An ancient golden totem representing the Lizardmen empire.
The Lizardmen track time by the alignments of celestial bodies and their sacred plaques form a calendar stretching back to the creation and forward to the end of time. As this slew of celestial data is mindbogglingly complex, all dates that follow use the Imperial Calendar of the Men of the Empire.[1a]
Dawn of Creation[]
The prehistory of the world of Mallus is shrouded in the mists of half-truth and legend. Great change is brought to the primeval planet by the beings known as the Old Ones. They descend from the skies and begin to re-order the world.[1a]
To execute their designs, the Old Ones made the First Spawning of the Slann and, under their direction, the Lizardmen are created: the Saurus as living weapons, the Skinks to carry out complicated orders and the Kroxigor to aid in building. What follows is a long age where the Lizardmen rule supreme, creating vast temple-cities and landmarks of unsurpassed wonder.[1a]
While the Saurus wipe out those races deemed undesirable, experiments by the Old Ones create new races. Of this time of former glory little is recalled; stone-chiselled writings have worn away, and temples have crumbled into ruin. Down the ages, countless Skink scribes have tried to replicate those earliest records, but their copies degrade with each new translation. The Slann have forgotten much from that age, their memories growing dim. To the younger races, the Old Ones are wholly unknown; only the Elves maintain some ancient myths of their creator gods.[1a]
- ca. -15,000 to -5590 IC - According to the Slann work The Chronicle of Itza translated from Saurian by the Estalian wizard Mendoza, the the world of Mallus at this time is inhabited by primordial intelligent races and species of terrible monsters, most knowledge of which has now been lost to time. The powerful intelligent beings known as the "Old Ones" cross the void in great, silver ships and arrive on the Known World in the primeval and untouched lands of what will one day become the continent of Lustria in the New World. At this time, the Known World's entire landmass is still comprised of a single, great supercontinent. The Slann of the First Spawning are created at the will of the Old Ones. The first Saurus are spawned as living weapons, created from a blend of now-extinct native creatures of Lustria. The first generations of Skinks and Kroxigor are created by the Old Ones, creating the spawning of the Known World's first intelligent mortal species, the Lizardmen.[7a]
- ca. -15,000 to -5600 IC - At some time during this period, the First City, Itza, the first true city of the mortal world, is built by the Lizardmen at the behest of the Slann in Lustria. It is soon followed by the founding of the temple-cities of Xlanhuapec and Tlax. The second generation of Slann are spawned. The orbit of the Known World is moved close to its sun by the arcane arts of the Old Ones to alter its weather patterns and increase the planet's temperature, making it more conducive to life. During this time, the Old Ones begin to enforce their domination over the inhabitants of the world, radically altering the future of these races. The Slann of the Third Spawning are brought forth. They accomplish the founding of the cities of Tlaxtlan, Quetza and Zlatlan. Slann of the Fourth Spawning are created to attend to the maintenance and operation of the Polar Gates created by the Old Ones to effect travel to and from the Known World through these massive gateways into the Realm of Chaos. The Slann also found the remaining temple-cities, creating a grid of magical power known as a geomantic web across the world of Mallus -- natural lines of energy linking the Lizardmen cities. The super-continent that once comprised the entire landmass of the Known World is split into separate, smaller continents, approximating the shape of the world at present. The World Pond (Great Ocean) is created, and the new continent of the Southlands is moved around the globe, separating the Lizardmen's temple-cities. Such physical distances meant little, for travel and communication between the cities is instantaneous. The Old Ones send their armies of Saurus warriors forth to lay down order. The annihilation of many undesirable races is accomplished. Ongoing experiments are conducted by the Old Ones, as they create and destroy a number of new, intelligent mortal races, altering and shaping them from the raw material provided by the mortal world's native life forms. The Elves, Dwarfs, Men, Halflings and Ogres are born from these processes. The Old Ones ensure that their mortal creations are secured a strong foundation in the lands chosen for them, to continue the slow process of evolution and the growth of mortal civilisation with only minimal interaction with each other. The unwanted race of Greenskins appears in the Known World towards the end of the Age of Creation. There are continuing wars by the Lizardmen and the other mortal races to eliminate this parasitic species from existence, though ultimately the Greenskin plague upon the mortal world seems impossible to eradicate.[7a]
The Great Catastrophe[]
- ca. -5600 IC - The Great Catastrophe begins. The Polar Gates collapse. The Old Ones disappear as the power of Chaos washes across the Known World and the Lizardmen are left to defend against the largest Daemon invasion ever known. Xahutec is the first temple-city to fall to the forces of Chaos. Within three hundred years, all Slann of the First Spawning are slain, save only Lord Kroak of Itza.[1a]
- ca. -5000 IC - Lustria Besieged. Except for enclaves in the Southlands, the Lizardmen are pushed back to Lustria, which is transformed into a deathtrap to thwart the invaders.[1a]
- ca. -4500 IC - Only a handful of temple-cities remain, and the Daemon onslaught threatens to overwhelm them. Pahuax is breached and its inhabitants slain.[1a]
- ca. -4450 IC - The Siege of Itza by the forces of Chaos Daemons and their mortal servants, which had lasted over four centuries, is broken by the eldritch might of Lord Kroak. Although slain in battle, Lord Kroak's will is so strong his spirit fights on -- invoking a last spell that banishes the Daemons and secures Itza from its doom.[1a]
- ca. -4420 IC - The High Elves complete their Great Ritual esatblishing the Great Vortex on the island-continent Ulthuan which funnels away all the excess Winds of Magic flowing from the broken Polar Gates. The drop in the levels of ambient magical energy lead the Daemonic legions to vanish from the mortal world back to the Realm of Chaos.[1a]
Age of Isolation[]
- -3894 IC - The temple-city of Chupayotl slips into the sea. Its Slann mage-priests are slain and survivors journey to other temple-cities. Rumours speak of an undersea species taking up residence in the sunken ruins. Alarmingly, the event is not prophesised in any known plaques left by the Old Ones, so the Slann come to know uncertainty for the first time. Before Chupayotl's destruction, there was direct communication between the temple-cities of the Southlands and Lustria, as the city served as a key link in the Geomantic Web that allowed it. When the city was destroyed and sank into the ocean, it severed all communications between the Lizardmen of the Southlands and Lustria.[1a][6a][6b]
- -3127 IC - Skink scribes record that Lord Xltep is plagued by memory loss; a fog has descended upon his once-clear thoughts.[1a]
- -2374 IC - Lord Hua-Hua of Xlanhuapec claims victory in a 500 year old debate about what to do about the younger races. No other Slann speaks to Lord Hua-Hua for the next thousand years in protest.[1a]
- -2000 IC - Ancient records of Zlatlan refer to strife with the lost Dwarf stronghold of Karak Zorn.[2a]
- -1500 IC - The Slann Lord Quex enacts a minor shift in continents. The worst hit of all was the Worlds Edge Mountains, for beneath this range was to be found the great Underway of the Dwarf Empire. Lava surged up from the world's depths to flood the halls of the Dwarfs, and untold numbers were incinerated in an instant or destroyed by the earthquakes. The Dwarf empire falls into decline. In the rest of the world the Skycastles tumbled in the Mountains of Mourn and a ragged breach appeared in the Great Bastion of Cathay, through which a hundred thousand vengeful Hung Marauders swarmed. The lands of ancient Tylos were blasted apart, before being drowned by the sea. As far as the Mage-Priests are concerned, the alignment is carried out according to the will of the Old Ones, as described on the Plaque of Otzli-Potec.[1a][5a][6a] Disaster at Skavenblight. The Great Machine of the Seer Order explodes. The Slann, ignorant of the newly emerged race, registered the energy and attributed it solely to their own powerful spells. To this day they have failed to make any connection. The Great Migration out of Skavenblight begins.[4a]
Age of Strife[]
- -1399 IC - Undetected, the Skaven Clan Pestilens occupies the ruined city of Quetza. An ill omen is recorded in the alignment of the stars, although its true meaning is not revealed to the Slann for centuries.[1a]
- -951 IC - The Green Mist. Under cover of a poisonous mist, the Skaven make their boldest attack yet, emerging to take the ruins of Conqueso.[1a]
- -594 IC - Shruken Head War. This marks the beginning of the century-long campaign fought against the jungle Orcs of the Scorpion Coast. Kroq-Gar ends the fighting by slaying the Warbosses of all six enemy tribes.[1a]
- 1 IC - The temple-city of Chaqua is abandoned due to Skaven plagues. The Skink Priest Tehenhauin preaches the Prophecy of Sotek as a twin-tailed comet appears in the sky.[1a]
- 100 IC - With a climactic final campaign, the Skaven are finally driven from Lustria by Tehenhauin's armies. The Cult of Sotek gains prominence amongst the Skinks.[1a]
- 271 IC - At the zenith of Xla-Tepec, more continental realignments are made. A series of earthquakes ravage Araby and Cathay.[3a]
- 315 IC - In order to reclaim the stolen Star Stela of Quetli, Lord Tepec-Inzi opens a portal to Naggaroth. There, an army led by Gor-Rok defeats the Dark Elves and reclaims the Star Stela.[1a]
- 513 IC - Lord Zltep of Tlaxtlan passes from the world. The last words he uttered were a prophecy which would become known as the Incantation of Xetlipocutzl. The Mage-Priest did not complete the prophecy, however, and it is said that should anyone ever do so, the world will come to an end.[3a]
- 535 IC - The first of the twin-tailed beings known as Skink Oracles emerge from the spawning pools of Itza. They alone of all the Lizardmen are able to approach and ride upon the dreaded and ill-tempered Troglodons.[1a]
- 876 IC - The flotsam of many shipwrecks washes up on Lustria, including a Vampire named Luthor Harkon. He creates the Undead realm that is eventually named the Vampire Coast, where the bodies of drowned sailors killed in the treacherous waters off the coast rise from the cold depths to haunt the lands.[1a]
- 888 IC - Norse adventurer Losteriksson lands in Lustria and founds the colony of Skeggi. Other raiders from the north also begin to arrive at Lustria.[1a]
- 901 IC - The Xaki Star is swallowed by the Chaos Moon, prompting a delegation of Mage-Priests from Xlanhuapec to lead a column of workers to begin re-founding the ruined city of Huatl.[1a]
- 912 IC - The death of Lord Zhul follows a daemonic incursion at Tlencan. Xahutec is abandoned for the final time shortly after, its population scattered to the remaining temple-cities. The Mage-Priests finally recognise that Chaos has returned to Lustria.[1a]
- 930 IC - A shambling horde of Zombies emerges from the jungle but is halted by Lord Xltep, fulfilling the Prophecy of Huanca-Xlanpac.[1a]
- 954 IC - Allac Fellclaw leads a full-scale Chaos invasion of Lustria. His horde is defeated and driven into the sea. The few survivors that escape flee back to the northlands with much stolen gold, however, all the sacred plaques they had stolen were recovered.[1a]
- 1004 IC - At the equinox of Tlac-Ipec, Lord Mazdamundi consults the plaques of Huatl. He raises the mountain range known as the Grey Guardians to block the path of a mighty Dark Elf invasion that was advancing to invade Lustria.[1b]
- ca. 1150 IC - Ibn Jellaba of Araby treks across the desert searching for an overland route into the interior of the Southlands. He encounters the hidden Lizardmen city of Zlatlan.[2a]
- 1237 IC - The ruins of the temple-city of Xahutec are again overrun by Daemons. Unleashing Kroq-Gar to contain the threat, many Slann work to close the magical breach once more.[1b]
- 1492 IC - The Tilean explorer Marco Colombo "discovers" the continent of Lustria. Upon his return, his ships are laden with gold, and he is lauded across Tilea. Word of his discovery soon spreads, swiftly followed by a veritable armada of treasure seekers setting sail for the New World, intent on following his example. With the lands north of the Chaos Wastes relatively quiet, the followers of Chaos are abroad, setting sail for the corners of the globe in order to win glory for their dread masters. Many Norscan pirates attack ships of the other races at sea to reach the riches of Lustria. At the same time, some Norscan reavers wait until they have landed upon the shores of Lustria to ambush other Old World explorers in lands that the Norscans themselves have already explored long before the newcomers. The worshippers of Chaos are eager to find even more rewards on the continent, from gold, slaves, magical artefacts, and even the many extracts of exotic plants which are particularly attractive to the followers of Slaanesh. The Lizardmen empire has endured for millennia, with the last major threat being the invasion of the Skaven's Clan Pestilens, which ended when the Serpent God Sotek manifested and annihilated the rat-spawn. Since that time, their empire has been rejuvenated, but now the Slann must confront a new challenge. The Lizardmen are determined to defend their domains from the the new invaders, but they also see an opportunity to reclaim territory lost to the Zombie Pirates of the Vampire Coast. With their lands under threat, the mage-priests decreed that long-abandoned and ruined temple-cities across Lustria must be reoccupied and defended at all costs.[1b][8a][8b]
- 1690 IC - Cathayan Yin-Tuan makes an epic journey across Lustria and the Southlands. He narrowly escapes sacrifice in Zlatlan.[2a]
- 1721 IC - Dark Elves launch an attack upon the temple-city of Xlanhuapec. The intruders bypass the city's defences and penetrate to the outer quarters. Using the living mists that surround the city, the Lizardmen mount a series of devastating counter-attacks to slaughter the intruders. None escape the mists.[1b]
- 1801 IC - The ousted Pirate Prince of Sartosa, Lucciano Soprania, founds Port Reaver. Despite numerous Lizardmen attacks, it manages to turn into a flourishing trading port, though it is notorious as a den of cutthroats and raiders as well as a haven for adventurers and treasure seekers.[2a]
- 1809 IC - The Great Pyramid of Pahuax is rebuilt. During excavation, workers discover an egg from a Quango, a creature not seen since the time of the Old Ones. The egg is given to Lord Mazdamundi who declares that its hatching may be of great import.[1b]
- 1847 IC - Amidst rumours of illegitimacy, Duke Tudual du L'Anguille finances an expedition led by his son into the jungles of Lustria. They land in Port Reaver, and spend several months in preparations. Nearly six months after entering the jungles, the Lizardmen temple-city Huatl is robbed of its sacred artefacts. The young Bretonnian noble and his entourage are never heard from again. Their presence is not missed.[2a]
- 1883 IC - Skinks believe the great Krakatoa is awakening once more, but the eruptions prove to be an influx of Chaos. Daemons again stalk Lustria. Gor-Rok defeats a plague army at Itza, a massed charge of Stegadons prevents a breakout from the ruins of Xahutec, and the assembled Mage-Priests of Tlaxtlan overcome a host of Greater Daemons to save their temple-city.[1b]
- 1910 IC - Lord Nanahua leads an expedition to Chaqua in search of lost relics of the Old Ones, but in the process contracts a Skaven plague. Though he summons the magical strength to keep death at bay, he is covered in weeping buboes and contagious sores. he goes into voluntary exile and now resides in an isolated temple deep in the jungle, only emerging to defend Lustria against Skaven incursions.[3b]
- 1944 IC - El Cadavo, adventurer and sometime pirate, founds the port of Cadavo on his third attempt to penetrate the jungles. The town is destroyed under the order of Slann Mage-Priest Mazdamundi three times, each time being rebuilt.[2a] Lord Mazdamundi of Hexoatl invokes the mighty earthquake that wipes the settlement of Cadavo — and all of its inhabitants — from the map.[1b] It is rumoured that El Cadavo, having escaped by ship with Lustrian treasures, is lost at sea due to unseasonally deadly weather conditions.[2a]
- 1977 IC - A Skink Priest at the Sentinels of Xeti believes he hears the distant voice of the Old Ones. The Slann Mage-Priests contemplate the matter for several years, before renouncing such claims.[1b]
Age of Awakening[]
Also known as the "Age of Recompense."[1b]
- 2064 IC - A group of gamblers found Swamp Town, fleeing their debts in Port Reaver. This grows from a ramshackle shanty town into the busiest trade destination in Lustria.[2a]
- 2100 IC - Skink Priests attending to the mummified remains of Lord Xhilipepa dispute the meaning of the flight patterns of mosquitoes circling his skeletal head. The disagreement escalates and opposing factions clash over possession of the remains.[3b]
- 2187 IC - Lord Melchin returns to the Imperial court after spending a year exploring Lustira. He is accompanied by a copper-skinned, hairless being, barely three feet tall. Melchin claimed he came from the Wayarhui tribe, a race of diminutive people found in the jungles. Reportedly, the creature eats a high-ranking court official and flees. Rounds abound of his hiding out in the Moot.[2a]
- 2303 IC - Taking a celestial reading from the stars, the Slann bolster the power of the Great Warding lessening the influence of Chaos and thus aiding the Empire's famous hero, Magnus the Pious, in his Great War Against Chaos.[1b]
- 2315 IC - The Pirate King Draven is employed to protect the merchant ships arriving and leaving Swamp Town from the pirates based in Port Reaver. He uses his power to destroy the fleets of his competitors and then sacks Swamp Town himself.[2a]
- 2321 IC - The Black Sun Battle. Portents of ill-omen abound on a day that the sun that rises over Lustria is coloured jet-black. The geomantic web flickers, the Great Warding pulses weakly and the forces of Chaos attack. Daemon legions manifest across the whole of Lustria and thousands of battles take place for a blood-filled week until the true sun rises once again.[1b]
- 2349 IC - A bridge of magical energy is summoned and a Lizardmen army from Itza crosses to the island on which stands the Citadel of Dusk. The High Elves there are hard-pressed by a Dark Elf attack and only the timely intervention of the Lizardmen force ensures that the assault is repulsed. Without speaking a word to the survivors, the Lizardmen march back across their magical bridge.[1b]
- 2355 IC - The Battle of Cholulec. The disgraced Dwarf engineer Sven Hasselfriesian sets out from Barak Vanin in his steam-powered ship, reaching the Tarantula Coast after many battles with the monsters of the deep. The Dwarfs clash repeatedly with the Lizardmen at the ruins of Cholulec.[1b]
- 2376 IC - At this point, the spell that turned Lustria into a living deathtrap becomes yet more powerful, and the land's flora and fauna enter a new period of prolific and accelerated growth. The jungles become more dangerous and filled with more cold-blooded creatures than ever.[1b]
- 2418 IC - The False Moon War. A major blow is struck in the Slanns' ongoing war with the Chaos Moon. The Slann Mage-Priest Tecciztec of Tlaxtlan enacts a ritual aimed at pushing the false moon out of orbit. Although failing to muster enough power to complete the task, the Chaos Moon is sufficiently shaken that chunks of it split off and fall across the world with devastating effect to those beneath.[1b]
- 2465 IC - Battle of Blackswamp. This marks the end of a ten year campaign fought in the swampy woodland off the Tarantula Coast. Many Savage Orc and Forest Goblin armies are destroyed. For his role in recovering lost ruins, the Skink Priest Tetto'eko is gifted a throne such as the Slann sit upon.[1b]
- 2471 IC - Battle of Blood and Gold. Luthor Harkon and the Dark Elves unite to raid the coastal ruins of Chokablox. During the battle, Harkon is captured and imprisoned.[1b]
- 2489 IC - The Astromancer Tetto'eko stems a major Skaven invasion and redirects a comet to crash down upon the Skaven stronghold of Quetza, the Defiled City.[1b]
- 2497 IC - The Slann lend their power to the High Elves' Great Votex on Ulthuan.[3b]
- 2502 IC - It is foreseen that a device being built by the Skaven in their lair of Slagmire must not be completed. Tehenhauin is chosen to lead the assault and the Slann use magic to transport the Prophet of Sotek and his army into the Skaven den. A three year battle leads to the eventual defeat of the Skaven and the destruction of their rocket invention.[1b]
- 2512 IC - A Dark Elf army emerges from the Black Way to raid coastal ruins. Kroq-Gar and his army drive the tentacled beasts back into the sea and the Black Ark Umbral Tide is grounded by magic and destroyed.[1b]
- 2517 IC - The long-lost Chameleon Skink known as Oxyotl mysteriously returns to Lustria, having been missing since the Fall of Pahuax during the Great Catastrophe. This coincides with the spontaneous and unheralded spawning of Chameleon Skinks in that long ruined city, and many others as well.[1b]
- 2519 IC - With the rising of each Chaos Moon, Daemon legions march out of Xahutec once more. Only the eternal vigilance of the Saurus warriors maintains a blockade around the cursed ruin, but the bitter fighting costs many lives.[1b]
- 2520 IC - While seeking for the disturbance found in the geomantic web, Ten-Zlati, the Oracle of Kroak, recovers the Lost Plaques from the Golden Ziggurat on the Turtle Isles.[1b] Gates are opened to the island of Albion. Scar-Leader Kroq-Gar leads the first war parties to cleanse the isle of warm-bloods. Under the manipulations of Lord Mazdamundi, the climate of the isle is altered, and the start of a new jungle is formed. Work begins on the founding of the new temple-city Konquata, Place of Resistance, in the interior of Albion.[2a]
- 2521 IC - Chaos forces attack key sites of the Great Warding around the world, culminating in assaults on Lustria. On the Isthmus of Pahuax, a Beastmen army destroys the Monument of the Moon and the Monument of the Sun is desecrated. So many key nodes are lost that Chaos powers flood the world and the foresight of the Slann fails.[1b] Meanwhile, elsewhere, the sacred mists of Albion are restored.[2a]
- 2521 IC - Vashnaar the Tormentor leads an invasion into Lustria. He unites Dark Elves, Beastmen and monsters beyond count. Attacks by Tiktaq'to stall the Chaos invaders long enough for Slann Mage-Priests to wake and defend Hexoatl. By year's end, the temple-city is besieged and likely to fall.[1b]
- 2522 IC - Lord Mazdamundi and Kroq-Gar arrive at the head of separate Lizardmen armies in time to relieve the Siege of Hexoatl. An epic battle is fought there and the Chaos host is, at last, broken.[1b]
- 2522 IC - The Slann mage-priests meet in mind-council and agree that all signs point to yet larger Chaos invasions to come. All of Lustria prepares for war.[1b]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (8th Edition)
- 2: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (6th Edition)
- 2a: pg. 9
- 3: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (7th Edition)
- 4: Warhammer Armies: Skaven (7th Edition)
- 4a: pg. 30
- 5: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (7th Edition)
- 5a: pg. 11
- 6: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Lustria (RPG)
- 7: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (5th Edition)
- 7a: pp. 67-68
- 8: White Dwarf 305