The Fall of Chaldea

In time, after long centuries of peace and prosperity, the once-vigorous Chaldean civilization stagnated. Few new scientific or magical advances were made, and the people grew content, complacent and set in their ways. Trade still united the land, but the rule of Ashur faded, and after a while, the different regions were practically self-governed, with only symbolic allegiance being paid to the distant emperor.

While the long peace still lasted, this mattered little. But twin disasters would ultimately strike, bringing an end to more than two millennia of Chaldean civilization.

Slightly more than five hundred years ago, the Chaldean heartlands were struck by the worst flood in history. The Eanna, which had given life to a continent-spanning culture, now washed away cities, and ruined so many crops that hunger inevitably followed. Some say the floods coincided with the death of the goddess Eanna, who embodied the life-giving powers of the river, and who was the only deity worshipped by the Chaldeans.

Either through dire coincidence, or due to the machinations of Melek, the flood was immediately followed by a massive Alfar invasion. Hidden from the eyes of the Chaldeans, the evil Alfar had amassed an enormous army, which now poured from the Nagast caverns, out onto the heartlands of present-day Mercia .

More than 400 years after emperor Ashur-ubaid VI shattered Melek's armies and laid waste to Moldar, the Alfar had their revenge. They defeated an ill-prepared army led by emperor Ashur-awan II, and then tore into the rich cities of the Chaldean heartland.

Appalled by the slaughter, the provinces gathered their armies and marched on Ashur. Aided by armies of Dwarves and Mirdain, they routed the Alfar before the fresh conquests could be secured for the rule of Melek.

However, no heir of Ashur-awan II lived, and the towns of the Chaldean heartlands lay shattered. When the regional armies returned to their homelands, they returned to independent nations and city-states. Chaldea was no more.

The final outpost

As the Alfar armies approached, some leading citizens of Ashur fled through a teleportation portal to the trading post of Kasdim on the wasteland continent of Cairn. Bringing with them as many books and artifacts as possible, they became the final guardians of Benevolent Empire's accumulated learning. In Kasdim, they remained secluded for centuries, until climate changes dried out freshwater lakes that the city depended on, rendering it uninhabitable.

Preparing for their final date with oblivion, the last Chaldeans hid their books and artifacts within an exceptionally well-defended dungeon, called the Halls of Learning, which lies at the heart of Kasdim. To this day, none have penetrated to the deepest levels of this dungeon, where the most valuable secrets of Chaldea are said to lie hidden.

Shards of forgotten knowledge

The Chaldeans knew much that is now forgotten, about the early history of Agon, and about the origins of its gods, races and monsters. They also mastered many aspects of magic, architecture and engineering that still haven't been reinvented by the people of the present age.

The Chaldeans collected the central pillars of their learning in The Book of Chaldea, a legendary tome which was considered utterly lost. A few months ago, however, an adventuring clan found a scroll containing six fragments of the Book in an ithwen ruin on the continent of Yssam.

Though they were small, these fragments revealed much that had been forgotten about the first ages of the world. Many say that some of Agon's gods have been actively seeking to destroy all trace of the Book of Chaldea, and that they are redoubling the efforts in the wake of the recent find.

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