Before creation · Deep time · Mortal history · 1454 CE

Timeline

Follow the SpiralWorlds timeline from the last universe and the first cosmic distinctions through prehistoric Earth, mortal civilisation and the late-medieval campaign present.

Begin before creation Enter 1454 CE

A scholar studies a luminous spiral of cosmic and mortal history, representing the SpiralWorlds timeline

Before timeThe last universe, the Void and the first distinction.

17 cosmic eonsGrouped into six broad stages before Earth’s history begins.

16 Earth agesDeep time and mortal civilisation in one chronology.

1454 CEThe campaign present where every earlier age still matters.

Reading the chronology

Myth records events even when memory distorts them.

Exact dates mark accepted chronology; approximate dates use “c.”; events beyond mortal calendars follow mythic sequence. Poetry, damaged records, rival calendars, prophecy and political memory may disagree without making the underlying event unreal.

01 · Cosmic history

Before worlds, there were distinctions.

The earliest history establishes energy, thought, law, the planes, magic, divine generations and the outsider peoples that later inherit those realms.

Before the beginning

The Last Universe

The ending of an earlier creation and the remnant possibilities that survive its death.

Open the last universe → Between creations

The Void Between Universes

The failure of present reality to apply, haunted by Qlippothic persistence and things that refused to end.

Enter the Void → Eons I–IV

Cosmic Dawn

First polarity, the Energy Planes, the Astral awakening and the Elder Gods’ first ordering of existence.

Explore the cosmic dawn → Eons V–VIII

Foundations of Order

The first schism, cosmic law, the Outer Planes and the large-scale structure of stars and galaxies.

Explore the foundations → Eons IX–XII

Raw Power and Hidden Cracks

Magic becomes repeatable, elemental realms stabilise, mirror worlds form and the Beyond presses inward.

Explore raw power → Eons XIII–XV

Cosmic Reckoning and Recovery

Elder wars scar reality, leylines bind the damaged cosmos and the first gods retreat from direct rule.

Explore the reckoning → Eon XVI

Dawn of the Outsiders

Demons, devils, celestials, modrons, genies and other planar peoples arise within older realms.

Explore the outsider dawn →

Eon XVII

Toward Earth and Beyond

Later pantheons, world spirits and inherited divine lineages establish courts and sacred territories within the older planes.

Continues into Earth’s history

02 · Earth and deep time

A magical Earth remains a natural Earth.

Evolution, climate, continental movement and extinction remain real. Spirits, elder peoples and hidden survivals exist within that history rather than replacing it.

The Dawn of Earth

Stars, planets, oceans and the long preparation for complex life.

13.8 billion–541 million years ago

→ 02

The Age of Awakening

Complex seas, reefs, fishes and the first great footholds of life on land.

541–359 million years ago

→ 03

Bugs, Amphibians and the Rise of Giants

Swamp forests, giant arthropods, amphibian worlds, the Great Dying and Triassic recovery.

359–201 million years ago

→ 04

The Age of Giants

Dinosaurs dominate land while marine reptiles and pterosaurs command sea and sky.

201–145 million years ago

→ 05

The Flowering World

Flowering plants spread and the last great dinosaur worlds reach their height.

145–66 million years ago

→ 06

The Ashen Dawn

Impact, darkness and recovery open the world to expanding mammals and birds.

66–23 million years ago

→ 07

The Age of Open Lands

Grasslands and steppes widen as familiar mammal lineages and hominids emerge.

23–2.6 million years ago

→ 08

The Shattered Crown

Ice, migration and the breaking of elder dominions bring humanity toward historical power.

2.6 million years ago–c. 9700 BCE

→

03 · Ages of mortal civilisation

Settlement becomes memory, law and empire.

These ages mark major transformations without claiming that every people urbanises, centralises or changes at the same moment.

The Dawning Age

Flood, thaw, permanent settlement, agriculture, sacred burial and the first rooted orders.

c. 9700–7000 BCE

→ 10

The Rooting Age

Water, storage, inheritance, priesthood and specialised labour deepen territorial society.

c. 7000–5000 BCE

→ 11

The Blooming Cities

Urban centres gather craft, exchange, administration, temple power and political memory.

c. 5000–3500 BCE

→ 12

The Breaking Paths

Migration, trade, war and collapsing networks scatter peoples and sacred traditions.

c. 3500–2000 BCE

→ 13

The Rise of Kingdoms

Palaces, chariots, heroic dynasties and international courts reach dangerous splendour.

c. 2000–1200 BCE

→ 14

The Iron Ascendancies

Iron, cavalry, coinage, roads, written law and imperial administration expand state power.

c. 1200 BCE–300 CE

→ 15

The Wars of Dominion

Successor kingdoms and sacred institutions fight to define law, truth and rightful rule.

300–1200 CE

→ 16

The Age of Severed Crowns

Orc-led steppe empires, plague, revolt, gunpowder and dynastic war break inherited certainty.

1200–1454 CE

→

04 · Campaign present

1454 CE

The campaign opens one year after the hobgoblin conquest of Constantinople and the end of the Hundred Years’ War. The Black Death has emptied settlements and transformed labour, inheritance and burial. The rarer Red Death leaves corpse hazards, revenants and unresolved claims among the dead.

Cannon and gunpowder are changing siegecraft. Mercenary companies seek employers. Orc-led steppe successor states remain dangerous. Maritime powers test longer routes, while gods, spirits and monsters continue to hold recognised claims over land, bloodlines, roads, graves and sacred places.

The past is not background. Every earlier age can return as ownership, danger, obligation or adventure.

Black Death and Red Death→Explore the world of 1454→Build a campaign in the present→Open the final historical age→

05 · Continue through the world

The timeline establishes sequence. Geography, gods, planes and the bestiary show where its consequences remain.

06 · Further reading and viewing

Historical evidence and wider perspectives.

These external resources provide accessible starting points for archaeology, human origins, historical context and the use of deep history in games and imagined worlds.

Selected historical and scientific references

Institutional sources supporting the real chronology beneath the fantasy setting.

English HeritageHistory of StonehengeOfficial history, archaeology and changing interpretations of the monument. →British MuseumRoman BritainObjects and evidence from four centuries of Roman rule and Romano-British life. →The Metropolitan Museum of ArtMycenaean CivilizationA concise archaeological and artistic introduction to the Mycenaean world. →The Metropolitan Museum of ArtEgypt in the Middle KingdomHistory, archaeology and art from the reunified Middle Kingdom. →US National Park ServiceMonumental Earthworks of Poverty PointAn official introduction to the major Indigenous earthwork complex in Louisiana. →Smithsonian Human Origins ProgramClimate and Human EvolutionResearch on environmental instability, adaptation and the long history of human evolution. →

Selected videos

Worldbuilding discussions and historical overviews connected to deep time, the medieval world and the campaign present.

Videos are included for orientation and inspiration. The institutional references above are the stronger starting point for historical and scientific verification.