An Abridged History of Humanity

(Quick note: First, BlogSpot hasn't been alerting me about new comments. Thus, I only recently discovered that a bunch of you have been leaving comments on the blog. I tried to respond to all of them, but I apologize if I missed a few.

Second, several years ago I posted "abridged histories" for orcs and humans on a forum. I later re-posted them with updates to better reflect the Kul Tiras seen in BfA. I figured that I might as well put them here as well. I haven't read Chronicle (and I think these are older) so what you read here won't match with what's presented there. Regardless, this acts as canon for the travelogue.)

An Abridged History of the Humans

15000 - 10000 BDP:

• The vrykul are disturbed to see more and more of their children being born sickly and weak. Tolerated at first, the increasing frequency sends the people into paroxysms of alarm, and King Ymiron decrees that all such weaklings must be put to death.
• Over the next 5,000 years, rebellious parents take their mutant children to distant corners of the world. These later develop into the Arathi, Dromascoi, Ralmanni, and Azotha peoples. One group remains in hiding in the north, and eventually becomes the Kirovi.
• As the last of the vrykul parents die off, the humans form simple semi-nomadic communities. Retaining almost nothing of their heritage, they eke out meager existences on the edges of the troll empires.
• Alone among the humans, the Azotha become integrated into the Gurubashi Empire. They develop into a scholar/merchant caste.

10000 - 2800 BDP:

• The Sundering breaks the world. The Kaldorei Empire is destroyed in civil war and demonic invasion, while the Amani and Gurubashi empires begin to collapse.
• The Azotha fare poorly in post-Gurubashi Stranglethorn, eventually being pushed to the most remote regions. Many eventually merged with the Ralmanni (who lived in present-day Duskwood, Deadwind Pass, and the Swamp of Sorrows), though there is evidence that some Azotha attempted an escape to more distant lands.
• Amani dissolution in the north enables the Arathi to seize the realm that now bears their name. Little more than an assembly of oft-warring clans, they become strong enough to repel trollish attacks. Humans rediscover the secrets of metal at this time, forging iron weapons.
• Warfare guts the northern forests as the Amani trolls try to keep control over what is now the Eastern Plaguelands. Dromascoi warriors fight them at every turn. The Amani eventually abandon most of their holdings, but not before decimating the Dromascoi population.
• The Quel'dorei make landfall, first on Tirisfal and later on Quel'thalas.

2800 - 2700 BDP

• Explorers from the Gilnean peninsula reach the islands of Kul Tiras. Seeing the presence of armed humans in their lands, the native Drust raze many of the settlements and slaughter the inhabitants. The Tirasi clans begin a long and bitter war for survival, which will in some ways mirror the conflict between Arathi and Amani.
• The Amani warlord Zul'doram unites the squabbling troll city-states under his banner, vowing to rebuild the empire of old. Quel'thalas is ill-prepared for the attack and buckles under the trollish onslaught.
• Hoping to open up a southern front, elven diplomats make contact with the Arathi Tribes. They go to the premier warlord, Thoradin, and offer to give him a weapon that will make him unstoppable so long as he unites the Arathi against the trolls. Against the advice of his sages, he accepts.
• The Quel'dorei train the first generation of human mages, being very selective in what they are taught. Meanwhile, Thoradin forces or convinces the other tribes to submit to his rule, forming the Arathor Empire.
• The elves also contacted the scattered Dromascoi clans, promising them material rewards if they fought the trolls (magic was not part of the offer). Most Dromascoi accepted. Elven militias cooperating with the Dromascoi eventually become the Farstriders, thanks to what the Dromascoi teach them.
• The united Arathi launch an incursion into the Amani-held Hinterlands. The elven invasion occurs at the same time, and Dromascoi guerrilla attacks increase in intensity.
• The Troll Wars last a decade, breaking the power of the Amani for thousands of years to come. At the end, the Arathor Empire becomes the dominant power south of Quel'thalas.
• Struggling with constant Drust attacks and limited land for farming, the Tirasi increasingly turn to the sea for sustenance. Their fishing vessels soon range up and down the coasts, exchanging goods with strong communities, and raiding the weak. Many Tirasi turn to the worship of obscure sea gods, which seems to bolster the speed of their fleets.

2700 - 2500 BDP

• Tirasi fleets make contact with the goblins, striking up a trade in alchemical ingredients (among other commodities).
• Fearing the power that the Arathor Empire might wield, many of its mages depart to found the city of Dalaran. Located at a nexus of leylines, it proved an ideal location. Furious at this betrayal, the Arator Empire initially tried to conquer Dalaran, but were beaten back by the sorceries of its defenders.
• Strengthened by trade and technology, the Tirasi clans unite under a single banner and turn the tides of the war. They are futher bolstered by the Thornweavers, Drust dissidents who teach the humans a crude form of druidism. The Tirasi eventually create a new weapon called liquid fire, made with reagents received from the goblins.
• The Dalaranese tried to get into the good graces of Quel'thalas, but were repeatedly rebuffed.
• Dalaran and the Arator Empire signed a treaty in which the emperors would be routinely given beautiful (but militarily useless) magical items as tribute in return for non-interference. The emperor used these items to reward subordinates and display his own might.
• The Year of Flame. Tirasi forces finally take the fight to the Drust homeland of Drustvar. The Tirasi chiefs had promised their Thornweaver allies that they would offer leniency to those Drust who surrendered, they instead reneged on this deal and burned the forests of Drustvar until the skies turned red. Records report that the Tirasi ritually drowned the Thornweavers as sacrifices to the sea.

2500 - 1200 BDP

• The Arathor Empire continues to grow in size. Despite the grand title and the pretensions of equalling elven power, the Arathor Empire is still little more than an assembly of clans, loosely united by blood ties. More land is taken, partly to reward those who served in the Troll Wars.
• With the threat gone, Quel'thalas starts to look inwards. There's some talk about turning the Dromascoi into a buffer state, but nothing ever comes of it. A few elves argued that they were obliged to help the Dromascoi, but nobody listened.
• Arathor expands into Silverpine Forest, though center has only nominal control over the frontier regions.
• With the Drust no longer a threat, the Tirasi kingdom begins to fray and fall into disorder.
• Arathoran ships begin to raid the depleted Tirasi holdings, starting the first of several wars. The Tirasi equip their ships with liquid fire, giving them a decisive advantage against invading fleets. However, internal rebellions and rumors of witchcraft created constant tumult within Kul Tiras. The Tirasi leadership finally sued for peace, agreeing to offer limited tribute to Arathor.
• In 2487 BDP, the Arathor Empire reaches its territorial apex by claiming Tirisfal Glades. However, it never undergoes much in the way of social development, and remains a barbaric and violent place.
• Contact is made with the dwarves. Tirasi merchants begin a lively trade, reinvigorating their island after centuries of stagnation.

1200 - 1100 BDP

• By this point, Arathor Empire no longer wields much in the way of central power. Even the tribute system has fallen into disrepair. Regional warlords in Gilneas, Alterac, and Lordaeron are the only meaningful powers in their areas. Kul Tiras has recovered much of its former prestige.
• The Arathor Empire becomes increasingly concerned with rebellious nobles in the heartland (Hillsbrad/Arathi Highlands). Though claims to the rest of the empire are never officially abandoned, they no longer have any meaning.
• Emboldened by the Arathor Empire's fall, the trolls make aggressive raids, particularly around Alterac. However, these end after a few years.
• Kul Tiras monopolized trade with Khaz Modan. Yet the dwarves grew increasingly wary of the Tirasi, particularly their cephalopod-masked tidesages who practiced human sacrifice. In order to justify their alliance with such a repulsive group, the dwarves pushed Kul Tiras to sow dissension in the Lordaeronian continent to prevent the creation of a strong human empire that might ever threaten the dwarves.

1100 - 1150

• The Arathor Empire had given eastern Tirisfal to Clan Menethil in ages past as a reward for its services in the Troll War. With the empire receding into history, King Telean Menethil declared himself the sovereign of Lordaeron.
• Thanks to trade with Khaz Modan, metals had become more plentiful, even in the far north. This allowed Telean Menethil to create the first armored knights. He used this cavalry to impressive effect, uniting Tirisfal and the present-day Western Plaguelands under his rule.
• His son, Telean Menethil II, decided to expand Lordaeron into the lands of the Dromascoi, who still resided in simple villages and the odd motte-and-bailey castle. The Dromascoi put up a valiant resistance, but fell to the armored warriors of Lordaeron.
• A knight named Cassian found himself disturbed by the brutality waged by his own kindred during the campaign. Despairing, he fell into a vision that lasted three days and three nights. Upon returning the mortal world, he relayed his experience to a scribe, who wrote it down. Thus was created the Exegesis of the Light.
• The new Holy Light spread quickly throughout Lordaeron. Telean Menethil II himself converted (though many think he may have simply recognized the unifying benefits that such a religion offered).
• Priests and missionaries enter Dromascoi lands. Though associated with Lordaeron, their zeal leads them to openly defy those Lordaeronian overseers who brutalized their Dromascoi wards. The royal court usually came down on the side of the church.
• In honor of this "new era of mercy and forgiveness", Telean Menethil II instituted tourneys as an alternative to blood feuds. This served to further cement his control, and unify the nobles.
• Some nobles held to the old ways (worshipping the warlike gods of the old Arathi pantheon). One was Baron Terminon, who gathered some like-minded sorts and assembled an army that marched on the capital. A humble priest named Estellan approached Terminon's army and requested an audience. When it was over, Baron Terminon fell to his knees in prayer and vowed to serve the faith from that day forward. The Terminon Monastery (now the Scarlet Monastery) was built on the spot of his conversion.

1150 - 1050 BDP

• The Holy Light continued its gradual spread throughout the human nations.
• Dalaran's acceptance of the Holy Light (and the worth it attaches to every individual, regardless of rank) leads to criticism of the Kirin Tor, particularly its opaque and sometimes reckless actions. This led to the Seven Days of Justice, in which student mages sided with protestors who demanded that the Violet Hold (a prison originally designed for demons that had eventually become a political prison) be emptied of non-infernal occupants. This succeeded, and the Kirin Tor's organization was changed to be (slightly) more transparent.
• A warlord named Kazelan Starrok comes to Alterac and unites it against trollish attack. He eventually accepted a priest, Ariamus, into his court. The resulting Ariamist heresy assumes a divinely mandated hierarchy in human society, which Starrok uses to form the basis of his new kingdom.
• Gilnean nobles eventually accept the Holy Light, but make little effort to spread it among their people. The faith very slowly filters down to the peasantry.
• The Tirasi merchant princes violently reject the Holy Light, and many missionaries are sacrificed to the sea. Yet the message of the Holy Light resonates with the inland peasants, who do not enjoy the benefits of Kul Tiras's mercantile empire.
• The Arathor remnants are reluctant to accept the new faith, and the authorities initially persecute missionaries. However, more and more people find solace in the world of faith. Seeing their own empire in tatters, many nobles eventually come to accept it.
• An elven princess, Ireesa Sunstrider, becomes curious about the Holy Light and translates the Exegesis of the Light into Thalassian. Using her influence, she spreads the new religion throughout Quel'thalas. Elves consider her translation to be of higher canonicity than Cassian's original.
• The missionary Galdacius brings the Holy Light to Khaz Modan.

1050 - 1000 BDP

• Emperor Falonur Arathi, seeing his house's declining influence, gathers his most loyal retainers in hopes of securing a new future in the unexplored lands to the south. The journey is a difficult one, but enough survive to let Falonur establish the kingdom of Stormwind.
• The Arathor remnants institute the rule of Stewards (in lieu of kings), creating the nation of Stromgarde.
• Lordaeron and Gilneas clash over control of Lordamere Lake. Lordaeron wins the conflict, consolidating its hold on northern Silverpine. This gave it secure access to Dalaranese trade, and put it on the border of Stromgarde-controlled Hillsbrad.
• Kul Tiras begins selling dwarven-made arms to Gilneas and Stromgarde, hoping to prevent Lordaeronian hegemony. By this point, Kul Tiras had its own reasons for taking action to prevent the creation of a unified continental human polity.
• Stormwind settlers encounter the Ralmanni. Following the age-old Arathor policy, Stormwind intended to expand into Ralmanni lands, but initially pretended to be friendly.
• The War of the Bloody Paw, fought between Stormwind and the various gnoll tribes, begins in earnest.

1000 - 800 BDP

• After joining the Holy Light, the dwarves found they could no longer tolerate the dark religion of Kul Tiras's tidesages. Khaz Modan begins to disinvest from Kul Tiras, and seek allies elsewhere.
• King Velor Arathi of Stormwind dies without a male heir. The throne passes to House Cardhein. The royal court enters a period of treachery as noble houses try to gain control. While this happens, settlers and border nobles continue to wage war against the gnolls.
• Lordaeronian settlers begin to push into Hillsbrad. In response, Stromgarder armies kill or deport them, and insult King Edrias Menethil. Thus begins the Hillsbrad War, an on-and-off conflict that would draw in most of the human kingdoms.
• Lordaeronian troops seize portions of eastern Hillsbrad and fortify the region. However, they are unable to make any further gains once the Gilneans enter the fray on Stromgarde's side.
• The War of the Bloody Paw never officially ends, but the gnoll tribes are driven to the margins of the kingdom and never again become a major threat. During this time, the Redridge Mountains became the de facto fiefdom of the Aldenmar noble lineage.
• Conflicts erupt between Stormwind settlers and Ralmanni natives.
• House Wrynn takes control of Stormwind.
• Kul Tiras is plunged into panic as entire villages disappear, consumed by the wilderness. Many believe that the Drust are somehow responsible, and witch hunters are called to restore order. More shock roils the kingdom when the most successful of the witch hunters, Norana Harrowen, reveals herself to be a follower of the Holy Light. The Cult of the Tidemother is slow to react, and Norana is soon the de facto sovereign of Drustvar (leading many to think she was somehow in league with the Drust-influenced witch cults).

800 - 700 BDP

• The Thandol Span is built, breaking the Tirasi monopoly on trade with Khaz Modan. The dwarves made the bridge to demonstrate their power to the quarreling human kingdoms, and also as a reward to Edelreich Eisenschwert, a Stromgarder military advisor who aided the dwarves in defeating an army of ice trolls. Khaz Modan's foreign policy comes to rely more on Stromgarde than on Kul Tiras.
• Norana Harrowen is found drowned, leading many to suspect that the tidesages assassinated her. Kul Tiras resasserts its control over Drustvar, but faces numerous religiously influenced peasant revolts.
• Stromgarder and Gilnean forces besieging Southpoint Tower are routed by a Lordaeronian cavalry charge. The Battle of Southpoint becomes important both politically and culturally. The leader of the knights (a former commoner squire named Aelor Gratus) frames the event in specifically religious terms, comparing Lordaeronian freedom and leniency (particularly in regards to commoners) to the more elitist structures of Stromgarde and Gilneas.
• Lordaeronian Archbishop Padomonnis declares Aelor to be a "Knight of the Faith". Together, they pressure the king into accepting what will be known as the Padomonnian Reforms, which created a legal framework for what feudal lords can and cannot expect from serfs. Though unpopular, the king is able to set the nobles against each other and pass many of the reforms into law. This new method also works well in Lordaeron, as its large size made it difficult to create a highly centralized system.
• A peasant revolt in Stormwind's Redridge Mountains destabilizes the holdings of House Aldenmar. Baron Jesson Aldenmar requests aid from King Otmar Wrynn, only to be rebuffed. Baron Aldenmar puts down the peasants in a spectacularly brutal fashion, and unites the border nobles in an anti-royal coalition. Thus begins the Stormwind Civil War.
• The Lordaeronian advance in Hillsbrad is halted at Azurelode Mountain by a combined force of Stromgarder troops and Tirasi mercenaries. Hostilities cease as all sides take time to recover.
• The Stormwind Civil War comes to an end. Baron Aldenmar is captured and killed by angry peasants. Though King Otmar promised the border lands to loyalist nobles, he used legal trickery to instead put it in the hands of elected offices loyal to the throne. This creates Stormwind's long precedent of using populist support as leverage against recalcitrant aristocrats.
• Stormwind creates the Royal Order of the Conjurers. These consist of Dalaranese mages who were exiled from their homes for conducting experiments that the Kirin Tor deemed dangerous or unethical. Unlike mages, they are willing to explore infernal magic, and become something akin to a secret police force.
• Troubled by the conjurers, the Kirin Tor imposes strict limits on who can or cannot learn magic. The Protectionist Decrees make it so that each recognized sovereign can only send two individuals (pre-selected by the Kirin Tor) for training. All other mages must be Dalaranese citizens, and loyal only to the Kirin Tor. No Stormwinder students are accepted.

700 - 600 BDP

• The Battle of Brightwood Grove breaks the last center of Ralmanni power in Stormwind. The remaining Ralmanni abandon their villages and eke out a nomadic existence.
• Lordaeron's foreign policy advisors form the Southshore Rule. This stated that it was imperative for Lordaeron to have at least some presence on the southern coast so as to have access to dwarven markets. This goes hand-in-hand with another military buildup.
• Tirasi and Stromgarder fleets clash in what was called the War of the Waves. Lasting four years, its results were inconclusive. The failure of Tirasi tidesages to secure a decisive victory futher bolstered the ranks of the Holy Light within the kingdom.
• Lord Balkem Starrok of Alterac, seeking to outdo Ironforge, orders a grand new city to be built in the snowy regions. The resulting construction takes 500 years, costs untold numbers of lives, and further bankrupts the obscure kingdom.
• Stormwind nobles stage a bloody coup in which King Pardemnon Wrynn and much of his family is killed. Only a single son, in Westfall at the time, remains. Another civil war breaks out, this one pitting loyalist borderlands against the heartland junta.

600 - 500 BDP

• The Culling ends with royalist forces retaking Stormwind City. The noble houses that backed the coup are wiped out to the last man. This forever weakens the power of the nobility in Stormwind. The conjurers are audited and reshaped into a force more accountable to the crown.
• Fearing a similar situation in the north, the Lordaeronian crown works to woo the aristocracy into complacence, buying their attentions with luxury. This results in the creation of remarkable palaces across Lordaeron, as well as a flowering of arts and culture. Unfortunately, it also puts the kingdom on the brink of bankruptcy.
• A roguish Stormwind admiral (Arotan Hanlind) eloped with the daughter (Ellestrie Marosere) of a prominent Lordaeronian noble. This causes a tremendous scandal, and many in Lordaeron believed that Ellestrie was kidnapped (she was not). Lordaeron prepared to set sail against Stormwind, but under his liege's orders, Arotan defuses the situation by setting up a marriage between King Ulrim Wrynn and Lord Marosere's youngest daughter, Tevya (Arotan also relinquished his official title and lived out the rest of his days as a successful entrepreneur with Ellestrie). This event initiates the strong relationship between Lordaeron and Stormwind, and inspires poems, songs, and more operas than you could possibly believe.
• The Stormwind Church convinces the king to pass the Unity of All Subjects, which declares the Ralmanni to have the same rights (and obligations) as Arathi subjects. Though it looks good on paper, it has relatively little effect on the lives of most Ralmanni.
• Hostilities resume in Hillsbrad as Lordaeron attempts to secure the southern shore.

500 - 400 BDP

• Lordaeron convinces Gilneas to stay out of the conflict, promising the kingdom that the decline of Kul Tiras' naval power will benefit Gilneas.
• A brilliant Lordaeronian general, Todaeus Durnholde, brings his forces into eastern Hillsbrad. However, the king's earlier aim of weakening Lordaeron's nobility left a gap in his fighting forces. This, combined with the kingdom's financial difficulties, means that they are unable to sustain the attack. General Durnholde is forced to retreat, though Lordaeron is able to secure Southshore.
• Though the Southshore Rule was fulfilled, Kul Tiras still had a large and battle-hardened fleet, which prevented Southshore from ever becoming more than a fishing village. Lordaeron then fell into a period of stagnation due to a lack of funds. Fortunately, the nobles were too dulled by easy entertainment to make any attempt at a comeback.
• Seeing Gilneas as a potential threat, Kul Tiras launches an attack. They cut the Gilnean navy to ribbons and landed large numbers of troops. However, the peninsular campaign devolved into a grueling battle of attrition that the Tirasi were forced to abandon.
• Kul Tiras' defeat leads to a crisis of leadership, and the island erupts into a violent three-way civil war. One of the factions, led by House Waycrest in Drustvar, proclaims affiliation with the Holy Light.

400 - 300 BDP

• Kul Tiras' internal problems initially seem a good opportunity for Lordaeron to secure a monopoly over dwarven trade. However, the Gilneans and Stromgarders block them at every opportunity.
• Gilneas, Lordaeron, and Stromgarde each back a faction in the Tirasi Civil War.
• Stormwind's king passes the Free Travel Act. This gives commoners the right to travel wherever they please within the realm, freeing them from the last vestiges of bondage to feudal lords. Doing so makes it easier for the kingdom to consolidate its hold on the sparsely populated land.
• Still finding the trade routes to Khaz Modan blocked, Lordaeronian shipping companies decide to go around the Kul Tiras mess instead of through it. Faster sailing vessels are made, and launch off from the northern coast and go directly to Khaz Modan's western shores.
• Lordaeron backs out of the Tirasi Civil War. The faction they supported, House Waycrest, is able to survive pledging its loyalty to House Proudmoore of Tiragarde Sound.
• Alterac's Starrok Dynasty ends with the death (possibly by poison) of Lord Vendel Starrok. The Golden Circle, a kind of electoral council of nobles, squabbles over who should take control of the depleted kingdom. House Perenolde, a minor noble lineage, eventually takes control.
• Lord Dastan Perenolde tries to improve Alterac's situation, but is unable to get enough support from the nobility. Construction on the capital continues despite his best efforts. Knowing there's no way for Alterac to effectively compete with its neighbors, he searches for alternative methods that others might find underhanded.
• Stormwind begins to colonize the Swamp of Sorrows. Speculators promise untold wealth in spices and trollish gold, but the reality falls far short. The resulting economic bubble plunges Stormwind into a depression, and damages its burgeoning middle class.
• A defrocked Lordaeronian priest, named Nosian, preaches a new doctrine of license in eastern Lordaeron. He attracts a motley following of dissipated nobles, bored youths, and the desperate. Initially relatively harmless, Nosian declared that all those who did not believe had to die, his rationale being that all non-Nosicae were unhappy and thus hindered humanity's progress towards the Holy Light. The Nosicae sect was put down by force, and remains the only time that the Lordaeronian church used violence to suppress a heretical sect. This created a precedent for the normally pacifistic church's creation of the Order of the Silver Hand many centuries later. Some of Nosian's writings would also fall into the hands of the Twilight's Hammer Clan.
• Bandit activity increases throughout the continent, particularly the regions of Hillsbrad still ruled by Stromgarde. This is actually the Perenolde Dynasty's attempt to secure desperately needed funds.

300 - 200 BDP

• Lordaeron's new trading fleet also makes exchanges with Stormwind. The friendship between the two kingdoms means that Stormwind is allowed to copy this ship-building technology. In addition to their already thriving trade with Khaz Modan, Stormwinder merchants also begin limited trade with the goblins.
• A fire started by a maddened knight burns down much of Kharazan town, starting its slow decline and eventual abandonment. The Swamp of Sorrows is never fully colonized.
• The Tirasi Civil War comes to an end. The Gilnean faction, House Deepstone, emerges as the victor. The most conservative of the Houses, Deepstone zealously supports the Cult of the Tidemother. However, the Holy Light is too widespread for the newly empowered tidesages to eliminate. The fact that Stormsong is so obviously a Gilnean puppet further erodes the popularity of the old faith.
• Missionaries arrive in Northrend, preaching to the Kirovi. They find many converts, and the wooden city of Sanktagrad is built on the coast of the Grizzly Hills.
• The War of the Three Hammers shakes Khaz Modan to its very foundations. Stormwind gives military aid to the Bronzebeards, while Stromgarde ends up financially supporting the Wildhammers. Stromgarde had long seen the dwarves' willingness to trade with Lordaeron and Kul Tiras as a kind of betrayal, and associated the Bronzebeards with the status quo (the dwarves, for their part, were baffled by this attitude).
• The War of the Three Hammers ends with a Bronzebeard victory.
• Hurt by backing the wrong side, Stromgarde's ruling stewards must work to consolidate their control. Civil war is avoided, but the Steward's power is reduced. The Steward's decisions must be reviewed by a council of military leaders and sages. The position of Steward is also made open to any warrior of sufficient rank, rather than just nobles. Despite this, nobles continue to fill the position for some time to come.
• Bandits under Alterac's employ seize the Stromgarder frontier town of Strahnbrad. Due to the town's remote location and the harsh weather, Stromgarde cannot immediately respond. Alterac cites the bandit presence as a threat to its territory, and Alteracine forces seize Strahnbrad. Alterac's government likely hoped that the new Stromgarder government would be too disorganized to rally a counterattack.
• Alterac was wrong. Disciplined Stromgarder troops move quickly through the frozen mountain passes and retake Strahnbrad, completely routing the Alteracine defenders. Another Stromgarder column makes a punitive raid on the Alteracine Uplands, devastating the country's breadbasket. Alterac sues for peace and is forced to pay tribute.
• While other nations scoff at Stromgarde's victory over a basket-case like Alterac, generals around the world pay attention to the well-executed strategy. This leads to a new doctrine in warfare that emphasizes mobility, one that will serve humanity well in the Second and Third Wars.
• The printing press, a gnomish invention, spreads to human lands. This changes everything.

200 - 100 BDP

• Dalaran begins to relax its tight-fisted control of magic. More students from other kingdoms are allowed to study under the Kirin Tor.
• As books become more common, more people learn how to read. What was once limited to histories and religious texts grows to include secular novels, satires, and political tracts.
• Lordaeron institutes the first true state army.
• Lordaeronians living on the border with Quel'thalas become increasingly angry at the luxurious lifestyles of the elves. They wonder why they can't enjoy the same benefits. Improved knowledge and education turned the once inscrutable Quel'dorei into something more understandable. A traveling preacher, Ereil Collister, uses this inequity as a platform to demand reform, and accuses Dalaran of secretly controlling Lordaeron. His charisma, combined with the printing press, results in the first popular conspiracy theory.
• Kul Tiras initiates persecution of the Holy Light. The other human kingdoms immediately embargo Kul Tiras, leading to economic catastrophe within the kingdom. The violent ritual drowning of priests leads to violent rebellion.
• Gilneas begins to export some of its natural resources. Still something of a cultural backwater, these fundamentally extractive institutions enrich the nobles but fail to spread the wealth. Though a middle class of sorts develops, it is no more than an example of aristocratic patronage.
• Alterac is no longer required to pay tribute to Stromgarde. It again reaches out to bandits as a means of interfering in other countries and gathering intelligence. Some of these brigands even exploit the situation in Kul Tiras, and Alterac sees a profit for the first time in centuries.
• Ereil Collister seizes control of Stratholme. Lordaeronian troops quickly retake the city and suppress Collister's supporters. Collister himself flees to Stromgarde, where he dies in a house fire a few years later. Though resentment against the elves remains, Lordaeronian living standards gradually inch closer towards those levels enjoyed by the elves, and without the side-effect of arcane addiction.
• Dissemination of printing technology creates a nationalist impulse. Because more people can read, it enables the creation of a national identity beyond that of loyalty to a lord or monarch. This becomes particularly evident in Kul Tiras.
• Citing the right of all peoples to be ruled by their own kings (while conveniently ignoring Dromascoi demands for the same), Lordaeron aids Tirasi rebels in their fight against Gilneas. Lordaeron even goes so far as to make strikes into Gilnean territory.
• Tirasi rebels unite under the figure of Lady Olivia Proudmoore. Though she follows the Cult of the Tidemother, she tolerates the Holy Light and goes so far as to attend several well-publicized church services. This rallies the embattled Light-worshippers to her side.
• Seeing Lordaeron distracted by Kul Tiras, Stromgarde launches an attack on Southshore. They are joined by Alterac.
• Tirasi rebels push the Gilnean occupiers off the island. Olivia Proudmoore destroys House Stonedeep, and their holdings are given to House Stormsong (a pro-tidesage faction that had nonetheless sided with the Proudmoores). Though many in Kul Tiras fear that they are repeating the Gilneas situation, Lordaeron encourages Kul Tiras to maintain its monopoly on regional short-range trade. After all, Lordaeron can already reach Khaz Modan just fine.
• Gilneas backs out of the conflict. Lordaeron's attack, combined with the Tirasi rebellion (seen as a betrayal) and Kul Tiras' earlier invasion create a paranoid fortress mindset in Gilneas' rulers.
• Lordaeron begins to apply pressure on the Hinterlands, a Stromgarder holding. Stromgarde knows it cannot hold both Hillsbrad and the Hinterlands, and realizes that Hillsbrad is far more valuable. As such, they present the Hinterlands as a gift to Clan Wildhammer. The Wildhammer dwarves settle in the region, and Lordaeron backs off, not wanting to start another conflict.
• Though many believe that the Holy Light will become the dominant religion in Kul Tiras, many still follow the old ways. Those who do find themselves facing increasing censure and hostility.
• Religious tensions continue to wrack Kul Tiras. Lord Admiral Maeron Proudmoore, the son of Olivia, increases the level of social mobility within the navy and merchant marine. His rationale is to give the average Kul Tiran more of a stake in the sea (and thus, by extension, the Cult of the Tidemother). This works to an extent. What actually occurs is an increasing syncretism between the Holy Light and the Cult of the Tidemother, with the latter rejecting human sacrifice and doing more to help the common person.

100 - 0 BDP

• Litta Manafusil, a gnome, discovers the technique of enchantment. This, to a degree, allows commoners to utilize and benefit from arcane items without being dependent on a magocratic elite. Through the printing press, her discoveries end up in common workshops all around the world, perhaps providing the single biggest jump in living standard the world had ever seen.
• War continues to rage in Hillsbrad. The Bronzebeard Clan and Gnomeregan provide some aid to Lordaeron and Kul Tiras, as Stromgarde is no longer seen as reliable. Alterac casts its lot in with Lordaeron, mostly to hurt Stromgarde.
• Lord Admiral Everon Proudmoore proclaims the Edict of Toleration, which promises religious freedom to all Tirasi. He does this to ease the conflict between the Holy Light and the Cult of the Tidemother.
• The Guild Riots erupt in Dalaran, as the Kirin Tor attempts to shut down enchantment. However, popular pressure forces the Kirin Tor to back down, and they agree to allow enchantment so long as it follows a few restrictions.
• Lordaeron, which encourages enchantment within its borders, begins fielding troops with arcane weapons. Stromgarde's restrictions on enchantment end up hurting it, and they are eventually driven back to Thoradin's Wall.
• Dennauser Trollbane is elected to be Steward of Stromgarde. This is notable as the Trollbane family, though ennobled by Dennauser's position, is itself of humble origins.
• In Northrend, the Kirovi warlord Nevaksander leads the Hero's Concord (a loose alliance between Kirovi, taunka, tuskarr, and a few wolvars) against the magnataurs. The magnataurs are forever scattered after Nevaksander's triumph at the Battle of Bloody Snow. However, Nevaksander is unable to secure the loyalty of non-humans. He builds a new capital at Paskaron (present day Wintergarde), and Kirovar becomes the unofficial 8th human kingdom.
• Culture across the human kingdoms flowers as more people get access to the means of production. Stormwind, Stromgarde, Dalaran, and Lordaeron institute mandatory basic education for all citizens. Lordaeron also officially liberates serfs (though in practice, serfs had already been free for some time).
• Dalaran opens its gates, making it a relatively simple matter for even middle class (or sometimes poor) people to get a first-rate magical education.
• Gunpowder is developed by Khaz Modan. Anxious about Lordaeron's near-hegemony, the dwarves keep it to themselves. They eventually share it with Gilneas, though this turns out to offer no real benefits for the dwarves.
• The Dark Portal opens.