Timeline

The Walk of the Child as the index, labeling things BW (Before the Walk) and AW (After the Walk). I am, for the time being, beginning this chronicle when Epheldan became human-Kind's Immortal King.

250BW
Epheldan crowned King of Mavarin by the Council of Magi, turning human-Kind's petty kingdoms into Baronies under the rule of he who bore the Diadem Undying.

225BW
Epheldan responds to the ongoing strife between the Baronies with the creation of the Knights of Mavarin to carry out his will, and the Shield of the People to offer payment for local policing of roads and communities, as chosen by those who live there.

150BW
Mavarin enters a proverbial "golden age." The Mavari knighthood becomes a more ceremonial honor for Mavarin's best warriors -- though no less effective. The Shield begins its decline and absorption into more traditional guard corps as the kingdom grows sedate.

100BW
The messianic worship of the Immortal King Epheldan as a god grows to be commonplace, after generations of peace and general prosperity.

50BW
Political tension brought by growing power imbalances among the Baronies become public concern, as those who have amassed wealth and influence begin to seize power from the complacent.

5BW
Epheldan announces a new order, meant to exist parallel to the Knights. Those chosen to join the Order of Epheldan's Hands will swear 12 years of their lives to the service of the realm, the people, and the crown -- in that order. They will be rewarded with the elevation of their family into minor nobility, sovereignty over any land possessed by their family, and a pension to last through theirs and their childrens' lifetimes.

1BW
The Trials of the Hand begin. Of thousands who travel to the capital city of Throne, only dozens are chosen after months of arduous testing -- both mundane and magickal.

The Walk of the Child
Those who have been chosen are led into The Scar, a small ravine claimed by the Mavari Knigthood for their ritual vows. But chaos and carnage erupt therein, and only a few survive and escape.

A faceless humanoid creature of fetal proportion walks across the northern horizon, taller than even the Hagspine mountains. The sky itself ripples and bends around it. In this moment, every mind on the surface of Vakasiya becomes simultaneously infused with knowledge of its existence. Everyone knows, in that moment, that The Child Walks.

Aftermath
Throne is obliterated as the Child walks through it, left in such ruin that no one can even approach without madness and death. Even so, the path of the Child's walk is trace-less. It is impossible to understand its origin, direction, or destination. It is simply... gone. The Council of Magi and Epheldan himself have disappeared without trace.

The survivors closest -- who would eventually become known as the Severed Hand -- find and take the binding magick oath of their Order.

The Church of Rahkzan, leering at the sudden power vacuum, publicly accuses the Severed Hand of killing Epheldan, and so bringing the wrath of the gods down upon human-Kind. The Severed Hand are now fugitives in a land they are bound to serve.

1AW
The Church of Rahkzan begins a Cleansing, rooting out and destroying all wickedness and heresy with fire and sword. Their ranks swell with the promise of food and safety, until no single Barony can match them in military power or social influence.

2AW
Rumors circulate that the elves of the Neversung have begun to emerge, slaughtering all nearby human settlements. Within months, however, they have withdrawn once more. No explanation for this is ever made clear.

3AW
The orcish tribes cross from the land beyond the Hagspine. The Church greets them with force rather than diplomacy, and weeks of bloodshed lead to stalemate.

At the same time, the Church completes the greatest and most potent ritual in known history. The Scouring Light, an extra-planar concentration camp connected to locations all over Mavarin, is created by the Archpriests. The ritual also draws the Mazelight, in which Rahkzan takes possession of the sun itself.

5AW
The Scouring Light is destroyed. It is the rumored work of a Dragon -- the ancient, mythical avatar of Vakasi's rage, made flesh. The Church is decimated by the loss, their power dramatically reduced -- though far from eliminated.

10AW
The Tattered Veil begins.

As it stands (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that should mean The Bard has been dead for a little less than 7 years, Piety for roughly 5, Eluen for 3ish, and Rezlin for (presumably) a matter of 6-8 weeks.