Part I — The History of Once: A Timeline

The following timeline traces the history of Once from the age of primordial creation through to the present era of conflict and political intrigue.

The Age of Creation

~10,000+ BM (Before Modern Era)

Event	Summary
The Dreaming	Once is birthed from the dreams, fears, and hopes of mortals. Mountains, rivers, and skies take shape from collective imagination.
The One God Arrives	A young and ambitious god claims the nascent realm, crafting seas, lands, and meticulously structured life. His vision of hierarchy conflicts with older gods and ancient fey.
The Divine Schism	War erupts between the One God and a multitude of pantheons and archfey who value freedom and chaos. The conflict scars the physical world. The One God is defeated and banished from the Land of the Gods; he settles in a land he names Eden.
Danu’s Bargain	The goddess Danu offers to wed one of her daughters to the One God’s favorite son, Adam, in an attempt to reconcile the fractured world. Lilith is chosen.
Lilith’s Exile	Lilith refuses to submit to Adam’s will. The One God curses and banishes her from Eden. She wanders the Impassible Desert until she meets the devil Samael. Together they roam Once; their many offspring become dark fey, witches, and monsters.
Adam & Eve in Eden	With Lilith gone, Adam takes a new consort, Eve. Their descendants populate the mortal world. Eden is established as the One God’s domain.
The Three Sisters	Lilith and Samael’s three daughters are born: Grimhild (White Magick), Mal (Gray Magick), and Beldam (Black Magick). Over millennia the sisters gather followers and slowly drift apart.
Danu’s Other Daughters	Lilith’s sisters Lysandra and Limnas come into their power. Lysandra takes an interest in mortal rulers—lifting and toppling them for her amusement. Limnas retreats to the Boundless Blue and Cerulean Sea; her lovers include Ceto, Ebisu, Kukulcan, and Chaac. Her monstrous children (krakens, sea serpents, Sahugin) guard the oceans.

The Age of Rising Kingdoms

~5,000–2,000 BM

Event	Summary
Four Regions Form	As gods retreat to the Land of the Gods, mortal kingdoms rise across four geographic zones: the frozen Frosted Wing (north), the temperate Dragon’s Neck (central), the resource-rich Western Wing, and the fertile Dragon’s Tail coastline.
Frosted Wing — Balzar’s Dynasty	King Balzar unifies the north under a single dynasty imbued with Feywild magic. His children eventually demand portions of the realm.
Grimm — Astor’s Peace	In the Western Wing, King Astor unites the mortal tribes and establishes a peaceful rule that lasts nearly 1,000 years. He and Queen Hilde found the dynasty of Grimm.
Oz — Queen Lurline	The powerful fey Queen Lurline enchants and unifies Oz, establishing five distinct regions. Her reign is marked by prosperity and timeless magic.
Dragon’s Neck Fractures	The Dragon’s Neck sees new religions and flourishing magic. The region will eventually split into Sithean, Narnia, the Highlands, and the Lowlands.

The Age of Schisms

~2,000–500 BM

Event	Summary
[GRIMM] Fortinbras & Five Sons	Astor’s descendant King Fortinbras and Queen Mische have five sons: Hammond, Horace, Haggard, Harold, and Hubert. Only Hammond is heir.
[GRIMM] Hammond’s Bastard	Hammond’s brothers marry well and have sons of their own. When Hammond, now King, dies without a legitimate heir, he wills the throne to his bastard son Stephan. His brothers’ families immediately contest the claim.
[GRIMM] The 500-Year Civil War	War ravages Grimm for five centuries. Distant cousins eventually call an uneasy truce and divide the kingdom: the Hinterlands, Corona, Enchancia, Germonia, and the Enchanted Forest.
[FROSTED] The Great Division	Balzar’s heirs fracture the Frosted Crown into Arendelle (eldest heir, icy fjords), Tirulia (second heir, eastern coast), Wildwoods (youngest heir, western forests), and Folly (southern reaches). Three regions—Longago, Fantasia, and Wonderland—resist and declare independence.
[FROSTED] Dangerous Bargains	Tirulia’s rulers strike deals with sea deities, trading mortal lives for maritime prosperity. This leaves a lasting dread among its people.
[OZ] Lurline Vanishes	Queen Lurline disappears; her enchantments begin fading. Glinda seizes the Emerald Throne, reorganising Oz into a centralised monarchy. She and her sisters — Elphaba, Nessarose, and Theadora — each claim a region and begin a line of rival Witch-Queens.
[OZ] The Goblin King Expands	Jareth, the Goblin King (previously known as Peter Pan), extends the Impassible Desert, cutting off trade routes.
[OZ] War of the Witches	Rivalries among Glinda’s descendants spark wars between Oz’s regions. Eden’s sacred grove is lost from mortal maps. Gillikin Country militarises; Munchkinland turns isolationist.
[PROVINCES] Aslan Arrives	The divine lion Aslan arrives in the north of the Dragon’s Neck, claiming it as Narnia—a sanctuary for followers of the One God. He builds the Great Stone Table. A quiet First Division separates his followers from the old fey.
[PROVINCES] Jadis Comes North	Jadis, daughter of Elphaba, arrives in Narnia with a band of Talking Animals who fled Oz with her aunt Theadora during Glinda’s purges. Despising Aslan’s divine law, she seizes the northern mountains, building the Frozen Citadel. War erupts. She casts the Great Frost, plunging Narnia into a hundred-year winter.
[PROVINCES] Highlands & Lowlands Rise	The Highlands emerge as a kingdom of sorcerer-kings who defy Aslan’s decrees against magic. The Beldam—youngest daughter of Lilith and Samael—awakens in the south and corrupts the eastern Provinces into the Lowlands. The Veil falls; villages become twisted mirror-images; dissenters vanish.
[PROVINCES] Ellis the Unraveled	The first person escapes the Beldam’s grasp, bringing terrifying warnings to Narnia and the Highlands. Aslan declares the Lowlands ‘a place beyond saving’ but does not invade.
[PROVINCES] The Stitched King	Highland warlord King Eldric the Stalwart leads an army into the Lowlands. His soldiers lose their minds; Eldric himself is ‘remade.’ He returns as the Stitched King—black button eyes, sweet empty voice—and rules as the Beldam’s puppet.
[WONDERLAND] Age of Reverie	Wonderland is governed by the Chimeric Council and five noble houses: Cards (governance), Chess (strategy), Rabbits (timekeeping), Mirrors (illusions), Hats (creativity). The Queen of Hearts is a minor, temperamental noble.
[WONDERLAND] Crimson Rebellion	The Red Queen—a sorceress claiming to be an ancient aspect of Wonderland—stirs rebellion. The Queen of Hearts sides with her, leading a bloody coup. The White Queen is banished into the Void Between Realities; the House of Rabbits is subjugated.
[WONDERLAND] Betrayal	The Queen of Hearts betrays the Red Queen, sealing her in a Labyrinth of Endless Mazes beneath the Looking-Glass Lake. Wonderland falls entirely under the Queen of Hearts’ sole rule.

The Age of False Dawns

~500–100 BM

Event	Summary
[OZ] The False Dawn — Melisande	A powerful Witch-Queen named Melisande claims to be Lurline reincarnated, briefly uniting Oz. Her heirs grow increasingly tyrannical.
[OZ] The Shattering	An unknown cataclysm fractures Oz’s ley lines. Magic grows unpredictable; the Emerald City becomes a haunted ruin. Jareth withdraws deep into the Labyrinth.
[OZ] Age of Forgotten Kings	Without central power, Oz fragments. Munchkinland is ruled by merchant-prince oligarchs; Gillikin Country splits into rival magical city-states; Quadling Country thrives in secrecy; Eden is rediscovered but fiercely guarded.
[GRIMM] The Enchanted Forest	With no clear heir among Grimm’s royal lines, the Enchanted Forest falls under the rule of Lupin the Wolf King (later known as Lycan).
[PROVINCES] Eternal Stalemate	Narnia is locked in perpetual war—Aslan’s summer vs. Jadis’ winter. The Highlands play a delicate balance, refusing to side with either. The Beldam’s corruption spreads unchecked as both great powers are occupied.
[GRIMM] Deal with Dagon	A member of the royal line that will become Germonia strikes a bargain with Dagon, Prince of the Darkened Deep. The terms demand a blood sacrifice—a daughter of the line—in exchange for dominion over Grimm. The deal is largely forgotten.

The Modern Era

~100 BM – Present

Event	Summary
[OZ] Rise of Zadira the Eternal	A powerful warlord named Zadira rises from Emerald City ruins, claims descent from Glinda, and conquers Oz with enchanted automata and mercenary sorcerers. She becomes Supreme Empress. Eden vanishes again. The Gilded Court appears, claiming it can overthrow her.
[OZ] Glinda Takes Power Back	Glinda, apparently resurfacing, reclaims Oz—including Munchkinland, the Emerald City, Gillikin Country, Quadling Country, and Eden. (Zadira’s fate unclear; may be imprisoned or in hiding.)
[FROSTED] Arendelle — Agnarr & Iduna	King Agnarr of Arendelle and Queen Iduna have four children: Eric, Elsa, Anna, and a youngest son. Agnarr and Iduna are lost at sea en route to Rapunzel and Eugene’s wedding in Corona. Their youngest son is cast adrift, eventually reaching and ruling Greystoke.
[FROSTED] Elsa Crowned	Queen Elsa ascends the throne of Arendelle. Her elder brother Eric becomes King of Tirulia. Her sister Anna serves as Arendelle’s ambassador. Elsa monitors the Grimm conflict and disturbing rumours from Oz and Wonderland.
[GRIMM] Rapunzel & Eugene	Queen Rapunzel and King Consort Eugene rule Corona. Rapunzel advocates for democratic republics in Grimm; she is preparing to abdicate after a democratic election—but waits to see how the conflict with Germonia resolves.
[GRIMM] Cinderella’s Tenuous Reign	Queen Cinderella rules Enchancia following the death of King Henri, with no heir and only partial popular support.
[GRIMM] Snow White’s Ambitions	Queen Snow White (with largely absent King Henry) seeks to re-unify Grimm under her rule. She is aware of the ancient deal with Dagon and is willing to sacrifice her daughter Sable to claim dominion.
[GRIMM] Aurora & Phillip	Queen Aurora and King Consort Phillip rule the Hinterlands. Phillip believes Tirulia is his birthright and plans to declare war; first he seeks alliance with Cinderella’s Enchancia against Germonia.
[GRIMM] Lycan & Red Declare Independence	Lycan and his partner Little Red Riding Hood declare the Enchanted Forest a governance-free collective—all trade/diplomacy arranged through them, all decisions made by the Forest’s factions.
[PROVINCES] Beldam Expands	The Beldam’s servants grow bolder, venturing into Narnia and the Highlands with deals and gifts. Buttoned Ones walk among normal people, spreading false memories and rewriting history. The Beldam is believed to be preparing to expand beyond the Lowlands.
[OZ / ELSEWHERE] Tensions Rise	Elsa of Arendelle watches disturbing developments in Oz and Wonderland. Rapunzel of Corona fears Germonian expansion. The world of Once is quietly approaching a new age of conflict.