As the Star Trading Conglomerate only came into direct contact with the rest of civilized humanity in the last fifty years - mostly due to a lack of spacefaring technology -, most of Dalaran history is focused on events happening on their Homeworld of Dustcrown and their early colonies. Therefore it is possible to structure the events roughly into three major periods, the earliest period with only sparse record mostly on Dustcrown, an isolated exploration era with the Independent Cloud Corsairs as a major antagonist in the nation's development, and the modern period starting in 3370 and reaching into the present.
Descriptions of the starting colony ship "Argonautica" launched from the Intersystem Alliance and passenger accounts have been recollected from HCP Archives on Earth.
History of the Dalaran People
Journey and Arrival (2577 - 2680)
In 2577 as one of possibly thousands mostly small and low budget colony ships, the “Argonautica” started her journey with her 2500 sleeping crew members from the starport around Acheron, where the brand new colony ship was built. It was headed for the western regions of unclaimed space, right outside what today is the border of the most western influence sphere of the Kingdom of Eirangard.
Directly outside of the Acheron system, however, right before their journey in FTL should have started, a small asteroid collided with the outer hull above the central computer array, damaging part of it. The damage was only minor therefore the active captain at the time, Leopold Stromsø, decided not to turn back for an inspection but to continue the long-awaited trip into new and back then unknown territory. The jump into faster than light travel happened without any incidents, therefore – after his shift was over after one year – he and the active crew at the time also retreated into their capsules leaving the ship into the hands of the A.I. system which should have just followed the set course and woken them up in an emergency case.
That is obviously not what happened, however. The damage done by the asteroid caused a small bug in the navigation system which led to a subtle but over time noticeable drift in flight. With this drift and no correction occurring they never reached their destination but just traveled on for more than 100 years on a low FTL speed as the automatic slowing procedure started when they were supposed to reach the chosen system and the ship idled with this velocity further, the A.I. awaiting the targeted sun to come close enough to jump out of FTL.
In the year 2680, the helium reserves keeping the DMR running fell below a critical point and emergency protocols were initiated. searching the nearby star systems, the A.I. chose the closest one, the current Dustcrown system. The waking crew barely had time to wonder why they seemed to be back at Acheron, the twin suns prominently shown on the displays, before the emergency protocols ejected them in their capsules onto the planet. The falling capsules with settlers and equipment were scattered across the planet, some falling into the desert regions, some in the mountain ranges, and some into the everlasting glaziers in the dark.
Nobody at this point realized, that the planet was locked in its rotation and many settlers would die before they could realize it. One day after crashlanding on this world, only 460 people were still alive. Without functioning shuttles and no way to communicate with the ship they were trapped on the surface.
The First 250 Years (2680 - 2900s)
The following years supposedly were mainly marked by a slow demise and constant relocation, while the settlers searched for technology fragments, other capsules, and places to stay long term. After 20 years of traveling only 17 children were born while an additional 80 people had died due to age or accidents when finally two neighboring valleys with plentiful resources and some shelter-giving caverns were found that would function as the first permanent settlement on Dustcrown. Although the settlers had settled in various locations in the years prior, none was long-term suitable for survival without any technology to speak off. With that, they traveled further slowly losing more and more functioning technologies other times. When they finally settled their technology had shrunken down to a few solar collectors, some cooking equipment, and lamps to lighten the caverns.
All information technologies like computers or datapads were lost, which makes recorded history for these first years and the next 250 years more than vague. The numbers for the lost and born people are reconstructed from found gravesides and transmitted tales where the first settlements were supposed to be located. An archeological excavation in 3180 marking the 500th year of the arrival found the supposedly solely surviving equipment in a cave near the capital of New København. These excavations also brought light to a mystery that was relegated to myth and urban legends for a very long time. Sightings of shadow-dwelling humanoids that are able to glow in the dark and create moving patterns on their skin. Over the years various abilities and attributes have been said to define those beings. The ability to climb on ceilings or have superhuman strengths were more common tropes. Nowadays those stories are known to have a real background, as a not-insignificant portion of the first colonists evidently ate large quantities of fungi that grow in many caverns on Dustcrown. Different species of bioluminescent bacteria live in the caverns and also exist on the fungi. By consuming those fungi over large timespans, possibly even several generations, the colonists and bacteria had genetic interchanges via horizontal evolution, allowing the bacteria to survive inside the human body without getting attacked by its immune system. These genetic markers appear in most Dalarans today, allowing them to host those bacteria which have the effect of producing a faint glow when accumulating after consumption of large quantities of contaminated food. The effects are only temporary as the bacteria slowly die over time and could explain the mystical sightings of the glowing humanoids in the past.
Colonization Era (2950s - 3040)
250 years after the arrival the first written and still obtainable texts occur on paper. Recorded Dalaran history seems to begin at this point around the year 2950 while elsewhere in the galaxy The Criers began their work and the Empire of Gaennaan rose to power. Apparently, the population had grown to a point during the 250-year timespan, that new towns and villages began to be founded in other areas of the planet, while the first settlements then were called København and Malmö and functioned as capital cities on a 5-year rotation.
Within another 90 years apparently – in which not many noteworthy events took place, given the fact that the society was in a more or less medieval state during this time – the whole planet was colonized and the growing population seemed to have started seriously stress out the very limited resources and capabilities for growing food. Even despite the fact that technological development had taken place with the reinvention of electricity and motors and with that better farming methodologies. There are multiple chronicle entries in the grand library of modern New København about introduced policies, that indicate harsh punishments and strong birth control measurements were taken to stop population growth on a planetwide scale. A cult-like religion named “children under the suns” (the followers called themselves CUTTERS) formed in these years, evolving from a more or less cultural habit of cursing or thanking rituals towards the two suns, named Hödr and Baldr, which propagated intense worship of them. This religion got more and more influential, spreading across multiple cities, causing some political challenges, and starting rivalries, with some cities each declaring themselves “First Holy City of the Suns”. This period was marked by multiple civil wars between the bigger cities, destroying at some point almost 10 percent of settlements with more than 1000 residents killing presumably more than 30% of the population at the time. Guesses were made that the number of people who died in these wars amounts to over 20 million individuals.
Founding of the First Global Nation (3040 - 3149)
At the end of the third great civil war in 3040, a small expedition was sent out by the city of København, which was at the time, also losing the fight against its neighboring city of Malmö, going deep into the desert regions to possibly find new resources to fuel the growing need for metals and other heavy elements, as the valleys and mountain ranges where needed almost completely for growing food and other natural products. Equipped with newly developed heat-resistant materials, a small airship flew across the desert on a 4-year route following some mountain ranges and old locations were drop pods from the first arrival were supposed to be. During the journey the exploration crew found several almost completely sunken in pods with technical equipment and mummified crew inside, indicating that these people had probably died while cooking alive inside their improvised shelters. As they neared the sun-facing pole they noticed that the surface was covered in dark sheets of hard material and quickly found out that these were silicon carbide plates, protected by the sun’s heat and brought into this form by volcanic activity. Previously this material had to be made with great effort in one of the few industrial centers. They also found some mountain ranges with spacious caverns around them and in these rocks with various heavy metals. Joyful and their cargo filled up with samples after four years they returned back to København only to find it and Malmö burning and in ruins. With this event, the last great civil war ended as no large city had many resources left to fight over valleys and farms.
The rebuilding of the cities and the analysis of the gathered material took almost 5 years, in which a peace treaty was signed between all the major cities, formally creating the first planet-wide government under a council of all semi-aristocratic city leaders in 3049.
This development brought a full century of peace in which the technological development grew exponentially, some part of it based on the technology found in the old capsules. The “children under the suns” religion lost influence greatly after the food shortages were overcome and technological development made life easier every year. In 3130 the last official gathering was held and the religion formally disbanded. Since this point, no major religion is known in the Dalaran culture. Also in 3130, the first fully documented travel around the planet in an eastward direction is conducted. During the travel, the wreck of the “Argonautica” was found lying in an ice field, later excavated, and then analyzed in the following years.
Early Exploration Period (3149 - 3264)
100 years of peace were suddenly brought to an end, when radicalized mine workers in the large desert mines banded together in 3149 and declared themselves independent from the cities on the terminator, claiming their superiority due to the survival in the hot wastelands and invading the lush valleys of Smørrehus near the south pole. Located in the north of the planet, at the time the only standing army of the rebuilt capital New København needed almost two full weeks to cross the planet, giving the raiders enough time to fortify the captured city, starting an 8-month siege. The workers in the mining colonies had used their access to heavy materials and heat shielding to develop superior weaponry and military equipment, which caused the combined and hastily assembled armies of the other cities many casualties and put great stress on the now again limited resources.
Ultimately the raiders were defeated but with a great cost, as now stricter security rules and more law enforcement were deployed across the planet, creating a police state-like system inside the nation wherever heavy industry was located. This however calmed the situation in the industry-heavy districts and allowed for another 30 years of rapid technological development, and after the data from the “Argonautica” was finally completely analyzed, it resulted in the first interplanetary space program the planet managed to achieve.
As so often happened already in history, once in place, the harsher rules and more oppressive government tactics became the norm in the following years. During this time the space program became a great source of pride for the population, and the subtle changes and more oppressive behavior were mostly unnoticed at first and later dismissed as security measures to ensure their collective return into the galaxy. As the government drifted more and more towards a proper monarchy, however, with the council becoming more and more powerful, controlling courts and military forces alike, civil rights movements formed across the planet in several cities and districts. First acting in secrecy, providing information, and plotting propaganda coups against local officials these groups acted more and more in the open over time, rivaling the government system and causing civil unrest in many cities. As a result in 3208, they were quickly declared terrorists and it was generally forbidden to gather in groups with more than 10 people. Workplaces with more employees than that had to agree to let governmental security personnel on their sites ensuring the “safety and protection” of every individual working there.
In 3209 the first orbital shipyard was completed and another milestone was reached as felt by the people of Dustcrown. The discovery of the safe routes just outside the system and “Marble” on the other end created even more excitement. Very soon the first two colony ships launched with each having 2500 settlers on board, just as the “Argonautica” had more than 600 years prior. With two new settlements on another planet and – as soon would be discovered – enough space to feed potentially billions of Dalarans, a “golden age” of increasing wealth and technological development in space came upon the Dalaran people. During this time, many members of the still forbidden civil rights movement groups went into the navy and moved off of Dustcrown to the new colony, hoping to start a new life in the more liberal colony.
Emancipating Pirate Revolt (3264 - 3266)
55 years after the colonization of Dalarnas’ End in 3209, the built-up civil rights movement tensions and developing cultural differences between Dustcrown and its colony sparked what is today known as the “Emancipating Pirate Revolt”. Liberal and emboldened by their almost independent lifestyle apart from Dustcrown, a strong female-led group – formed at first on Dalarnas’ End and later also on Dustcrown – demanded the reformation of governmental structures where women were heavily oppressed and discriminated against – only valued as caregivers and mothers – keeping the Dalaran people alive. As these traditions stemmed from the harsh history of the colonization of Dustcrown and were highly ingrained in the worldview of many at the time, the high lords of Dustcrown refused to speak with members of this movement and tried to use heavy law enforcement to end all protests by force.
The highly coordinated members of some militant parts of this movement just, on the other hand, had awaited this scenario and used the resulting violence to claim moral superiority and with that captured military equipment, especially space ships, with the biggest coup being the capturing of the orbital shipyard around Dustcrown. Once in control of the station and the ships tied to it, they used the new and powerful engines of heavy freighters built there to move the station out of orbit and even out of the solar system, forming the Independent Cloud Corsairs a few weeks later as a result.
Year of Dust (3265 - 3266)
This was a shocking moment for the aristocratic trade lords of Dustcrown, seeing their pride and mostly their invested wealth flowing away into the darkness. Seen as a great victory by many in the civil rights movements, even though they had nothing to do with it, it drove them to many victories in cities all over the planet, overthrowing the oppressive systems put in place slowly over many decades. Local councils were quickly formed in cities, where the protesters defeated the former government officials, declaring new people’s republics and the end of the aristocratic ruling.
The following weeks were marked by chaotic attempts to call out independent states and more violence in many cities. As structures became clearer and the majority of cities banded together to form a unified republic – again with New København as its capital – the former militant protesters came back and declared themselves the ruling force, saying they represented Dustcrown as well as the colony of Dalarnas’ End.
This did not pair well with reports coming from the colony, where the transition in power was way less brutal since most of the people living there already supported the protests and also made up most of the local officials, as well with the newly banded cities, now organized under one great parliament.
Seeing the population was not behind their case, they instead demanded tribute, or else they threatened to use their military equipment and space ships to destroy the cities on the planet.
Without a suitable space force and no capabilities to produce new ships, but also not willing to bow before the militant group, the cities across Dustcrown and Dalarnas’ End were constantly raided for over a year, following the first refusal of paying tribute. This fateful year of destruction and ravaging famines, is the most impactful event in modern history for the Dalaran people, creating the governmental structure and parts of the culture seen in today’s society.
First Expansion Period (3266 - 3321)
In 3266 after the defeat of the raiders in a battle over New København, the second Nation of Dalaran, today’s Star Trading Conglomerate was established with representatives from Dustcrown and Dalarnas’ End.
The next years saw a strengthening of military force, mostly against outside threats and as a protection of trade routes, with navy officers highly respected by merchants and in the general public. Enlisting in universities like the now called “Panepistimio Aeronautikon” in New København, which focussed heavily on space flight and engineering topics, quickly became a source of pride and social status since graduates from this and similar schools in Dalarnas’ End and later also on Børneholm and Talisinkin were considered well educated and trained to have high moral standards when fulfilling their jobs. These universities were civilian institutions which meant everybody could enlist and graduate. Afterwards, however, many graduates went into the military and navy properly which most of the time included going to proper military academies to specialize and get full military education as well.
Also, new industrial and scientific space installations like the “Discus Aeternus” and others were built in the Marble and Dustrown systems gradually shifting more life and industrial capacity into orbit around the planets and into the solar systems. During this more or less peaceful period of around 29 years which also saw the discovery of Børneholm in 3290 – a new colony accelerating the growing wealth and technology of the Dalaran nation – trade and exchange became more and more sophisticated. Soon the planets depended on each other for their wealth as their industries became more diversified and entangled.
The Exodus (3295 - 3296)
The discovery of the – by then still unnamed – star systems connected via termini bridges from Pentue Tahdet, caused excitement as well as some unrest inside the Star Trading Conglomerate. Leading economist experts had worried that the potential for easy expansion in Dalaran space would reach an upper limit as Børneholm did not attract as many people and corporations that were willing to put in the necessary effort for the fast colonization of the oceanic planet, and other planetary candidates hadn’t been found even after extensive research in the local star systems. With two new regions of uncharted and easy-to-reach space, many of them made early and overly excited claims of possible exponential growth for many centuries to come. This resulted in huge sums of money spent on companies that sometimes only vaguely appeared to prepare for extensive colonization and exploration effort. As habitable planets were found in each of the systems, the Dalaran public demanded louder and louder, that the newly found systems should be opened up for private enterprises and exploitation even as the initial mapping wasn’t complete yet. Old freighters, transport ships, mining vessels, and even small habitats were modified and sold off way above their market value as “colonization equipment” very soon flooding the anchorage stations everywhere in Conglomerate space.
Occasional sightings of Cloud Corsair vessels and the indications, that the newly discovered space might be already controlled by the organization that still haunted the minds of the officials in the government old enough to remember what happened, didn’t reach the ears of the many thousand enthusiasts that saw the systems as their chance to start a new life. As the situation on the hopelessly overcrowded stations became direr over several weeks and government officials weren’t able to provide even basic support for all the new people still coming to the stations, small riots and general unrest were a daily occasion. On March the 16. 3295, a simultaneous undocking of all vessels occurred. As this was planned in secrecy by several of the larger group who sought to get any advantage they could with claiming the new territories, the local officials were totally unprepared and awoke to suddenly deserted stations. The groups anchored on the two newly built stations in Pentue Tahdet were the first as they were already in the termini system. They split up into two groups and made the jump in large groups directly to both systems. Larger ships with more capable FTL drives also carried many of the smaller spacecraft – most of them who couldn’t reach FTL speeds by themselves – through the termini points. As the number of ships totaled in the hundreds, if not thousands, from large freighters with small habitats to Shuttles with minimal equipment, the Conglomerate navy ships stationed in the system couldn’t do anything to stop them. Despite all warnings from official sides about the uncertainties in the new systems, complete convoys jumped within minutes of each other sometimes not even considering the most basic safety measures while closing in.
Over several hours the first waves of ships made their way through the termini points, with the different fleets from the other star systems arriving only hours or days later. Within 10 days approximately 12.000 vessels with an estimated several million individuals on board crossed the termini points, the larger efforts even establishing early transport routes to the new systems. First implications that there might be problems arising came to view, as less and less of the freighters supposed to establish supply routes came back through the termini connections. It seemed as if the crews had taken their chance and left to hide somewhere in the new territories. The return of a handful and heavily damaged ships after about 21 days forced the revision of this theory, however. Unknown military forces had attacked ships that traveled too far in the fringe areas of both new solar systems, destroying most of the civilian ships in the process.
After five months of chaotic conflict with the unknown ships, Admiralty General Sigmar Willupson – who had control over the combined navy and ground taskforces, tasked with the objective to take control of the by then already named system of Rejsenheld – tried to regain proper government control by creating a blockade in the system. This seemingly worked during the first hours of the blockade, effectively gaining an overview of the continuous travel and transport of people and new material inside the inner system. After two days of the blockade, however, tensions between supposed private ship owners and the navy vessels rose to a point where armed conflict seemed inevitable. It is not known which side opened up fire first, it should be noted though that Conglomerate officer reports state, that well-armed non-civilian ships very early on intervened in the conflict, attacking navy ships and claiming victories for the Independent Cloud Corsairs.
There are no validated video or audio tapings that would back up these reports, as most of the navy ships were destroyed by these attacks. An indication that this might be true nonetheless comes from the fact that only days after the blockade was forcefully ended and all navy ships had retreated out of the system, a counterattack by the mentioned armed forces of unknown origin into the Pentue Tahdet system followed. The capturing or destruction of all ships and stations present at the time resulted in the first major military defeat in the nation’s history.
The Corsairian Wars (3296 - 3321)
Over the next 25 years, access to the system became virtually impossible for any ship with an officially licensed electronic signature, as the edges of the solar system were extensively covered in tracking minefields, and military flotillas – attributed to the by then revealed Corsairan armed forces – patrolled the inner system and termini points. They were so much more advanced and alien in design compared to the Dalaran ships of the time, that many analysts today see this as an indicator, that the Cloud Corsairs had prior contact and potential help from Sharaadi fleets or other groups, which are known to operate in the region and far beyond. Besides the effective blockade created around the system, the situation was relatively stable with both governments reaching some agreements to avoid open warfare. As the Conglomerate ships were hopelessly outmatched by the Corsairian ships, there was no other option for the Conglomerate government than to accept the capturing and de facto invasion of their territory.
With the Conglomerate Government losing influence in the whole region aside from the immediate surrounding of the three inhabited planets and biggest stations, many smaller stations and mining outposts began to see themselves more as autonomous than strictly bound to the Star Trading Conglomerate. A growing network of trading and refueling stations appeared on the fringes of the inhabited star systems appeared as a result, working almost completely separated from the more planetary focussed general market. Following this principle of usually unlicensed and private stations, not insignificant economic connections between corporations and individuals from the Corsairian forces were formed, often using small safe routes through the nebula, avoiding the termini systems.
The flow of resources and basic goods out of the Conglomerate and advanced technology flowing back in return did not go unnoticed by the Conglomerate government, however. In 3320 a nationwide seize of all unlicensed stations and ships was conducted as the whole navy had recently been updated with reverse-engineered technologies, captured in earlier clashes with the ships still holding the Pentue Tahdet system. Around 17.000.000 people were imprisoned or deported out of the nation, with large refitted transport ships de facto operating as mobile prisons until they reached supposed Corsairian space, where they would then release the individuals. This caused an immediate humanitarian crisis in both the northern and southern Corsairian holdings, creating turmoil and food shortages for the local forces. As the stations and ships of the Cloud Corsairs had become quite dependent upon the resources flowing out of the Conglomerate their economic collapse that followed, made the situation even worse.
The following attacks by the Cloud Corsairs fleets escalated the situation into an open war between the two sides. Contemporary witness reports described the tactics used by the invading ships as particularly brutal and reckless, destroying ships and installations that either had already surrendered or were civilian in nature. In the following months, both parties could not gain significant ground in any direction as the Corsairian forces were still advanced and great in numbers but the recently upgraded Conglomerate ships were able to counter them and had a significantly more developed industrial complex behind them. With fears of several years-long interstellar trench war growing on the Conglomerate side early in the year 3321, an unconventional plan was envisioned by strategic experts of the navy. The during the seize captured ships of various sizes were refitted to be flown by only a minimal crew in specially shielded pod modules, and then just send straight into the minefields. Most crews were able to escape from the fast-moving ships in time as they purposefully crashed through the Corsairian defenses. With several breaches opened and coordinated attacks following shortly after, the Conglomerate navy was able to regain control of the important termini system.
With the Corsairian forces split in two and their resources dwindling, soon after their loss in Pentue Tahdet, the local governments folded under the pressure of their own citizens, leading to a rapid retrieve of their forces into uncharted regions of the nebula. With the Conglomerate still weakened and not able to project influence even in all of their territories, the new northern and southern regions directly behind the termini were left untouched from further exploration and colonization attempts.
Second Expansion Period (3321 - 3370)
The following years saw extensive stellar cartography efforts by Conglomerate science vessels, in search of new and habitable star systems, being able to compensate for the heavy losses made during the previous years of war. A deep space exploration mission in 3340 around the nova remains was finally successful. The found planet Talisinkin had almost ideal conditions, being only slightly colder than average with large icecaps as a result. Wast continents of tundra and taiga, with fertile valleys and glacier lakes, generated another yet smaller and cautious expansion and colonization process. The colony grew quickly with valuable resources and farming grounds being easily available. Despite the relatively long travel times between the planet and the other worlds, trade was done extensively, especially as many retro-engineered technologies from the conflict prior made FTL space travel easier and cheaper than ever before.
Reconnection and Modern Period (3370 - Today)
With the arrival of the Alliance exploration ship “Glooming Blossom” over Talisinkin in 3370, another chapter was opened for the Dalaran people, now a prosperous and advancing yet small star nation. Previously, their lack of technological development in comparison to any major galactic power had led to the general doctrine within the Conglomerate government to not actively attempt to re-establish communications with other major galactic powers. The fear was to be simply consumed by one of the more advanced and aggressive empires possibly waiting directly outside of their territory. Without the possibility to hide anymore, at first, a wave of insecurity flooded across the unconscious minds of the population but very quickly also, without any major threads coming from the other nations, the uniqueness of their technologies became somewhat of pride amongst them showed it that they maybe weren’t as powerful but different, unique and unified by their shared history. Also coming along their reconnection – mainly with the Intersystem Alliance – a small “greekomania” swept across the nation. Public institutions like the former mentioned Panepistimio Aeronautikon was given a greek sounding name, along with other things like roads or even various spaceship types as a way to celebrate the opening event.
With growing impatience coming from within the Dalaran people and great economic possibilities seemingly achievable, the STC has slowly opened up in recent years, allowing more and more organizations, merchants, and everyday individuals to live, work, and travel in Conglomerate space. USC or sharaadi merchants, selling advanced goods and exotic items quickly became prominent all over the nation, especially since growing tensions and slowed commercial activities in the east showed the value of strong ties with neighboring countries.
New orbital facilities, ranging from habitat stations to defense systems and industrial complexes have caused the latest economic growth spurts, paired with large population growths on nearly all colonized planets. While internal factions are causing increasing and fierce debate over the political future and the STC's international political situation is still largely uncertain, today's Dalaran people are largely optimistic about the future and eager to explore new possibilities.