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Timeline

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The timeline of pact largely mirrors that of real life. The only substantial difference is that Magic is real and was forced into the background, where it has stayed for a long long time.<ref>It kind of always bothered me a ton that in whatever series where you go back in time or when magic was available, the protagonists are like, "Oh yeah, D-day? That was us."

So if I were to lean in any direction in terms of giving official word, it would be that the world wars were affairs of men. Great efforts were spent to keep it that way- both from Others that secretly hoped it was the start of the end for mankind and the forces working in the background to keep Others and practitioners from trying to sway events. Were there practitioners and Others? Of course. but not in the midst of things, and they largely canceled each other out. - Excerpt from a comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref> There are a few minor changes here and there.

Primordial Chaos

  • Pre-sapient Angels serve as themes constructing the universe.<ref name="Faysal">Once, he had built.  He had been a theme, spelling out a thousand narratives simply by being, like so many pens touched to an endless scroll of paper.  He inked out paths and behaviors on the broadest scale.

    When man had come about, he had been reflected in man’s thoughts and behavior.  As man became intelligent, so had the angel.  He had guided man and been guided in turn, a symbiotic relationship.

    Man, however, created its own demons.  Some were obvious, while others stirred in the midst of the noise and chaos and took form. Sentiments became figures, fears took form, and in some cases, man abandoned his kind to join the storm of thoughts and ideas.  To become the monster.

    The creating ended, and man took the center stage, bringing change to that steady, stable creation.  Born from chaos and noise like anything else, a chance configuration of molecules, man carried that change and chance with him.  Each movement brought change, like a stirring of dust swelling and spreading out from underfoot.

As man’s power waxed, the creators’ power waned. - Excerpt from 14.x (Histories: Faysal)</ref>

  • Primevals originate in the chaotic pre-human universe.<ref name="8.1e1" /><ref name="PrimevalDoc" /><ref name=":8" />
  • The universe naturally separates into natural structures and gives rise to animal life, but remains quite chaotic and undefined.<ref name="8.1e1">“It’s easier than it once was.  To hear the older forces talk about it, it used to be lawless out there.  But you know how lawless things were, teacher.”

Durocher smiled.  “That’s for later in the class.”
“Sure thing.  Right now, those of us who are canny enough are changing roles.  Used to be we provided definition and structure.  Now your species is doing that for itself.  We’re smaller, we keep more to our own selves and family branches, and we game the systems if we’re smart.”
[...]
“The powers I tap originate from an age of primordial chaos.  When light, land, sea, and sky mingled freely.  As those things settled into layers, animals and other forces took form from the chaos.  Gods gave it structure. [...] the Abyssal may be related to the same kinds of primordial chaos I tap into, simply refined by time.”
- excerpt from Vanishing Points 8.1</ref>

  • Some diabolists believe that most of the universe is destroyed by Demons, which is why most of it is empty space.<ref>Demons of the First Choir are the counterpoint to the forces that brought the universe into being.  There is no telling the damage they have done, but Bartholemew Peck’s Abyssian suggests a dark possibility, that the universe as we know it might be the leftovers of something far vaster.  That the materials and elements that gathered to form stars and planetoids are merely the crumbs of a feast.

If this were true, it would be the demons of the First Choir that did the feasting.
Though it’s scarcely more than speculative fiction, it illustrates the nature of the First Choir for the seventh of our nine chapters here.  They devour.  They take.
– Excerpt from ‘Classifying Others: Fiends and Darker Beings’, by R.D.T.</ref>

Prehistory

  • Humanity arises from "a chance configuration of molecules".<ref name="Faysal" />
  • Humanity inspires Angels to sapience and the formation of many Others.<ref name="Faysal" />
    • Some diabolists believe that Demons are responsible for most Others, and by extension magic.<ref>“My understanding of things is simple, Alister. Every Other is, if you trace things back far enough, the fault of demons. Every practitioner is the fault of Others, or, for a rare few, the fault of demons. All of these things, in their way, guide all of existence slowly toward its end. The unlucky few who get in too deep fall into their clutches.”
      [...]
      “Virtually all practices, Alister. Call it a diabolist’s bias, but I would posit that the only difference between Laird and I is the level of self-delusion.”

      “For the record,” Laird said, “I don’t agree.” - Excerpt from Interlude 12</ref>
    • The first gods are born, initially poorly-defined as the traditions that birth them vary between cultures.<ref>The background noise of internet and online communication allows for the natural emergence of accidental rituals.  Repetition, default or common responses and collective imagination allow for a kind of false worship to take place.  Much as the first gods emerged, crude and loose in form as each telling and culture that outlined them varied, the digital avatar is a force akin to a god that arises from the spirit world, often linked to a phenomenon and then crystallized by the public consciousness.  As figures of a more spiritual and divine stripe, what one often sees is often the tip of the iceberg for a larger effect. Lesser gods spawned by a public consciousness, Nex Machina stem from the digital, not from dreams, other worlds, or reality. - Beastiary - Nex Machina</ref>
  • The universe is defined and given structure by gods. Humans begin to help to define the universe alongside the gods. Primevals survive as beasts that escaped definition.<ref name="PrimevalDoc">Primeval Beasts (Primevals from here on out) are beasts from a time or place where spirit, god, and man were not in a position to identify or clarify them.  They are older than time and since mankind claimed the world for themselves, the Primevals have been driven to the fringes of reality and to the less habitable places of earth, with their existence in these places being secured with wards and countermeasures. [...] They prefer humans as prey, as humans are enemies to the Primeval, and the destroyers of the world the Primeval once knew - a world that was small fires in vast nighttime darkness, and numerous predators that could easily dispatch the primate intelligences. [...] Having been around since the dawn of man, the routine and manner of a Primeval has become entrenched enough to become a ritual unto itself, and that ritual has its benefits. - Primeval Beasts doc</ref><ref name=":8">"Durocher and her pre-human divinities..." - Bonus Material: SunnyDay logs</ref><ref name="8.1e1" />
  • Early Others assume that humanity will soon die out, resulting in unwise promises.<ref name=":1">We did not think humanity would last nearly as long as it did. [...] The Others that came before did not think humanity would spread as it did.  Many of the predatory Others promised protections and sanctuaries, thinking your civilization would be pockets of light in vast darkness. Now the light from your world is so bright you must often travel a distance to properly see the stars in the night sky.  Some suffered more than others.  Many have died out or become beggars instead of predators. - Excerpt from Back Away 5.d</ref>
  • According to the gospel of Ulysse Miraz's nameless god, many deities attempt to give fire to mankind. All are defeated and harshly punished, but the one later known as Prometheus was minor enough that he is overlooked and succeeds before he is captured. Had another god succeeded, humanity might have learned to wield fire very differently.<ref name="champ">“Only one I won’t tell you the name of.  By his gospel, the one we came to name Prometheus had peers, and it was not the one who tried to seize the original Fire, but many.  All who tried, succeed or fail, were punished.  I found my deity nine miles beneath the surface of the earth, thoroughly protected so none might disturb his eternal punishment.  Had he succeeded, our campfires might not be wood we’ve set alight, but something else entirely.”

    “Your god’s a loser?” Kevin asked, sneering a bit to drive the question home.

    It did seem to nettle Ulysse.  “He was the greatest of them.  So they placed the most obstacles in his way.  Now he is my god and I am his sole worshiper, his champion.”

    “It’s my understanding that if you pick this fight and lose, your god’s power will dwindle.”

    Ulysse nodded. - Excerpt from Gone Ahead 7.a</ref>
  • Practitioners of a sort begin, primarily Wild Practitioners.<ref>There are ways of being inducted into the practices, those esoteric traditions that predate computers, cell phones, the engines industry, and even paper and bronze. [...] One of the common ways is to be born to it. [...] The second way is to stumble onto it. To find a book hidden in a library, or an object both strange and powerful at a crime scene where the deceased was killed by something not human nor animal. [...] The last way, the old way? The road we’re going down? To make that deal directly. Find or be found by the fey things, the goblin things, the things that used to be ghosts and became something more, the things that used to be human and became something less. Strike those deals. Make those compacts. Those strange Others can give up shares of their power and teach their secret knowledge. - Pale: About</ref> Wild Practitioners serving Other patrons were the norm.<ref name=":5">“Alexander,” Mrs. Durocher said. “You do know where they come from? I’m not the only one who’s put it together?”
    [...]
    “They’re wild practitioners. [...] Patron Others and practitioners who are tied to them. The way things were done before Solomon, when they were formalized. Which leads to questions about who and what spearheaded the organization of this little triad of practitioners.”
    [...]
    Alexander smiled. “Knowing that you’re wild practitioners with multiple patrons helps me to make sense of you. It tells me you’re probably strong, with a wide base of power. It means I can expect you to be… interesting students.”

    “Unruly and interesting,” Mrs. Durocher amended. - Excerpt from Leaving a Mark 4.4</ref><ref name=":6">“To try to formalize deals. To hitch their wagons to that of humanity, by striking deals that would establish them as Patrons. They teach their secret knowledge and ways of manipulating the world, in exchange for servitude… until mankind begins sharing that knowledge in ways few Others can stay ahead of, on paper and in tomes. Knowledge, instead of being taught from patron Other to Practitioner, becomes something kept in families. Others try to formalize a kind of equality, such as the familiar bond, and to make firm agreements about oaths, lies, and declarations, out of fear of being tricked again. But these things become their own weapon that humans wield. Humans sprawl, they work with concerted effort, and they establish and mutate patterns. [...] The Seal of Solomon, as it exists now, was essentially intended as one last concession. Or it was meant to be the last. A binding that would not be mutated further, that would be universal enough that it could be trusted by the Other, instead of having hooks and more traps attached to it. And as part of it, there was a deal that practitioners would manage the affairs of Others but select, powerful Others would have some say over the movements and dealings of Practitioners. Lords and judges. Roles above all other things.” - Excerpt from Back Away 5.d</ref>
  • Humanity breeds cats and dogs, in part to protect them from Others.<ref>“Once upon a time, when humans weren’t much more than animals, we relied on our dogs to scare off the Others who wanted to prey on us and do mischief. Cats hunted and fought with the lesser Goblins, returning to owners with torn ears or small injuries. They still have those instincts. To destroy things of darkness, foulness and blight, before rot can set in.” - Excerpt from Breach 3.2</ref>

Over 25,000 years ago

  • Mara Angnakak comes to North America as an infant on a reed raft.<ref name="Mara"/>
  • Many Others are stirred to existence by the first human colonists, joining those that were already there.<ref name="Mara">“The town will fall, just as it rose, two hundred and fifteen years ago.  Before that, I was here.  I watched people come and go. Settlements rose and fell. Not many, not large, but a number.  Before that, I was here.”

    “Been here a while,” I said.

    Her eyes narrowed. “The man and woman who brought me into this world came to this place on a raft of reeds, and I was so small I had to be carried. We traveled from the west to here over my lifetime, following the deer and the hunt.  When my parents passed, I stayed. I was one of the first to lay claim here, and I have never given it up.”

    “Over the water to the west?” Peter murmured.  “The lake?”

    “Ocean,” Tiff said, her voice almost a whisper.

    “I nurtured those who followed after me or passed through, offered them my hand and my amassed knowledge, so they could be communities, a people.  Many are mine.  Hundreds of years of work.  I saw things follow in our wake, things stirred into existence by our being.  Your Others, echoing our intelligence, echoing our pride and fear and pain, to join those Others that were here before the first people.  I am familiar with them all.  I know what man is, and I know that your love and law and fairness are invention. Invention younger than I am."
    [...]
    “You know the power of your repetition. Three times, you do something. Three times you bind it to make it so. Agreed?”

    “That’s the gist of it.”

    “Invention. But at the core, there is truth. I have not counted, but I can still be utterly confident in saying that I have woken up in the same place for more than nine million of your days. I have gathered, hunted, cooked and eaten the same foods on those same days. I have been born, bled for the first time, and been reborn on more than one thousand occasions. The wheel of life and death turns forward and I am an indelible part of it, especially here. This is a pattern, this is my ritual. Now tell me, what is the truth of this. What does it make me?” - Excerpt from Sine Die 14.6</ref>

C.970-931 BC

C.1785

  • Hiring of magical tutors comes into fashion, inspires the writing of Famulus.<ref>Interlude 2.x</ref>

1799

C.1920

1930

1932

1939

September

Young Rose Thorburn Senior attends school in Montréal.<ref name=":6" /> At some point she encountered an Inquisitor on the staff.<ref name=":7">Interlude 6</ref>

  • September 15th - one of Rose's magicbooks is turned in to the faculty.
  • September 20th - Rose's attempt to steal the book back goes awry.
  • September 25th
    • Rose writes of how her classmates summoned a goblin with the book.
    • She returns home.
    • She argues with her father and swears not to teach her children of the Practice.
    • She fights Aimon Behaim and ends up sleeping with him.
    • Beginning of Interlude 6
  • September 29th - Rose meets with Aimon again.<ref name=":7" />

1974

  • Aimon Behaim's father dies and he becomes head of the Behaim Circle.<ref name=":7" />

C.1990

C.1993

C. 2000

C. 2003

C. 2004

C. 2005

C.2006

Laila Throop, Kassidy Knox, Yadira Kennedy, Sawyer Hennigar, Corbin Kierstaad, Tymon Leos, Damaryon Steyn, Salvador P. Martin, Zachariah Nichol, Beau Austin, Easton Songetay, Myles Sutton born.<ref name=":1" />

C.2007

C. 2008

2008

Spring

C.2009

2009

Summer

  • Clem finds a magic stone that grants her three wishes, including a magic dolphin and a valuable treasure. Her mother drowns seeking more treasure.<ref name=":0" />

C. 2010

–  Alexander forswears Charles.

 *  Charles is taken in by the Kennet Others.  Becomes their walking trash bin for curses and stuff.

 *  This is generally accepted to be a good deal, all things considered.

–  (Nine years ago) The Hungry Choir comes into being.  Right from the start, it is strong, enduring, and it seems pretty complex. - 3.3. Bonus Material: Timelines</ref>

2010

Summer

  • Clem finds a ghoul's tooth, ends up permanently scarred.<ref name=":0" />

Winter

  • Clem finds a magical book that knocks her out.<ref name=":0" />

2011

Spring

  • Clem finds a stone that makes dogs love her.<ref name=":0" />

Fall

  • Clem finds a ring that steals health from those around her, reducing her scarring.<ref name=":0" />

Winter

  • Clem finds a scarf which slowly makes her see everyone in their underwear.<ref name=":0" />

2012

Summer

  • Clem finds a flower that generates unwanted life, including pregnancies in her stepmother and brother's girlfriend.<ref name=":0" />

Fall

  • Clem finds a goblin matchbox that burns her house down.<ref name=":0" />
  • Clem finds a magical dream unicorn figurine, is almost seduced by a Prince of Dreams.<ref name=":0" />

Winter

  • Clem finds an evil monkey that tells her she's the reason for all the magic-item misfortune around her, making her Aware.<ref name=":0" />
  • Clem finds an unknown item that attracts a Faerie and Goblin, who commit crimes with her.<ref name=":0" />
  • Clem turns on her new "friends" when they discuss stealing the flower-induced babies, defeats them. The blame for all their crimes falls on her.<ref name=":0" />

2013

Spring

  • Clem sent to juvenile detention.<ref name=":0" />

Autumn

  • Evan Matthieu dies.<ref name="4.11e1">“What year is it?”  I tried.

    “Twenty-thirteen, I think.”

    “Twenty-thirteen,” I responded.  “Right.”

    Just last fall, then.  No small wonder he was so lucid.  He’d practically died yesterday. - Excerpt from Collateral 4.11</ref>

Winter

  • Clem gets out of juvenile detention.<ref name=":0" />

2014

Events of Pact.<ref name="4.11e1" />

  • Clem is still wearing the scarf that makes her see everyone in their underwear.<ref name=":0" />

Spring

  • Clem finds a magic game console that gets her dates, in a way applying Gamification to her life.
  • Clem finds a magic dress that makes people treat her as an adult.
  • Clem finds a lethal knife which ends up killing her father.
  • Clem finds a magic puzzle bracelet that re-arranges space.<ref name=":0" />

July

  • Clem finds a magic goblin key.
  • Clem finds a mask that makes you invulnerable, but you re-live any injuries in dreams.<ref name=":0" />

2018

December

  • Ontario Provisional Police replace Kennet's own police force.<ref name=":3" />

2020

Events of Pale.<ref name=":4" />

C. March/April

  • "Weeks" before its death,<ref name=":5">3.1 Bonus: Interview Notes 2</ref> Maricica teases the Carmine Beast, temporarily blinds it.<ref name="Te1" />
  • Munch does the voyeur job.<ref name="Te1">March/April:
–  Maricica teases the beast, temp. blinds it.

–  Munch does the voyeur job.

–  Guilherme has a secret scheme going on.  Meets someone during…

–  C.B. death/disappearance.  See interview notes #1. - 3.3. Bonus Material: Timelines</ref>

April

  • Death of the Carmine Beast.<ref name="Te1" />
    • Miss, Verona, and Lucy all attend Avery's hockey game against her former bestie. Edith and the Hungry Choir are outside.
    • Events of Blood Run Cold 0.0.
    • Guilherme is meeting with someone, on a scheme he swears is unrelated, at the time of death.<ref name="Te1" /><ref name=":5" />
    • John Stiles is out hunting far from Kennet at time of death.<ref>2.1 Bonus: Inteview Notes 1
      </ref>
    • Alpeana was working at time of death.<ref name=":5" />
    • Maricica claims she was at home in her cave at time of death.<ref name=":5" />

May

First few arcs of Pale.<ref name=":4">May 2020 Calendar:

Friday May 1st – Awakening ritual (Hungry Choir, waning half)

Saturday May 2nd – Camping.  Interview: Charles, Sable, Alabaster, Aurum.

Sunday May 3rd – More Camp.  Lessons with Edith.  Interview: John

Monday May 4th – H.C. Info.  Interview: Miss.  Gifts from Miss.

Tuesday May 5th – More Edith & Matthew Lessons.  We go -> (Hungry Choir, waning gibbous moon)

Wednesday May 6th – Fae Interviews & some gifts

Thursday May 7th – Paul.

Friday May 8th – Interview: ‘Alpy’.  Spirit World.  Ruins.  (Hungry Choir, full moon)

Saturday May 9th – Interview: Goblins.  Planning.

Sunday May 10th – Forest Ribbon Trail (Tree pictured).  (Hungry Choir, waxing gibbous)

Monday May 11th – Belanger Negotiate.  Avery Returns.

Tuesday May 12th – Locals hold meetings.  Matthew & Edith now leaders. - 3.3. Bonus Material: Timelines</ref>
  • Friday May 1st – Awakening ritual
  • Saturday May 2nd – Camping. Interview: Charles, Sable, Alabaster, Aurum.
  • Sunday May 3rd – More Camp. Lessons with Edith. Interview: John
  • Monday May 4th – H.C. Info. Interview: Miss. Gifts from Miss.
  • Tuesday May 5th – More Edith & Matthew Lessons. Trio attend Hungry Choir ritual.
  • Wednesday May 6th – Fae Interviews & some gifts
  • Thursday May 7th – Paul.
  • Friday May 8th – Interview: ‘Alpy’. Spirit World. Ruins.
  • Saturday May 9th – Interview: Goblins. Planning.
  • Sunday May 10th – Forest Ribbon Trail.
  • Monday May 11th – Belanger Negotiation. Avery Returns.
  • Tuesday May 12th – Locals hold meetings. Matthew & Edith now leaders.
  • Tuesday May 19th – 1st Part of Ms. Hardy’s project due.
  • Thursday May 21st – Big Sitton Test.
  • Wednesday May 27th – 2nd Part of Ms. Hardy’s project due.

June

End of school, beginning of summer holiday at BHI.<ref>June: Final Projects & Tests. Report Cards (Doodle of Verona appears holding a test and saying ‘ugh’)
School’s out!
Classes at the Blue Heron Institute
Verona’s got mom stuff to navigate.
Team stuff for Ave. - 3.3. Bonus Material: Timelines</ref>

  • June 22nd - Wavy Tree dance win a competition in Thunder Bay.<ref name=":3" />
  • Monday June 29th - three missing Kennet teens find the Carmine Beast's remains, go missing.<ref name=":3" />
  • Tuesday June 30th
    • hunt for missing teens begins in earnest.<ref name=":3" />
    • Slippery Nick sighted attempting to enter Kennet River<ref name=":3" /> in pursuit of Clem[citation needed]

July

  • July 1st - Kennet Kaller issue published.<ref name=":3" />

References

<references/>

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