It was agreed earlier in the rrakkma project that the chronolgy put forth in Lords of Madness (which I love, BTW) must have been missing a zero, at the least. The ancient illithid empire did not exist 2,000 years in the past, but rather 20,000. Gith's revolt, then, could have occurred at any point after this. Without as of yet putting any dates or lenghts of time on things, the chronology would be as follows:
1) Illithids come en masse from a future time, and re-establish their empire.
2) Gith revolts and goes on a campaign of liberation.
3)Zerthimon (betrays? disobeys?) Gith. Zerthimon is slain, and his followers leave the fold, splitting The People into githyanki and githzerai, and the War of Two Skies begins
4)Gith and Vlaakith, or alternately Gith and several of her most powerful followers, leave The People on a mysterious errand. Vlaakith returns alone, but the red dragons are now allied to the githyanki. Vlaakith becomes Vlaakith I, the queen of all githyanki.
Now, what do we do about this chronology, and how do we get from Vlaakith I to Vlaakith CLVII?
My suggestions (comments and disagreements welcome);
About 20,000 years ago: Illithid re-establish their empire.
Somewhere between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago: Gith revolts, the zerai split off, and Vlaakith returns from Baator. All these things had to have happened in Gith's lifetime. Of course, once the githyanki conquor the Astral plane, Gith can be funtionally ageless, so "her lifetime" may have been thousands of years. Still, she strikes me as a "lead from the front" type who would have spent much time on prime worlds were she would have aged, so I think Gith's lifetime may have been 1,000 years, but not much more than that, and likely somewhat less.
About 8 - 9,000 years ago: Vlaakith I returns from Baator.
Now for the real reason behind the title of the post, the history of the line of Vlaakiths. Later Vlaakiths, especially Vlaakith CLVII, re-wrote much of the history, so only vague details about the reigns of earlier queens are known. Still, the number 157 is not insignificant, especially if we accept that the latest Vlaakith reigned for a thousand years. Hence why I chose 9000 years since Vlaakith I. The reason for so many reigning queens on a plane where one does not age, with the added fact that some at least were Lich Queens who'd be immortal in any case, can be attributed to one or more of the following;
a) Many of the queens, especially in the early days, led their troops into battle personally, resulting in a high attrition rate.
b) Queens may have been overthrown by their successors. Very common among barbarian royalty, and for that reason I favor it being uncommon at best among githyanki monarchs.
c) When a Lich Queen is destroyed, but her philactory remains and she regenerates a new body, she traditionally takes the title of the next in line. Thus in BoG'r, the supporters of the White Lady claim that Vlaakiths 151-157 have actually been regenerations of the same being, and that their Princess follows this pattern.
Comments? Additions? Ideas?
As for the line of Vlaakiths, here are my current thoughts;
Vlaakith I through XXX - The ancient Vlaakiths - Either killed in battle or disposed by successors. Average length of reign less than 100 years. Vlaakiths XVIII through XXII were in fact killed in the same "battle" (defined as a war with a single illithid sept) and so reigned for only a few weeks each.
Vlaakith XXXI through LXV - The early Vlaakiths - Attrition rate still high, but the queens begin to become more in the way of rulers, and less in the way of front-line generals. Githyanki culture advances, and many histories are written down and distributed. Some histories are slanted, and the roles of Gith's other generals and followers beyond Vlaakith are minimized.
Vlaakith LXVI through CXX- The middle Vlaakiths - The most common way for a queen's reign to end is through succession, though battle and assassination by githzerai or illithid agents take many. Some Vlaakiths attempt to re-write the history of early liberation in their favor. It takes a long time, and some queens reverse this course during their own reigns, but eventally the names, histories, and especially bloodlines of the original liberators are lost. The line of Vlaakith emerges as the only remaining royal family.
Vlaakiths CXXI through CLVIII - The later Vlaakiths, "The Lich Queens" - The queens solidify their reigns through accumulation of personal power, historical purges, and culling of the royal line. Vlaakith CXXI becomes the first Lich Queen. Though they take the title of a successor when destroyed and regenerated, certain Lich Queens are destroyed utterly, and so some of the later Vlaakiths spend time as mortal, living githyanki, a very few even dying as such.
Well, a rough and fuzzy history with many holes to be filled in, but tell me what you other yanki fans think ...
I wouldn't forget assassination by either githzerai or anything serving the illithid. Perhaps as death in battle becomes less common (and queens become more remote from the battlefield), assassination becomes more of a threat.
...You know, if the early Vlaakiths were mortal, the prospect of members of the royal house (or their closest advisors) being mind-controlled to serve the illithid cause is possible...
I'll give this period a try:
The overall power of the monarchy over the People was significantly less than it became in modern times. While their authority was certainly present, the Queen was usually a distant figure on far-off Tu'narath or a revered military commander -- but did not yet hold the near-divine status that Vlaakith CLVII managed to obtain. In this period the Vlaakiths were only beginning to consolidate their power.
A number of competing beliefs -- many of which would be regarded as heretical under Vlaakith CLVII -- were popular during this period, particularly those which paid special reverence to Gith the Liberator, or to other prominent Forerunners of her generation. (Some modern scholars believe that the ancients of this period generally knew more about the events of the Liberation than modern githyanki do, but much of this knowledge was lost after multiple purges). Many modern heresies have their roots in this early period.
It is worth noting that communication and trade between Astral fortresses were significantly more tenuous than in modern times, with the result that githyanki society was more localized. A supreme leader was (even) more powerful in those times than was true in the time of Vlaakith CLVII.
BoGr Guide to Missile Combat:
1) Equip a bow or crossbow.
2) Roll a natural 1 on d20.
3) ?????
4) Profit!