Almost 150 years have passed since the end of the Second Age.

 

The dwarves of the Axe Reft Mountains emerged from their deep excavations with riches and madness.  They soon pushed east, pitting their iron forged axes against the peaceful gnomish settlements to their east.  Their advanced armors and sophisticated weaponry (for many years they were the only race to manufacture crossbows) forced the gnomes down the slopes of the mountain.  Soon the gnomish settlements hid around the foothills clustered behind the Flame Peaks and thick forests clustered around the southern bay.

 

Rumor has it that the draconians (1, 2) suffered devastation in their homeland.  Magical experiments in the dead zone (or magic used in their war against their neighbors, the Giants) took on a life of its own.  Legend says the zone ripped, or that the planar rift the Tower of Clouds was built upon gave way.  All that is known is that many strange and twisted beasts are rumored to crawl forth from the foundations of the Cloud Tower... and the tower's foundations run deep below the mountains. Legend says that it was in these days that nearby Draconians warped from the form most of us are familiar with (the Baaz) into new and strange forms.

 

While the Draconians of Point Draco in the west (and, it is rumored, the Draconian Fort in the east) remained steadfast, the draconians of the dead zone were pushed from their mountain peaks. They scattered, largely to the south, into the great deserts of the midlands. Many, however, unified under a commander Skúli, who led them to the west.

 

It is unknown how much was planned in advance; today too much of history and rumor are mixed. What is known is that 68 years ago, Commander Skúli led his draconians from the east, while the dwarven forces marched from the south. Petty dukes were turned against each other (they now claim by dark magic, rather than avarice) and client states knelt to the dwarven lords. Seven years of bloody battles were fought across the great farmlands and among the villages and keeps of the humans.  Draconian martial might and dark dwarven magics broke the resisting human towers and summoned the fallen to slay the few besieged defenders. For the last forty years, the great farmlands of northern have strained under the dwarven overlords and their draconian enforcers.

 

Quick Timeline: (years ago)

-130? Axe Reft Mountain dwarves begin calling upon evil for wealth and power

-110 Axe Reft Dwarves march on their south eastern neighbors, the gnomes, scattering them.  They use the dead to augment their forces.

-68 Dwarves and Draconians begin conquest of human lands to the north

-61 Dwarven victory essentially complete; they colonize the peaks to the north of the valley

-50s Dwarves build tribute roads across the human lands (and to their north colony), draconians enforce the occupation

- 44 Dwarves and Draconians march on the Silver Elves; their fierce assault and dark magics pierce the wall.

- 44 Human and Silver Elf bandits and gureillas of the rocky highlands hit dwarven supply trains, blunting the offensive

- 43 Bloody battles between the incredibly magically skilled Silver Elves against the the invaders utilize the most powerful known magic to date.  At terrible cost, the dwarves and draconians are pushed back

- 42 to 38 Battles fought to stalemate, dwarves unable to breach the wall again

-38 to -25 The forces thrown against the enemies of the dwarves shift, with more and more of the forces being composed of Clay Dwarves