800+ Years In Neopia

      Welcome to 800+ Years of Neopets! To celebrate the 800th edition of the Neopian Times, I wanted to create this guide to pre-historic Neopia, the land before we ever knew it! Neopia as we know it has existed for 18 years, as that is the time when users discovered the site and started inhabiting it alongside our Neopet friends. Since then, much has happened. New species have been discovered, new flash games have been released, and new lands have cropped up all over the map!

      But it would be selfish to think this was all our doing, to really think that there was no Neopia before we arrived. In fact, Neopia is thousands of years old and has an incredibly rich history filled with triumph and trials. Many people don't look that far back as it isn't well documented, but a whole lot happened back before we got here!

          Before Life Arrived

      Many people think that Neopia's history begins with Tyrannia, an ancient, prehistoric land featuring dinosaur-like species such as Chomby, Pteris, and Grarrls. However, this is quite false. While the landscape 2,000 years ago may somewhat resemble Tyrannia, there was no life on the planet. Neopia, as a planet, was a shell of a world, filled with barren plains, disgusting and dirty swamps lacking life, and endless flat surfaces stretching on for what seemed like eternity. Sunlight never reached the surface of the planet because of a thick, poisonous fog that filled the air. No plants could grow, and there wasn't a sign of life anywhere. This world was much, much different from what it is today. And we have one of the worst villains in history to thank for that...

          Dr. Sloth Arrives

      While it is not known exactly what year Dr. Sloth arrived (he isn't the most forthcoming with information), we can estimate it was around 1500 years ago. He was traveling through space when he found Neopia, the most accepted theory is that he arrived via spaceship, and decided this unhappy planet covered in smog would be the perfect place for him to hide out. He created an elaborate underground laboratory where he could hide from the sun and create vile creatures to help his master plot of taking over the universe. He spent many years under the surface of Neopia, working to create a planet filled solely with evil monsters. But things didn't go exactly the way he wanted them to...

          The Beam Of Light

      One afternoon while Dr. Sloth was wandering around Neopia, collecting samples of the lifeless dirt, he noticed the clouds of smog start to behave in a weird way. Then, suddenly, the smog parted a little bit, just enough for a beam of light to shine through. Terrified, Sloth's eyes followed the beam's path to the ground where green grass started growing immediately. The tiniest bit of sunlight had sprung this patch of land to life, and it was growing. The smog continued to part and the light continued to grow, spreading life more and more on this once desolate planet. Sloth began to run, he needed to stay in the dark. He saw his monsters get caught in the light and they immediately turned to mud. He was able to return to his underground lab, after being burned by the light and watching his creations melt under the warm sun, and he panicked.

      As the light spread over the whole planet, major changes began happening. A small dragon appeared, and then a smaller creature that resembled a ball of fluff with large feet appeared...Neopets were being born out of the light!! Real life has now sprung up on the planet. And that is when Neopia started to take shape into how we know it today. But our pre-historic lesson doesn't stop there...

          Society Begins To Form

      As more species started to crop up, enough to form a sizeable population, cities and towns were formed. The one that we presently know the most about is Altador. This city made its mark in history when King Altador decided to create a land of peace, fairness, and hard work. He was tired of the disheveled state of many other communities around Neopia and wanted a structured land where everyone had the opportunity to succeed, and where thieves and evil-doers were punished fairly.

      A little over 1,000 years ago, he gathered a team of eleven others to help him achieve this, and they became the founders of Altador. This group succeeded in constructing an entire city, doling out responsibilities, and creating a fair list of rules for its citizens to follow. You can still visit the statues of the twelve heroes today and learn about what each hero contributed to this ancient civilization. However, you'll notice one statue has been destroyed...

          The Darkest Faerie

      Once the city had formed and all started to look well, the Darkest Faerie, one of the original founders, decided she wanted all the glory. She betrayed the other heroes and tried to seize the city. This was one of the greatest nefarious acts the world had seen up to this point, and many were astonished at the events unfolding before their eyes. Thankfully, Queen Fyora stepped in to assist and, with the aid of one of the heroes of Altador, Jerdana, was able to turn The Darkest Faerie to stone and strand her at the bottom of the ocean near Maraqua. Due to her betrayals, her name went so long without being spoken that is has since been forgotten, and she is known only as The Darkest Faerie, or The Betrayer.

          The Lost Desert

      Neopian explorers continued to trek onward in an attempt to see all the world has to offer. In the year 873 BN (BN referring to the time before players arrived in Neopia), Sakhmet, also known as one of the regions in the Lost Desert, was discovered by King Coltzan I. Though Sakhmet has experienced many tragedies through the years, ranging from a poisoned King to a terrible war, this pales in comparison to the destruction of Qasala.

      Qasala is the other region of the Lost Desert, the city next to Sakhmet. After a terrible storm that obliterated everything about 200 years ago, it had a very tough time trying to recover and now most things outside the main square sit in ruin.

          The Baddest Blumaroos

      Two of the baddest Blumaroos of all time came to prominence just before Neopia's discovery by players.

      The first being Count Von Roo, a vampire Blumaroo who was born 200 years ago and now resides in a mausoleum on Roo Island. He is known for randomly showing up and stealing HP from your Neopet. He also can be visited late at night for a gambling game where you'll risk your Neopet's levels in exchange for the chance for them to grow a bit stronger.

      The second of the evil Blumaroos would be Commander Garoo. Just two years before users arrived in Neopia, Commander Garoo became the chief commander of Dr. Sloth's army and was a key factor in the enslavement of the Grundo species. This event led us into the first major plot when players arrived...

          Players Arrived

      Neopets users (that's us!) arrived in Year 1, also known as 1999 for the players living on Earth. Shortly after their arrival, Dr. Sloth and Commander Garoo created Virtupets as a way to enslave the Grundo species and take over Neopia. Thankfully, the players stepped in to protect this new land they've discovered and they were able to defeat Dr. Sloth.

      This is where we started to get a firm grasp of the land and we started creating our own history, and much of what happened between then and now is already well documented (since we were here for it). Due to that, I don't need to delve deep into what follows. I hope that this new grasp on Neopets' ancient history gives you a bit more context as to why the world is how it is today, and just how many of the characters we've come to love (and loathe) started their journey in Neopia!