Timeline

     A race calling themselves the Quendi sail into our world, appearing somewhere in the Atlantic ocean and sailing west to land off the coast of Florida. They begin exploring the swamplands, and contact a group of Seminole indians who were on the run from U.S. troops for violently resisting orders to be deported west. Their leader, Osceola, had just been seized and imprisoned after approaching the troops under a flag of truce. About three weeks later, Osceola disappeared from his cell in the night.

     Negotiations were rapidly started with the Seminoles and the Quendi. President Van Buren came down to handle the talks personally, and offered them a deal: the Seminole's land would be restored, and the Quendi would be given asylum in Washington D.C. and aid in their effort to go back to their own world -- in return for information about their ways.

     About half of the Quendi accepted the deal. Most of the Seminoles and the other Quendi rejected the deal and took four of the five Quendi ships in search of a better place to live.

     James Polk is elected President.

     The Quendi in Washington D.C. take on their first students. The Quendi are surprised to learn that the people of this world have latent powers quickly awakened by the touch of the Quendi.

     Annexation of Texas

     The Mexican War begins after President James Polk orders troops to occupy territory down to the Rio Grande. From the beginning to the end, the war results in crushing defeats for the Mexicans. The Quendi refuse to join the war effort, but one of their first students -- Michael McAllister -- provides a continual fountain of information from prisoners captured in commando-style raids.

     Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo -- The Mexican War ends with not a single loss for the Americans. California and New Mexico are ceded to the United States.

     Compromise of 1850

     The Felarond Incident occurs as settlers of the Walla Walla Valley discover that the natives there are protected by Quendi warriors. Three settlers are killed as they attempt a campaign to eradicate the natives on their territory. The Quendi leader, Felarond, leads his people in an oath by Iluvatar, Manwe, Varda, and Taniquetil -- that they wished the everlasting darkness on themselves if they failed to avenge injustice against the native tribes.

     Race riots begin in Washington D.C. over the Quendi who are living there.

     Kansas-Nebraska Act

     U.S. Army conducts a series of offensives in the Southwest, subjugating the Jicarilla Apache and Ute, and thereby lifting the threat of attack along the western portion of the Sante Fe Trail.

     Lecompton government established in Kansas, starting a bloody tide of conflict between pro-slavery and pro-freedom forces.

     Rogue River War -- an attempt to force natives of Northern California and Southern Oregon onto reservations backfires as the tribes disappear into the wilderness and cut off the supply lines of the troops that are looking for them. Five wagon trains mysteriously disappear, seemingly swallowed up by the forest. The attack is called off as winter approaches, and the federal troops expect the natives to starve. They continue to be a problem, however, for many years.

     John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, in which 13 white men and 5 negroes (including two magicians) hold out for ten days against the troops of Col. Robert E. Lee.

     Abraham Lincoln is elected president, and is supported by the Quendi. He attempts his best to deny, dissuade, and dismiss this support -- but it hurts his popularity nonetheless.

     The Civil War begins as Confederates fire on Fort Sumter.

     The Emancipation Proclamation

     The Sand Creek Incident -- Colorado militia moves on the camps of the temporarily peaceful Cheyenne and other tribes for a surprise attack. They find the camps empty, with fires still burning and food on the plates. Later incidents confirm that the Cheyenne, Navajo, and other Plains tribes had Quendi support.

     The Civil War ends (at Apomattox)

     "Total war" campaign against the Southern Plains tribes to force them onto the Oklahoma reservation. Up until this time, the U.S. troops had been rather unnerved by the natives' seeming ability to disappear. U.S. morale is boosted when, with the help of Army magicians, the Cheyenne are found hiding in a canyon in Texas, surviving on a meager diet of waybread.

     Transcontinental Railroad completed.

     Jesse James robs first bank.

     Ghost Dance movement appears among the Paiute on reservations in Nevada. Participants believed in the imminent return of the dead and the buffalo, the disappearance of the white man, and the return of the land to the natives. This lead to the Paiute Massacre of 1870, in which over half of the tribe were killed by settlers paranoid of the results.

     Maj. Gen. George Cook -- arguably the Army's best indian fighter and one of the few government officials who treated all natives with respectful understanding -- drives most of the Arizone Apache onto reservations. Warfare with the Apache persists to this day, however, lead by the mage-chief Geronimo.

     Heavy fighting in New Mexico eventually results in the capture of a Quendi ship, the Celduin, which was serving as a fortress for the Comanche on top of a mesa in the Colorado desert. The captain of the Celduin, Findakano, leads a covert attack which kills Cook and two Eastern Quendi observers. This estranges many Quendi of both sides. Twenty surrender to U.S. forces and a summarily hanged.

     The Sioux War begins, which disperses the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne. General Custer is continually outwitted by the native leaders Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, but it is a draining effort on their tribes. Native attacks become less and less frequent as Sitting Bull and others retreat into Canada.

     The Northwest Territories remain a dangerous area, however, as continuous Army expeditions have failed to discourage native attacks in the area. A number of claimed sighting are made of white ghost ships and of walking trees.

     A group of three white magicians capture a conjuror in Colorado, who was trying to create a creature of the Quendi's world: a dragon. He failed, and was subsequently brought to justice.

     Present