From The Great Silence to The Recent Awakening
As recorded by the Chroniclers’ Guild and verified by both Tinker-Priests and Silence-Keepers, this timeline represents the common understanding of Valdris history. Recent discoveries during the Recent Awakening continue to challenge and expand our knowledge of these pivotal centuries.
The Architect Vanishing Without warning, explanation, or trace, the entire Architect civilization simply… stops. Mid-conversation, mid-construction, mid-breath — every Architect across Valdris vanishes simultaneously. Their magnificent cities fall silent, their impossible mechanisms cease their eternal motion, and their crystal-eyed servants freeze in place.
The few human settlements that existed under Architect protection are left to fend for themselves in a suddenly empty world. Most perish within the first harsh winter, but some hardy communities survive by learning to scavenge from the now-silent ruins.
Desperate Survival Human survivors emerge from their hiding places to find a world of wonders they cannot comprehend. Initial attempts to activate Architect devices result in numerous deaths — some from mechanical failures, others from mysterious crystalline “fevers” that claim entire families.
Small communities form around the ruins of former Architect settlements, developing the first crude techniques for safely salvaging food, tools, and shelter from the abandoned cities. The practice of “ruin-whispering” — speaking to Architect devices in hopes of coaxing them to life — begins during this period.
Early Specialization Three distinct survival strategies emerge among human communities:
Ruin-Dwellers: Groups that settle directly within Architect cities, learning to navigate and minimally activate certain safe systems. These communities, centered around sites like early Grimhaven, develop the first Crown-Gear traditions.
Ruin-Runners: Nomadic tribes that travel between ruins, mapping safe routes and establishing the earliest trade networks. They become the ancestors of the Wanderer Confederations, following paths that seem to activate certain Architect way-stations.
Ruin-Fearers: Communities that retreat from Architect sites entirely, building new settlements using traditional methods. Early Millbrook typifies this approach, though even they cannot escape the influence of the great Walking Gardens of Yss’andra that begin their endless migrations during this period.
Climate Crisis and Adaptation A decades-long climate shift — possibly triggered by the deactivation of Architect weather-control systems — brings harsh winters and failed harvests. Only communities with access to Architect food-production ruins survive in significant numbers.
This crisis accelerates the development of the three cultural approaches:
The period ends with the Great Thaw, when Thymeris the Golden briefly awakens for three days, its amber lights visible across the continent — the first sign that the ruins might not be permanently dead.
Systematic Exploration Begins Following the Thymeris awakening, organized expeditions begin mapping Architect ruins systematically. The Singing Spires of Kelathon start their haunting melodies during this period, creating the first permanent settlements of scholar-explorers who would later become the Tinker-Priests.
Three major settlement clusters emerge:
Trade Route Conflicts As populations grow, conflicts erupt over control of profitable trade routes between ruins. The War of Broken Gears (78-82 AS) sees the first use of partially-functioning Architect weapons, with devastating results that lead to the Treaty of Silent Springs — the first continental accord limiting the use of Architect military devices.
During this period:
The Three Ways Emerge By Year 150 AS, three distinct cultural and political approaches have crystallized:
The Ruin-Holder Tradition develops in eastern settlements around major Architect cities. These communities establish the first hereditary “Ruin-Thanes” — families who maintain exclusive access to specific Architect sites. The practice of Crown-Gear wearing becomes a symbol of legitimate authority over Architect ruins.
The Wanderer Confederation formalizes in the northern reaches, as nomadic tribes develop complex protocols for sharing access to mobile ruins like the Walking Gardens of Yss’andra. Their Song-Maps — musical notations that encode safe travel routes — become crucial for continental trade.
The Ruin-Shunner Movement gains strength in western valleys, where communities like Millbrook prove that traditional crafts and collective governance can create prosperity without dependence on Architect technology. Their Maker’s Guilds develop innovations in metallurgy, agriculture, and governance.
Continental Survey Projects All three cultural groups collaborate on the Great Survey, a continent-wide effort to map and categorize Architect ruins. This period sees the establishment of the Ruin-Ranks — the classification system still used today to categorize ruins by size, activity level, and danger.
Major discoveries include:
Political Formation Through Conflict As populations grow and resources become more contested, the three cultural approaches evolve into competing political systems. A series of conflicts known as the Consolidation Wars shapes the modern political landscape:
The Crown-Gear Rebellions (253-267 AS): Conflicts between Ruin-Thane families lead to the development of formal succession laws and the establishment of the first Ruin-Holder Kingdoms. The Battle of Amber Light (261 AS) sees Thymeris the Golden briefly activate its defenses, ending the conflict through sheer terror.
The Trade Route Wars (268-289 AS): Competition over lucrative trade routes forces Wanderer tribes to develop more formal confederation structures. The Pact of Moving Shadows (289 AS) establishes the Wanderer Confederations as a legitimate political entity with recognized territorial claims to mobile ruins and trade routes.
The Shunner Revolts (290-315 AS): Ruin-Shunner communities fight for independence from Ruin-Holder taxation and Wanderer trade monopolies. Their victory establishes the first Ruin-Shunner Republics based on collective governance and technological independence.
Interstate Diplomacy The three political systems formalize their relationships through a series of treaties:
Growing Cooperation Despite ongoing tensions, increased cooperation marks this period. Joint expeditions explore dangerous ruins, shared knowledge advances both Architect studies and traditional crafts, and intermarriage between the three cultures becomes more common.
The period ends with the Festival of Three Paths (500 AS), a continent-wide celebration acknowledging the legitimacy of all three political approaches. This festival becomes an annual tradition that continues to the present day.
Cultural and Economic Flowering A period of relative peace and prosperity allows each political system to develop its distinctive character:
Ruin-Holder Kingdoms establish magnificent courts around major ruins. The Academy of Brass is founded at Thymeris the Golden (534 AS), becoming the premier center for Architect studies. Noble houses develop elaborate traditions around Crown-Gear crafting and ruin exploration.
Wanderer Confederations create the Great Song-Maps, a musical archive encoding safe travel routes across the continent. Their Caravan Cities — mobile settlements that follow trade routes — become centers of cultural exchange and innovation.
Ruin-Shunner Republics experience the Craftsman’s Renaissance, with innovations in agriculture, metallurgy, and governance. The Assembly of Makers (567 AS) establishes standards for guild cooperation that influence governance structures across the republics.
Renewed Architect Activity After centuries of dormancy, Architect ruins begin showing increased activity. The Singing Spires of Kelathon develop new harmonic patterns, Thymeris the Golden occasionally illuminates previously dark sectors, and the Walking Gardens of Yss’andra begin following more complex migration routes.
This Second Stirring leads to:
Increased Integration and Tension As the three political systems mature, both cooperation and competition intensify:
Economic Integration: Trade networks become so extensive that economic disruption in one system affects all three. The Continental Market emerges as a shared economic space, though political control remains divided.
Cultural Exchange: Inter-system marriage, education, and religious practice become common. Many settlements develop “mixed” characteristics, combining elements from multiple traditions.
Political Tensions: Success breeds new conflicts over resources, trade routes, and Architect sites. The Border Skirmishes (756-763 AS) nearly escalate into a continent-wide war before diplomatic intervention by Tinker-Priests and Silence-Keepers.
The Ruin Renaissance (780-800 AS): A period of intensive Architect study yields new discoveries but also awakens previously dormant systems across the continent. Several minor ruins achieve partial activation, providing clues about larger patterns that remain mysterious.
Unprecedented Architect Activity Beginning around 840 AS, Architect ruins across Valdris begin exhibiting unprecedented activity levels. Unlike previous stirrings, these manifestations follow apparent patterns and seem coordinated across vast distances.
842 AS - The Night of Amber Dreams: Thymeris the Golden illuminates fully for an entire night, its hundred brass towers pulsing in synchronized patterns. Citizens across the continent report shared dreams of vast clockwork mechanisms and crystal-eyed watchers.
843 AS - The Great Harmony: All active Singing Spires of Kelathon begin playing the same complex musical composition simultaneously. Tinker-Priests record the piece but cannot decipher its meaning. The melody continues intermittently to the present day.
844 AS - The Garden Gathering: The Walking Gardens of Yss’andra and several smaller mobile ruins converge in the Northern Reaches for the first time in recorded history. They remain clustered for three months before resuming their separate migrations, each now following modified routes.
First Contact Attempts Sealed chambers across the continent open to reveal Brass Envoys — humanoid Architect constructs bearing crystalline message-containers. Most envoys malfunction or remain inert, but several successfully deliver messages in ancient scripts that no living scholar can fully translate.
Key events:
System-Wide Activations Architect activity intensifies across all three political systems, forcing unprecedented cooperation in research and response:
The Great Convergence: Scholars from all three systems pool knowledge for the first time since the Great Survey. Joint expeditions are organized to investigate the most active ruins.
New Discoveries:
Political Ramifications: The awakening strains existing political structures as each system grapples with implications that transcend traditional boundaries.
Current Events and Immediate Future
As the current year unfolds, the Recent Awakening reaches critical intensity:
Spring 847 AS - The Deep Awakening: Thymeris the Golden begins revealing previously sealed levels, each containing more advanced and dangerous Architect technology. Expeditions return with reports of active manufacturing systems and guardian constructs.
Summer 847 AS - The Trade Route Crisis: Wanderer Confederations report that several major trade routes now pass through areas of intense Architect activity. Some caravans go missing, while others return with impossible cargoes — goods that shouldn’t exist or materials that defy explanation.
Current Tensions:
Immediate Questions:
House Ambergear (ruling Grimhaven): Founded by the family that first successfully activated the lighthouse ruins in 127 AS. Their Crown-Gear incorporates actual fragments from the lighthouse’s control systems.
The Brass Courts: Noble houses compete through elaborate displays of Architect mastery. The Tournament of Gears (held every five years) determines precedence among noble families based on their ability to activate complex Architect devices.
Current Crisis: Several eastern ruins have become completely inaccessible as their security systems activate. Some noble families face losing their hereditary claims to ruins they can no longer enter.
The Song-Map Keepers: Hereditary musicians who memorize the musical notations that encode safe travel routes. Recent Architect activity has rendered many traditional Song-Maps inaccurate, forcing rapid adaptation.
The Caravan Cities: Mobile settlements that follow the trade routes between ruins. The largest, Wheel-Wind, houses over 10,000 people and maintains elaborate gear-driven systems for rapid assembly and disassembly.
Current Crisis: The Walking Gardens of Yss’andra have begun broadcasting new musical patterns that interfere with traditional navigation songs. Several caravans have become lost, while others report finding ruins that “shouldn’t exist” according to their maps.
The Millbrook Model: Collective governance through specialized guilds, each handling different aspects of community management. Decisions require consensus among guild representatives, making government slow but resilient.
The Maker’s Pride: Advanced traditional crafts that often surpass Architect capabilities in specific areas. Millbrook steel is considered superior to any Architect metal, while their agricultural techniques feed more people per acre than any Architect food-production system.
Current Crisis: Even the most Architect-averse communities cannot escape the awakening’s effects. Millbrook’s guardian sentinel has begun moving for the first time in memory, while other republics report Architect devices activating spontaneously within their territories.
The Lost Caravan: A Wanderer trading expedition has gone missing along a route that passes near three active ruins. Were they victims of awakening defenses, or did they discover something valuable enough to disappear with?
The Amber Translations: Tinker-Priests offer substantial rewards for anyone who can help decipher the messages delivered by Brass Envoys. Several promising leads point to dangerous ruins or forgotten archives.
The Rogue Awakening: A previously dormant ruin in Republic territory has suddenly activated, creating chaos in the nearby farming communities. Local authorities seek experienced explorers to investigate and, if possible, return the site to dormancy.
The Architect’s Return: Evidence suggests the awakening may be preparing for the return of the Architects themselves. What would their homecoming mean for the three human societies that have developed in their absence?
The Continental Engine: Recent discoveries hint that all Architect ruins may be components in a vast continental mechanism. What was this machine designed to accomplish, and what happens when it reaches full activation?
The Choice of Paths: Brass Envoy messages appear to be inviting humanity to make some kind of fundamental choice about their relationship with Architect technology. What are the options, and what are the consequences of each path?
The Calendar Problem: While the Great Silence provides a clear starting point for the current calendar, some scholars argue that Architect ruins contain evidence of multiple “silence” events throughout history. The current awakening might not be unique.
Regional Variations: Different areas of Valdris experienced the Great Silence differently. Some ruins shut down immediately, others continued functioning for years, and a few may never have stopped entirely. These discrepancies complicate efforts to understand Architect intentions.
Tinker-Priests: Believe the Architects are benevolent teachers who left their technology as gifts for humanity to eventually master. The awakening represents humanity finally reaching the spiritual and intellectual development necessary to inherit Architect wisdom.
Silence-Keepers: Argue that the Architects never truly left but withdrew to observe humanity’s development. The awakening signals their judgment of humanity’s readiness for contact — or their decision that humanity has failed their test.
Republican Scholars: Contend that Architect technology represents a trap that prevents genuine human development. The awakening may be an automated system designed to reclaim the continent for the Architects’ eventual return, regardless of human societies’ wishes.
The gears of history continue to turn, and the next chapters of Valdris’s story remain unwritten. Whether they will tell of cooperation or conflict, discovery or destruction, depends entirely on the choices made by those brave enough to explore the awakening ruins of the Architects.
Compiled by the Joint Historical Commission
Year 847 AS, Season of Awakening
May the gears guide our understanding