History of Creation

The Timeless Before – Before there was Creation, there was naught but the Wyld, where all is impermanent and change is constant. This is the ideal of Balor and many of the greater Raksha, but its time has passed: now that permanence has come and time along with it, it may be that the whole of the Wyld has been changed in a fundamental way, defined in a way that can never be undone. Historians and histories can do little to convey events in the Timeless Before, for there was no history to record, no fact to recollect, no line of cause and effect to analyze. The Timeless Before ended with the Shaping of Creation.

Primordial Age – The Primordial Age, known by some as the Age of Iron or the Prehistoric Era (and, to the cults of the Yozi, the Time of Glory, began when the great Primordials joined together and formed Creation as a permanent refuge within the formless Wyld. It was during this time that humanity was first created and the Dragon Kings ruled over them. The Primordials ruled and moved in their realm for eons, a length of time far beyond mortal ken, until they were overthrown by the gods and the Exalted in the Primordial War.

First Age – The First Age, also known as the Age of Wonders, began with the defeat of the Primordials, for it was the first time that the gods ruled in Heaven and mortals (or those Exalted from the ranks of mortals) ruled the Earth. The First Age was long lasting, but more importantly was ‘measurable’, and so was divided into numerous ages and eras of its own. Historians continue to dispute just what event marked the end of this era, divided into two camps: one holds that the close of the First Age occurred during the Usurpation, the other with the Great Contagion.

Age of Amaranth – Also known as the Ochre Fountain Era, this was the beginning of the Solar Exalted’s rule over Creation, beginning with the granting of the Creation-Ruling Mandate to the Solar queen Merela by the Unconquered Sun, and seeing the return of the Solar Brigid carrying the secrets of Sorcery. Within ten years, the Celestial Exalted had begun to clash with each other, the warriors who had felled the Primordials turning their power and weapons against each other. The era saw numerous wars and conflicts, such as the Lace and Paper War and the Debate on Seating Arrangements for the Wedding of Pon and Shan. It also saw the founding of the 300 Dragonblooded Gens. The Age of Amaranth is said to have ended at the close of the War of the Mandate (known to some as the ‘Meru War’), when Queen Merela was forced to accept the founding of the Solar Deliberative.

Age of Heavenly Peace – Also known as the First Deliberative Era begins with its founding, the acceptance by Queen Merela that the Creation-Ruling Mandate had not been passed to her personally but to all Solar Exalted, with her as first amongst not-quite equals under its aegis. It was an era lasting many centuries, which saw the Great Geas imposed upon the Mountain Folk and the departure of the Primordial Autochthon from Creation, as well as wars and purges to remove the remnants of the Primordial’s favoured races. But it was also an era of peace and stability, when the Exalted began to construct new cities and roads, when those who had studied with Brigid began to found the first Sorcerous Schools. The First Deliberative Era came to an end with the Dissolution Invasion, the first great effort by the Raksha Fair Folk to end Creation and the permanence it represented.

Age of Unfurling Horizons – The Unfurling Horizons Era was born of the Dissolution Invasion, for that conflict brought the attentions of the Exalted away from internal matters out towards the Wyld: here was an infinite realm of chaos, at once grave threat and untapped resource. It is from this time that the system of Jade Obelisks which stabilize Creation’s borders was first introduced. Those who sought to create looked to the Wyld, those who sought to do battle looked to the Wyld, those who sought to shape their own realms to their whims looked to the Wyld, and with so much attention amongst the Celestial Exalts turned away the Dragonblooded gained great influence in the governance of Creation... though, with such power came new concerns, for the era also saw the first recorded instance of a child with a Dragonblooded parent who failed to Exalt. The Unfurling Horizons Era is said to have ended after many centuries, with the Aftershock War.

Aftershock Era – Wars often mark the birth and death of Ages, but rarely are they ages in of themselves. The Aftershock War, however, was so lengthy and significant that it is often considered its own era. For over one hundred years, the Exalted warred with one of two Primordials who had escaped imprisonment in Hell, their own armies clashing with the prehistoric races they had supplanted. The war was bloody, vast swathes of Creation devastated, many amongst the Exalted slain, before the Primordial was finally felled.

Age of Shining Reflections – In the wake of the Aftershock War, Creation’s infrastructure and societies had suffered damage, but to many amongst the Exalted this was not a loss but an opportunity, a clean slate upon which to build their new world. This applied not only to roads and cities but to intellectual infrastructure: It was in this era that Old Realm was replaced amongst Creation’s peoples by newly-devised Directional Languages, while Sorcerous Schools proliferated widely, and development of new weapons of ever-greater power was pursued, so Creation would be ready for the last remaining Primordial should it dare to make a return.

Median Resplendent Period – When the Shining Reflections Era had rebuilt Creation better than it had ever been, a time of peace and prosperity settled over Creation, the Solar Exalted patiently weaving their great works and long-term plans. The great sorcerer Devon began to teach during this period, which saw grand development of motonic engineering (known to laypeople as ‘magitechnology’), allowing emulate the methods of the long-departed Great Maker... and then surpass them. Development of This Age also saw the first recorded instance of two Dragonblooded parents having a child who failed to Exalt. Though no more Wyld or Primordial invasions arrived, the Aftershock War’s legacy meant Creation’s armies were maintained and its defenses developed even in this time of peace and prosperity, until at last the Shining Reflections Era ended with the death of the Solar Facet Raven, the first Solar Exalt to die of old age.

Thousand Struggles Era – It had long been assumed that the Solar and Lunar Exalted shared the permanence of the gods, that they would never die. The Sidereals died when they were fated, some quietly in their beds, and the Terrestrial Exalts certainly lived lives of only a few centuries, but for the Solars immortality bred patience and stripped away urgency from their actions. When that was taken from them, suddenly plans and agendas could not be left to simmer for a millenium, lest the hand behind them perish before they were completed. Every plot, every grudge, every desire would need to be accomplished before time ran out. And so, the ancient Solar Exalted turned their powers and armies upon one another, each seeking to remake the world as they believed it should be. The Deliberative emptied, and though not a time of Creation-wide conflict, this Era saw an endless march of regional and local clashes, punctuated by assassinations and stretches of nervous calm before the storm began anew. In addition to war, this era also saw the fields of Biogenesis and analgesics advance by leaps and bounds as Solars sought to squeeze as many days as they could out of their lives. The Thousand Struggles Era lasted for many centuries, the conflicts emerging within it becoming more frequent and more intense (with brief interludes such as the Snow Period), until it closed with the Broken Dragons Period and the Cascading Years.

Snow Period – The Snow Period was a century of peace occurring entirely within the Thousand Struggles Era. Some, particularly amongst the Sidereal Exalted, worked hard to try and re-establish the Deliberative and diffuse tensions, but in the end they were unable to dissuade enough Solars from conflict and the Thousand Struggles resumed.

Broken Dragons Period - Amongst the Dragonblooded during the Thousand Struggles Era, research into analgesics and Biogenesis allowed ever-longer lifespans and deeper study of the link between heredity and Terrestrial Exaltation. Divisions emerged as the problems of bloodline and breeding became more apparent... some Gens pursued policies to birth more Terrestrials, others sought to concentrate the blood into better ones (the study of biogenesis tying well into new and esoteric breeding theories. At the same time, the Gens were faced with increasing demands from their Solar overlords to fight in the endless wars against the other Solar Exalts, leaving them little time for the scholarly and cultural pursuits the Dragonblooded had been able to pursue during the Median Resplendent Period... and sending their children in a constant flow to a meat grinder of battle for which it was difficult to envision an end. The name of the period refers not to the breaking of Terrestrial Exalts, but to the breaking of the bonds of the Gens with the individual Solar Exalted, as certain Gens took up independent courses or demanded increasing control over their activities from their Celestial patrons... suddenly being forced to doubt the loyalties of the masses of Exalts who staffed their administrations and military commands caused many Solars to take pause, contributing to the end of the Thousand Struggles in the Cascading Years.

Cascading Years – The Cascading Years was a short period marking the end of the warring of the Thousand Struggles Era as a number of elder Solar Exalts died of old age or were slain by their rivals, and a younger generation of Solars came into their own. The period ended with the death of Solar Queen Merela at the hands of The Hierophant, an event that shook the remaining elder Solars to the negotiating table in the Period of Long Silence.

Period of Long Silence - A time when Creation's tired armies rested and recuperated, as the Exalted negotiated, leading to the formation of a new Solar Deliberative to unite the Solar Exalted and rule over Creation as holder of the Creation-Ruling Mandate. This period stretched from the aftermath of Merela's death to the official founding of the second Solar Deliberative in Meru, beneath the shadow of the Crown of Thunders.

Years of Iridescent Frenzy - An end to war and the rebirth of the Solar Deliberative allowed peace and prosperity, a reorientation of resources from military to cultural purposes, the flourishing of sorcerous experimentation, invention, and art, bubbling forth at an ever increasing pace. Exalts came together to devise new concepts and new patterns, and Creation at large proved willing to embrace them. This is the time that saw the Celestial Exalted develop the Order Conferring Trade Pattern to replace the system of Jade Obelisks, new forms of artwork, poetry, dance, and sculpture, even new forms of thinking automaton culminating in the activation of the networked automaton I AM. The Years of Iridescent Frenzy are said to stretch from the Deliberative's founding to the day the network of I AM was activated across the city of Meru.

Golden Age – The Golden Age, also known as the High First Age or the Second Deliberative Era, is seen by some, the greatest time Creation had ever known. The Solar Exalted stood astride the world and did not war against each other, supported by the other Exalted. Magitech was developed on an industrial scale, allowing mortal armies to be equipped with artifice and mortal homes to be stocked with technomagical amenities. And yet, for all of its light, the Golden Age also saw darkness, for the abuses of the Solar Exalted (in the throes both of the Great Curse and the natural corruption of power) became more extensive and more horrific with each year. The very patron of the Solars, the Unconquered Sun, turned his back upon them and their Age, which came to an end with overthrow of his Chosen by the Dragonblooded in the Usurpation.

Age of Bronze – The Age of Bronze, some in Heaven say, is named due to the hubris of the Sidereal faction which engineered the Usurpation of the Solar Exalted. Indeed, some of them do make use of it, as a reminder of their goal: bronze will never have so bright a gleam as gold, but it can be polished to shine nonetheless… and unlike gold it is hard and will not be easily bent from proper shape. Others (Sidereals of the Gold Faction most vocally) assert that the Bronze Age is merely another term for the Age of Sorrows or the Second Age, though there is great dispute over this fact amongst students of history, based on all manner of theoretical frameworks used to justify labels imposed by politics: did the Second Age begin with the Usurpation, or did it begin with the Great Contagion and Balorian Crusade? All agree, at least, that the Bronze Age is the Age where the Terrestrial Exalted replaced the Celestial Exalted as (overt) masters of Creation, including both the Shogunate Era, the disasters of Contagion and Fair Folk Invasion, and the rise and rule of the Scarlet Empire.

Shogunate Era – The Shogunate Era was the time of the Dragonblooded Shogunate, stretching from the Usurpation to the Scarlet Empress’ emergence as master of the Imperial Manse. It was a time of constant conflict, first as the Dragonblooded sought to purge Creation of the vestiges of Solar rule, and then civil war between the various armies and principalities of the Terrestrial Exalted as they sought to seize the Shogunal title as Creation’s ruler and most powerful warlord. The infrastructure of the Golden Age was destroyed in both these efforts, infrastructure torn asunder and arsenals emptied, great wonders left to deteriorate without the Solar skill needed to maintain them. And yet the Dragonblooded did struggle to end the threats posed to Creation, both external and internal, and to preserve the splendor of the Golden Age. The Wyld Hunt emerged during this time, as did the nascent Immaculate Order, which grew both larger and closer together as time wore on and the patchwork of divine cults led mortals to seek succor from the exploitive rule of spirits. As rulers, the Terrestrial Exalted proved so very far from perfect… but, some said, in the nature and scale of their flaws the Dragonblooded were at the very least human. If the intent of the Usurpation had been to accept a lesser Creation that would never face an existential threat, the era of the Shogunate seemed to prove the choice a good one… until such a threat arrived in the form of the Great Contagion.

Great Contagion – ‘The Great Contagion’ is a term alive in many memories and legends, for perhaps more than any other it reshaped Creation. The term refers both to a terrible sickness, and to the period of time when that sickness swept across Creation, the end of which saw the event known as the Balorian Crusade, which saw vast armies of the Fair Folk sweep across Creation destroying all in their path. Together, the sickness, the starvation and privation that followed (for crops and livestock had died alongside those who tended them), and the struggle with the Fae invaders wiped out a massive swathe of Creation’s populace and geography, some saying 90% of all life in Creation, plant or animal, mortal or Exalt, whole societies and landscapes reduced to empty wastelands, entire fields of knowledge lost, and the lands they had once inhabited consumed by the Wyld. The Great Contagion period ended when the Scarlet Empress turned the power of the Sword of Creation upon the Fair Folk, driving them back from Creation.

Year Zero Void – (RY0). The losses incurred by Creation during the Great Contagion were extreme indeed, not only in lives and goods but in information… records were lost, witnesses perished, and traces were wiped out like footprints in a sandstorm. Further destruction occurred as the Scarlet Empress activated the Imperial Manse and again in the various conflicts as those who had dedicated themselves to Her battled those who refused to bend the knee across the Blessed Isle and shores of the Inner Sea. Information from the years just before and just after the founding of the Scarlet Empire, having been recorded on perishable media and not surviving transfer to safer storage, is more difficult to come by than that from either later years or the preceding decades of the Shogunate Era, and a few historians refer to this lack of data as the Year Zero Void, for its center at Realm Year 0.

Age of Sorrows – (RY1-Present). The Age of Sorrows, known by many as the Scarlet Age or the Second Age (though some argue that Age began with the Usurpation not the end of the Great Contagion), is the present age in Creation. It is a time of struggle and of darkness, where the wonders of the Golden Age now stand as ruins or poorly-understood treasures, where the defenders of Creation struggle to keep ever-growing numbers of threats at bay, where the Dragonblooded of the Scarlet Dynasty have stood astride the Realm and through it Creation. It has lasted well over seven centuries, the tracking of its years an easy matter due to use of the Scarlet Empire’s calendar of Realm Years.

The past several years have seen ever more tumultuous events. The fall of Thorns to the Deathlord Mask of Winters, the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress, the return of the Solar Exalted. Some hold that these events are merely the latest in the long litany of Sorrows which are this Age’s namesake, but others hold they mark the turning of the age once more, to a New Golden Age of Solar Rule, or to an Age of Endings where a thousand dooms shall tear the world asunder.