BROWNIE HISTORY
 (Covering the time from the Brownies' magical creation
to the founding of their present-day tribes)

Date

Incident

First Epoch of Birn (ca. 15.000-14.000 b.S.)
ca. 15.000  b.S.
-14.000 b.S.		 The beginning of Browniekind. Individuals become groups. Groups join together to form proto-tribes. Four of these proto-tribes join to form Birn. The fifth left to become Rat Brownies.
ca. 15.000 b.S. Tree of Life hit by Lightning
The first 272 members of the Brownie race, speaking 144 different languages, are formed from pieces of bark from the Tree of Life.
ca. 14.500 b.S. End of First Brownie Generation
The last of the long-lived and prolific first generation of Brownies dies.

Second Epoch of Birn (ca. 14.000-13.000 b.S.)
ca. 14.000  b.S.
-13.000 b.S.		 Redbark monarchs rule an upper class of reds, a middle class of greens and browns, and a lower class made up of everyone else.

Third Epoch of Birn (ca. 13.000-12.000 b.S.)
ca. 13.000 b.S.
-12.000 b.S.		 Two dynastic families, one green and one brown, struggle constantly for the throne during this epoch. Reds become the new middle class.

Fourth Epoch of Birn (ca. 12.000-11.000 b.S.)
ca. 12.000 b.S.
-11.000 b.S.		 Various disasters are the norm during this epoch. The social system falls apart. Most Birni die.

Fifth Epoch of Birn (ca. 11.000-10.000 b.S.)
 11.000 b.S.
- 10.000 b.S.		 Drow hunting parties no longer enter the now well-protected Birn. Greens and browns struggle for the throne, as in the third epoch. However, reds are now the real power behind the throne. From its new center in the Everbark, Birn expands and becomes strong once again. They regularly send raiding parties to make life miserable for the Eophyrhim drow.

10.003
-4.013 b.S.

The Harsh Years
...is an endlessly terrible time for the Brownie people, in which they grow few and scattered, coming dangerously close to dying out completely. Only a very few survive, living precarious lives among many of the other races. They are viewed as vermin by all. Elves ignore them, dwarves keep them near their forges in cages as good-luck charms, orcs eat them, and humans do some of all of the above. An old recipe book should be found later that includes a recipe for Brownie pot pie that was apparently considered quite a delicacy. They fare no better among the other races, and long to be free, but are dependent on their oppressors for food and shelter, having for the most part forgotten the skills necessary for basic survival.

4.107
-3.979 b.S.

 In the Shadow of the Elves
The Brownies living off of the paltry refuse left by elves learned to adapt archery to the Brownie scale, and quickly moved off, eager to regain their independence. Hunting began in earnest, and the blowpipe was invented. Moss farming was rediscovered. The field mouse was again domesticated, becoming an important source of food and clothing. Brownies living among the other races began to hear of what had been accomplished among the free Brownies, and departed en masse, many with the help of Keekoo the Deliverer, to take part in the new life of freedom. A small number, left behind, found refuge together with other Brownies already living in the sewers of major cities and became the Rat Brownies, now also considered a Brownie tribe.

Keekoo spent years developing a composite modern Brownie language, a revived world-view that took current Brownie superstitions and gave them the substance of the ancient Birni beliefs in the spirits contained in every natural thing, and a philosophy of life based on a five-element system (Earth, Wood, Fire, Water, Metal).

In the last few years of his life, Keekoo directed the dispersal of the Brownie people (3983-3979 b.S., one every two years). They were divided into three groups, and went in search of homelands far away from the suffocating influence of the other races.
(Different for each tribe.
Reference the above entry
and the four below entries) 		The Wandering Years
The groups of Brownies sent out by Keekoo the Deliverer wandered for many generations before they found what they were looking for. As time passed, each group's language, culture, and mentality began to diverge from the other two groups.
3.638 b.S The LLaoihrr tribe begins to inhabit the Vale of Brownies
A scout from second of the groups dispersed by Keekoo long ago, while exploring upstream through a deep gorge, stumbled upon what would later be known as the Vale of Brownies. Tall, healthy trees spread their branches as far as the eye could see. After ascertaining that the valley was uninhabited, and in fact unknown before this time, he rushed back to make his report. The group eagerly passed through the gorge and made their valley their home, naming it LLaoihrr (The Valley City) and themselves Rrao-LLaoihrr (The Valley City Brownies).
3.109 b.S The Aohu'o tribe makes landfall on the coast of Akdor
The first tribe sent out by Keekoo. After traveling through North Sarvonia, they traveled by as yet unknown means to Akdor. They were restricted by the environment of the Akdorian steppe to living as tribal hunter/gatherers. Every time a nomadic group outgrew the land's carrying capacity, it would split and one group would move far enough away from other groups so as not to be in direct competition with them. Today there are hundreds of distinct Aohu'o tribes tribes living on the Akdorian steppe.
2.970 b.S The Memnoor tribe begins to inhabit the Etherial Void
After crossing deserts and burning seas, the battered descendents of the third group sent out by Keekoo staggered into the Etherial Void and found relief - and torment. They were betrayed and attacked by the products of their own fevered imaginations. But they no longer had the strength to recross the desert and so had no choice but to stay. It took many years for them to make their peace with the Void, but eventually they developed a unique culture that used the uncertainties and unrealities of the Void to their advantage. They called their village Memnoor (The Void City) and themselves Ro-memnoor (The Void City Brownies).
1.649 b.S

The Year of Darkness
....had the unlikely side effect of creating a new Brownie tribe known as the Milken. Fleeing from Akdor and from spirits they felt had abandoned them, they were assigned the job of guarding the Artapherana (magical trees) on the site of what is now the city of Milkengrad. When the Helcrani arrived, these elfinized Brownies, according to instructions, released the magic protecting the trees and allowed the Helcrani to be guided to the spot. The Helcrani founded the city of Milkengrad (named after the Milken), and a Brownie family was soon to be found in every household in Milkengrad.

Note: The history of individual Brownie tribes can be found under their respective entries.

Information provided by Greybark View Profile and Milken by Curgan View Profile