning behind why the discovery of Spells occurred in Weissland is related to the climate. It would be impossible to survive in this land of snow and ice without the use of Quells. Also, Quells became sacred objects and after further research, became deeply ingrained in the daily life of humans.

♦ Establishment of Quell Culture (2000 BS 〜 400 BS) ♦

The discovery of Quells led to sudden population growth in Weissland. More and more people travelled north in search of new lands. The migration of the southern peoples also let them spread knowledge of how to use Quells, information which increased productivity and enriched the lives of citizens in the northern countries.

At the time, many countries were city-states governed by the people. The arrival of the southern peoples began to create a divide between those who possessed Spell Knowledge and Quells and those who did not. Afterwards, some citizens monopolized their wealth and classes were created among the people. Those with Spell Knowledge and Quells became Kings and Nobles wielding tremendous power. And from 2000 BS onward, many ancient countries were founded and began to fight amongst themselves.

Battle of Tiberius

c. 2334 BS

Circa 2000 BS, there was a massive migration to the lands north of the Grand Teille. This was a direct result of the Battle of Tiberius in 2334 BS.

The word for “Quell” does not appear in the historical record for this campaign, but one of the accounts describes a sudden surge of power during the conflict between a southern power and an ancient country near modern day Laubholz. It was clearly the power of a Quell that brought about a huge change on the battlefield.

Afterwards, people hurried to find the source of this unknown power. The result was a sudden influx of Quells to the north brought by the migration in 2000 BS, according to a historical account about the discovery of Spells.

Previous Civilizations

In Sandail, there exist ruins of a completely different nature than the great monuments constructed roughly 2000 years ago. These structures called Megaliths are scattered across the world.

Almost no metal was used in the construction of the many towering ruins that were discovered. The civilization that built them is thought to be one completely unrelated to humans. Other theories date that civilization to far before the birth of humankind. The Quells found in these ruins were later used by humans, which led to the discovery of Spells.

Another characteristic of these ruins is that none have been found on the Southern Continent. According to one theory, civilizations did not exist there since the majority of land was covered in desert. This meant there were no Quells on the Southern Continent. However, a special ruin known as the Desert Megalith does exist.

Discrepancy About the Discovery of Spells

The discovery of Quells is recorded as happening in both 5500 BS and 2000 BS, but this is a discrepancy in interpretation. Usually, the event in 2000 BS refers to the discovery of using Quells to cast Spells and the spread of that knowledge.

On the other hand, the event in 5500 BS refers to the discovery of Quells themselves without knowledge of how to use them. At the time, they were passed down through generations as mystical objects which could suddenly emit power.

During the intermediary 3000 year period, many Quells were discovered and used by tribes as ritual objects. Later on, they brought Quells to the rest of the world when the people migrated to the north.

■ Summary of the History of Quells

Discovery of Quells

Ever since their birth, humans had lived in harmony with nature. They developed and used tools, gained mastery over fire, and cleared a path to mysterious undiscovered lands. However, this balance changed once humans reached Weissland. That is when Quells were discovered.

● 5500 BS

The first Quell was found in an ice cavern near the lake where the Ice Megalith is located in Weissland. It was a marvelous object which could semipermanently generate heat without consuming fuel, very similar to the “Hot Stone” Quells used as fireplaces and stoves.

The discovery of this Quell allowed the people of Weissland to overcome the extremely frigid climate. It was originally believed that Quells had the ability to communicate with spirits and thus ownership was limited to mediums and village elders.

Even with this restriction, Quells were still able to enrich the lives of the people and they prospered. However, this led to a population increase and conflicts over food and Quells soon followed.

● 2000’s BS

As the people of Weissland continued to quarrel amongst themselves, the growing population sought an easier lifestyle in warmer climates, resulting in a mass migration to the north.

Small countries had already been established in Grand Valley, but the influx of Quells from the people of Weissland sparked changes in governance. Some used Quells to quietly assert their power, some used them to assimilate other countries just to survive, some kept the power of Quells all to themselves. Various alliances were formed and broken, eventually leading to the creation of a country that ruled over smaller kingdoms.

● c. 1000 BS

From this point on, the nature of Quells changed to that of weapons of war used directly in combat. This chaos slowly spread to the north, eventually drawing the countries of the Lordless Land and Merchmin Regions into the conflict. It became a war between “those possessing Quells” and “those without Quells”.