Hi everyone - this is not a chapter. What follows is a pre-history timeline for this fanfic which I wrote for the flashbacks that have been appearing to date. Almost everything in it has been hinted at so far but if you don't want any spoilers at all for the fic, skip for now. The timeline is based off a combination of ASOIAF lore, GoT but mostly AWOIAF. It also takes into consideration some of the wonderful essays written by lucifermeanslightbringer whose breadth of knowledge on the subject is incredible. Needless to say I have also taken liberties. Lots of liberties. Like so many liberties. I've decided to share it for two reasons: 1) You guys keep asking lol 2) It's such a long fic that I thought it might be nice to draw together the history before we launch into Part III. You guys are welcome to ask me questions about it.

PRE-HISTORY TIMELINE


~70,000 BC Foundation of the Empire of the Dawn. Asshai is built as a trading port with an existing civilisation, possibly the Deep Ones who hold current dominion over Essos. The map Jorah found in Asshai comes from this time, before magic tore pieces out of the world. The Empire of the Dawn spends the next thirty-odd thousand years spreading and building across Eastern Essos comprised of Horselords, savages, pirates and strange practitioners of magic from the South-East.

40,000 BC The first dragons are tamed in the mountains behind Asshai, shifting the balance of power in Essos to a single family line with pale skin and silver hair.

35,000 BC Lion of Night and Maiden Made of Light, descendants of this line, are crowned God Emperors of the Empire of the Dawn and rule for 10,000 years. The capital is moved to the North of the continent, to the Thousand Islands which becomes known as the ancestral home.

32,000 BC A meteor (moon-like object) crashes into the North of the world. Fallout from the impact triggers the First Long Night, plunging the world into Winter where creatures made of ice emerge from the distant Lands of Always Winter. They are defeated by an unknown force, possibly The Deep Ones who inhabited the North-Western Waters. Their empire is decimated clearing the way for the rise of the Empire of the Dawn.

25,000 BC The Lion of Night and Maiden Made of Light die on a night when falling fire is seen in the sky triggering myths of dragons falling from the sky and the Nissa Nissa mythology. The Pearl Emperor inherits the throne.

24,000 BC Winter sets in again. The Pearl Emperor builds the five forts along a wall of ice that bridges the Mountains of the Morn and the Bleeding Sea. He dies in battle during the destruction of the Thousand Islands, cutting the land bridge to the Lands of Always Winter in a magical cataclysm. This is the shortest of the Long Nights, sometimes called, 'The Twilight'. The empire, in decline, moves its political heart first to Yin then finally Asshai as the Amethyst Empress comes to power after a succession of jewel emperors.

16,000 BC Third Long Night – some say it is triggered by the Bloodstone emperor, husband and brother of the Amethyst empress engaging in magic from the Church of Starry Wisdom, worshipping a fragment of meteor known as the Bloodstone that has been passed down through their lineage. She commissions a sword to be cast from fragments of a meteor sourced in the new world (Westeros). This is Dawn created in Starfall by ancient settlers form the empire. The Bloodstone is added to the sword and used to kill the Amethyst empress giving rise to the first recorded myth of Azor Ahai.

A devastating war is fought, centring on Asshai which is torn apart by magic. The Empire of the Dawn enters a state of collapse, moving its holdings back to Yin but with the Bloodstone emperor gone, other families are left to claw over the titles.

The Bloodstone emperor rides a dragon into the far Northern ice fields of Westeros where he defeats the ice creatures in their homeland. He returns the sword to Starfall after the battle and sends the Bloodstone to Yin, awaiting the next Long Night. With his empire gone, he founds the Valyrian Freehold with the survivors and preserves the craft of dragon riding on the warm peninsula.

The Amethyst empress is resurrected by her priests but the magic is cursed, leaving her a pale corruption. They spirit her East, across the Saffron Straits to Westeros where her story is lost.

12,000 BC First Men enter Westeros and war with the Children of the Forest.

10,000 BC The pact is signed and the Age of Heroes begins including the foundation of the original houses of Westeros.

8,000 BC The Long Night of Westerosi lore begins. With the great empires of the world gone, the Others quickly spread over the continents. Wights appear for the first time. The Whitewalkers have gained the ability to resurrect the dead. The Children of the Forest, who previously protected Westeros from the Whitewalkers, are unable to stop them with this corrupted necromancy. They enlist the help of the First Men.

The sword is retrieved from Dawn but without the Bloodstone or the blood ritual, it takes the magic of the Children to push the Whitewalkers back. An ancient Dayne, ancestor of the Dawn emperors, wields the sword and returns it to Starfall, giving name to the War for the Dawn.

Brandon (the Builder) Stark, with the magic of the Children of the Forest, constructs The Wall at the close of the war and founds The Night's Watch. Twelve Lord Commanders pass before he takes up the title. His brother, Brandon (the Breaker) Stark becomes King of Winter.