As a staunch Dark Sun conservative, I am suspicious and hesitant about much of anything from the 2nd Boxed Set era and beyond. It could be argued this was the era when Dark Sun publications risked “jumping the shark.” Among my suspicions is the presented timeline from 2nd Box, and though I laud the great care given to the chronology presented by the Council of Athas.org, it is inherently built using the 2nd Box material, which itself was poorly thought out and designed.
Regarding the Preserver Jihad, from a 1st Box perspective, we know precious little of this. To my recollection, the key passages in the publications are from Book of Artifacts and Dragon’s Crown.
The Silencer of Bodach entry from BoA states:
In the ancient wars that ravaged Athas, the
city of Bodach was a great neutral power. Its
armies and magicians jealously guarded the
lands of the city-state while the rulers refused all
offers of alliance with the warring defilers and
preservers. Eventually, the great defiler war-
lords decided to eliminate Bodach, and a great
host gathered to destroy the city.
The leader of this host was a human defiler
and warlord named Irikos, “the left hand of
Rajaat.” It was Irikos’s ancient duty to destroy
the race of orcs, and when the last orc was no
more, he turned to the conquest of all who did
not stand with Rajaat’s captains.
Within game publications, this 1993 product is I believe the first time Rajaat is mentioned by name. Furthermore, in first Box era, this I believe is the only time Rajaat is mentioned by name, so it is qutie the Easter egg.
Regarding the chronology of Dark Sun, we may take from this passage several key points.
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There were “warring defilers and preservers” at the time of the death of Irikos, who was a Champion of Rajaat, assigned to the destruction of orcs. We gather that these preserver-defiler wars (the “preserver jihad”) were great enough for major city-states to enact a policy of neutrality regarding them.
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Enough time had elapsed in the time of magic for powerful magicians, capable of destroying a Champion of Rajaat like Irikos, to have developed in the major metropolises.
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That the preserver-defilers wars were concurrent with the Cleansing Wars. Already, Champions of Rajaat had taken the field to destroy their assigned races, and indeed, at least according to BoA, all the orcs were already dead.
In Dragon’s Crown, I cite some of the most useful passages:
At the time, Haakar’s forces had control of the entire Road of Fire. This situation changed whent he war-lord defiler, Merek the Wrong, mounted a campaign to take Haakar’s keep.
Book II, 15
Merek, a warlord defiler, lay siege to Haakar’s fortress centuries ago. The army had cut off the fortress from its supply lines for nearly a year, and was preparing an assalt on Akarakle, when a sudden catastrophic event annihilated both armies and split the walls of the preserver’s keep.
Book II, 23
Merek’s letter to Hammanu
Hammanu,
Tomorrow we will begin the assault on Akarakle. By sun ascending, I will control the largest deposits of obsidian on Athas. By morning, the red and black will fly overb Akarakle and Haakar’s head will adorn the battlements of my new home.
Glad tidings, Merek
Book II, 24
Haakar is a powerful, free-willed, undead spirit. He
haunts the fortress Akarakle that once belonged to a
society of mages whose master he was. The society of
preservers had ties across Athas and fought against
the rise of the defilers. Their fortress, Dasaraches, in
the Dragons Crown Mountains, is now in the hands
of The Order.
Book II, 36
The Wind Mages, an ancient order of preservers which fought against the rise of defiling magic, built Dasaraches several thousand years ago.
Book III, p. 16
We may take from these passages evidence that reinforces our understanding from the BoA information. The war against the preservers was obviously going on concurrently with the Cleansing Wars, and perhaps were in many ways the same thing. We understand also that enough time had passed since the invention of sorcery for a society of mages, the Wind Mages, to have arisen, and that indeed they were quite powerful and sophisticated, enough so to create the Psionatrix itself. We suspect they were not the only society of powerful mages, as we are reminded that Bodach had its own powerful sorcerers that were great enough to destroy Irikos.
ASSESSMENTS
I dislike the extremely lengthy timelines given by 2nd Box. As I have argued in the past, Rajaat was meant to be human, as Denning was direct about this. We are meant to feel the association… Rajaat as a human makes his genocide closer to us… him being a pyreen would make his genocide more remote and disassociated from we gamers. Thus, as a human with an obviously augmented lifespan (due most likely to magic, psionics and then later his linking himself to the Spirit of Athas itself), he would be less prone to wait millennia, like some aloof elemental spirit, waiting for actions to play out.
Ignoring 2nd Box, we may speculate Rajaat wandered for a time, teaching for the first time students the ways of magic, not long after he himself learned. Even as the Inventor of Magic, and the notoriety he surely garnered by spreading such knowledge, he seems to have failed to find self-acceptance, and during a more human lifespan, probably ventured to find greater secrets. I cannot imagine his adventures in discovering the Pristine Tower, the Dark Lens, and even his power ritual at the Kano Swamps to be more than a few centuries. I rather prefer 170 years or so, which is enough to see the rise of the first orders of wizardry.
I then envision the official “return” of Rajaat, a great celebrity of the magical world, returning after being thought dead, and unveiling himself and potentially harboring grand secrets at the enigmatic Pristine Tower. Invitations may have been issues to come learn from the original Master of Magic, and arriving they would have discovered the halfling servants that served Rajaat, and beheld Rajaat as the possessor of profound magic.
Even with profound wisdom, impatience to rid the world of abominations would have driven Rajaat to act quickly. The idea of centuries or millennia passing while he idled about in his hate is not convincing. A generation or two at most would have been necessary, as Rajaat sifted his elite students for the right set of personal attributes, sociopathy, and potential for mastery of magic, psionics and genocide. During this same time, Rajaat might have returned to the public world as the ultimate bigot, and perhaps more subtly at first and then in stages more aggressively preaching hate of the demi-human to the human world. Again, only a general or two would be needed to spread this message far, wide, and deep. His hate likely already existed to one degree or another, and he merely became the master of it. He was after all the Master of Magic, wise in all things.
At the appropriate time he would have conducted the great ritual and created his first bevy of immortal 21st level dragons, and witnessed their power, and announced his genocidal war, likely to considerable fanfare. Wishing to respect the great work of our website’s Timeline as much as possible, I accept the proffered during of the Cleansing War, for it is -3531 when the Cleansing War begins and ends with the Rebellion -2025, that is nearly 1,500 years of mass war.
Rajaat probably expected the human mages to follow his lead and support the Cleansing Wars. When many preservers did not, including presumably a number of his own students, he was probably outraged, and demanded either their submission or destruction, their power being a threat to his designs. Hence the “jihad” against the preservers. It would have surely been concurrent with the Cleansing Wars. It being a “jihad” and being so targeted and hateful only makes sense if Rajaat genuinely believed his wizardly disciplines would all follow him in cleansing Athas. The thought of them disobeying, daring to question the conclusions of his awesome intellect, was probably insufferable to Rajaat, and not mention a risk.
CONCLUSIONS
As far as the timeline, by my estimation, the human Rajaat taught magic for some 50 years or so, and then as an old man disappeared for 170 years or so during which time he made his grand discoveries of the Dark Lens, Pristine Tower and the power ritual and the linking of his soul to the very spirit of Athas itself with experiments at Kano Swamp. Then Rajaat returned, a great celebrity, and began to preach his message of his in slow increments for perhaps two generations or so while he cultivated his future Champions. No doubt impatient, I cannot imagine him taking any longer, for if he did, promising prospects may have begun to die off before they were Transformed. Then Rajaat, a politicalesque figure, would have called for his initial crusade, and created his Champions to lead his crusaders. Some 1,500 years of war would have followed, both against all the demi-human races as well against the insubordinate wizards. Then we have the Rebellion, and then the timeline much as we all agree to.
In my campaign, I largely adhere to this chronological concept, more or less, when, if ever, it comes up.
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