1476: Vlad the Impaler considers Transylvania and Moldavia a common country. He dies the same year. (Yes, for all intents and purposes, Dracula was killed by the invading hordes. This is all you know in game. Whether you believe it or not is another question entirely.)
1479: Transylvanian armies led by Voivode Istvan Bathory and Pavel Chinezul are victorious at Cimpu Piiuii. (damn that's a lot of i's)
By the end of the century Bathory states that he is king and voivode of Transylvania.
The prince of Moldavia, Steven the Great, leads Szeklers against the Turks at Vaslui and wins. Saxons consider him "sent by God to rule and protect Transylvania."
A treaty between Matthias Corvinus and Steven the Great assures free entry and unrestricted travel to Moldavian and Muntenian merchants. Brasov becomes a central marketplace, an "emporium."
1486: The Malleus Maleficarum(the Witch Hammer) is published by the Inquisition. Detailing means for combating all manner of supernaturals, it spreads the power of the inquisitors to the Mages as well as the children of Caine.
1492: Columbus "discovers" the Americas while searching for a new route to the Indies; his discovery is made known to the Spanish court the following year.