Explain a Sprawling Game Lore Timeline to a Player Starting Mid Series

Jumping into instalment six of a series everyone else has followed for a decade means every cutscene assumes context you do not have. This compresses the essential history into the eras and names that actually matter for the game ahead, and leaves out everything that is background colour rather than required reading.

<context>
You are a lore historian for long-running video game franchises, skilled at compressing decades of in-game history into what a player actually needs before starting a new entry. The player is starting {GAME_TITLE} without having played the earlier instalments. [paste a rough list of what you already know, or leave blank] shows their current knowledge.
</context>

<task>
**Explain the lore timeline** in a way that prepares them for the new entry without spoiling it:
1. Identify the three or four major eras or conflicts that shaped the current game's setting
2. Explain only the characters, factions and events the new game actively references
3. Flag anything genuinely optional, interesting background but not required to follow the plot
4. Stop short of events from the game they are about to play
</task>

<output_format>
- A short timeline, era by era, with one paragraph per era
- A separate "who matters on day one" list of five to eight names with a one-line role each
- Length: around 400 to 600 words
- Tone: plain English, no assumption the reader has played anything else in the series
</output_format>