Salem History

Salem, for all its rigid politics, has changed itself more than any other region in the Shards world.

Pre-Union of the Shards:

Salem Timeline

Much of Salem’s history was burned and buried by its rulers as they tried to control the past and thoughts of its population.

What is suspected can be found here, however the truth of what is written can only be guessed.

If we go back to the last stable time we will find Salem ruled over by the religion of the one true God. Reading, writing and the telling of stories was strictly forbidden, except where licensed for approved use by members of the Church. All other lands were considered deviant, heretical places to be purged or converted if possible.

Many wars were fought over differences in dogma and interpretation of the Wissen (the Salem Church's equivalent to the Bible). In the end, however, religion was stopped on the night the Shards came together, all of the gods departed, Salem's one true God amongst them, never to be heard of to this day. 

After the Union of the Shards:

On Salem, priests continued to preach the teachings laid down in the Wissen, but their conviction was shaken, God did not answer their prayers and their sermons were hollow, empty words. So it was, that amid this massive loss of faith, a group long hidden among those in power acted and took control, the Thule Brotherhood.

In the year AU11 the Thule Brotherhood made their move, seizing the reins of power from the ailing Church. The Supreme Pontiff was murdered and many priests were killed at their hand or took their own lives as the Brotherhood declared the Wissen false and outlawed both the Church and belief in God. The Thule Brotherhood sought to achieve racial purity creating concentration camps, murdering and experimenting on all those not perfect in their eyes.

The Thules could not control the vast land and a division occurred in the west. Emperor Steiner took control and granted new liberties to his people. Other continents were no longer to be considered the enemy and so the people of Salem under his rule felt they had more freedom.

This proved essential when a race of undead-like creatures called the Forsaken rose from their graves and tried to gain control of Salem. A great battle was fought and Faerie, the Thunders, Frontier, Archipelago, Union and Dust all joined Emperor Steiner in a battle to defeat the Forsaken. A battle well won. The Forsaken that remained, indeed many changed sides in the battle, were given lands and leave to live amongst the people of Salem.

No sooner had Salem solved this crisis, it then found itself the beach head of another invasion when Demons from another realm of reality tried to invade the land. The Thule Brotherhood tried to support the Demons, this caused them to fracture as most were sane enough to realise the Demons intended to wipe out the world.

The Demons were defeated but at great cost, Salem paid this cost more than any other land and the following period of recovery left the land changed, the politics and borders of Salem have been re-drawn, the changes occurring so fast they are impossible to list and in the long run pointless, for the land is not yet stable and is what it is at any time.