AGES AND TIMES

BEFORE THE FIRST ERA

INTRODUCTION

Creation is considered the beginning of everything. It is the moment when worlds and gods were created. The first god to be created was Thuror, and later, the other nineteen gods were created. Together, they formed the High Council of the Gods of Naumathar. After a long time from the creation of the gods, Naumathar bestowed power and assisted the gods in creating humans and their respective lineages. Three levels of lineages were created based on their importance: the First, Second, and Third Lineages. Each lineage had one or more purposes in the world, although this changed over time. Each god had the duty and obligation to take care of their lineage, assisting the First Man of the lineage and monitoring the progress and development of each one. However, many things happened between the period of the Creation of the Gods - Before the First Era - and the Creation of the Lineages, which is marked by the First Era, even though time was not counted for a long period from the beginning of the First Era. Thus, the period referred to by many as the "Before the First Era" encompasses many events, such as the creation of the Thuoroms, the Argonas, and the Gontthers and their Arlierocs by the gods. In contrast, it was during this time, in secret, that the Thorens and the Ardolerocs were created by Omnathar, which were actually transformations of the Gontthers and their beasts. What Naumathar did not know or suspect was that Omnathar had future plans that went completely against what was planned for the worlds, gods, and later, humans. Omnathar carried out all his creations in complete darkness. Shortly before, Omnathar discovered that Naumathar could not see anything in the darkness and created the realm of Darkness in Anathurilis. It was during this period that disagreements arose between some gods, Thuror and Naumathar, regarding the Acrons. The disagreements were related to the liberation of the Acrons from the Fortress of Thorcranom. However, this eventually happened, as well as the arrival of the Acrons to the place that was named Ácrole, within the domains of Mount Naumathar but outside the region of the Castle of Light. At this time, the first great war erupted, involving the Gods and the Acrons, along with their armies. What Naumathar and Thuror did not know was that Omnathar was behind all of this, working slowly and silently in the darkness. Dissatisfied with everything that was happening, Naumathar tried to find Omnathar to seek his assistance, but found nothing. Omnathar was hidden in the depths of the realm of Darkness.

THE CREATION OF THE GODS

One of the confusions that can arise is the delimitation between what encompasses the defined period of the First Era and what comes before it, namely, the period of Creation or Before the First Era, as it came to be called by the First Men. This confusion arises for a simple reason: time was not measured during the preceding period, nor at the beginning of the First Era. In this sense, many events that occurred during these periods are only organized in sequence of what happened before and what happened afterward. There is no precise timing between one event and another, or how much time elapsed between them, but rather the chronology of events. Thus, we know what happened first and what happened next, and so on. The watershed event is the Creation of the First Man, Naöhrad, created by Thuror, the First God, also known as the god of gods. The gods inhabited a realm located on Mount Naumathar, situated in Anahkólion, a divine place practically inaccessible to other creatures. With the power received from Naumathar and at his request, the gods created the First Men, who were named the First Lineages. In total, there are seven First Lineages created: Naöhrad and the Thayad's are considered Native or Pure Lineages, as they were created by only one god or goddess; whereas the lineages of Juhl, Pólorh, Urhul, Thovar, and Reimthor are considered Mixed First Lineages. In practice, there is not much difference between them, except for Naöhrad's Lineage, to which all others must pledge fealty. Thus, the dividing mark between the period called Before the First Era and the First Era is the creation of Naöhrad.

KINGDOM OF NAÖHRAD

Other men from different lineages were created later by other gods. The purpose of creating the Second and Third Lineages was to provide diversity among the lineages and to fulfill specific roles and purposes for which each was created. Thus, the Second Lineages of Oruthor, Motharum, Alarorhim, Nosferac, and Vortox were created to engage in trade, farming, navigation, and the exploration of other worlds. As for the Third Lineages of Borodhûr, Dokhenar, Maiush, Isfhulor, Zoneash, and Dailorhor, their purpose was to serve the needs of the First Lineages directly within the kingdom, such as in cleaning, food provision, horsemanship, royal guards, and as soldiers in the armies. It was these lineages and men that came to inhabit and populate the land known as Anahkólion in the First Era. Much time passed, although it is uncertain how much, but hundreds of Cycles later, time began to be counted and recorded by Yondar, the First Wizard. With the recording of the Cycles, which consisted of winter and summer, with the former being much longer than the latter, the lineages began to establish themselves in time and space, and everything was documented. From this act, the periods or commemorative dates of the kingdoms and its people emerged. The duration of the First Era is a mystery since, as previously mentioned, its beginning was not recorded. However, we can say that each counted cycle was composed of winter and summer, as autumn and spring were not accounted for since they were not clearly defined in Anahkólion. It is important to note that due to Anahkólion's location in the southernmost region of the worlds, winters had cycles twice as long and slightly longer in temporal counting than summers. In the First Era of Anahkólion, approximately 1730 Cycles composed of winters and summers were recorded (taking into account the recorded era, not including the estimated time before, which is believed to be over 500 Cycles).

INTRODUCTION

The Eras and Times began to be counted and documented more precisely, so to speak, from the emergence of the First Hísthalar - the First Wizard - and theoretically, this happened long after the First Era had been considered by the kings of Anahkólion. Two factors should be considered when it comes to counting time in order to understand the structuring of Anahkólion. The period called BEFORE THE FIRST ERA and the time elapsed in the FIRST ERA that was not properly recorded, considering that the First Wizard appears long after the world of Anahkólion has already been structured. Based on these factors, we will introduce everything that happened in Anahkólion after the creation of the Gods of Anahkólion, starting with the long period called BEFORE THE FIRST ERA. It is important to note that although there is a chronological analysis of the events that occurred in the period BEFORE THE FIRST ERA, it is not possible to measure this period in Cycles, as happens in the First Era after the beginning of the counting and the recording of Cycles by Yondar, the First Wizard. Thus, it is important to understand the sequence of events, regardless of how long it took for each of them to occur in the period called BEFORE THE FIRST ERA. As we gather information about Anahkólion, along with its Eras and Times, whether based on facts or the counting of Cycles, we will discuss the events of Anathurilis and Ernathurilis. Later, we will talk about Ernthys and its corresponding Eras, always considering the start of the counting from the First Era of Anahkólion, where everything began. However, unlike other worlds, we will extensively discuss Ernt-nador, as it will be the world where the story begins to be told in the present-future, specifically in the year 2139 of Thur's Time, in the Third Era of Ernt-nador. To establish a comparison and a parameter within the chronological counting, the year 2139 of the Calendar of Ernt-nador falls within the Third Era of Ernt-nador, in Thur's Time, and in the counting of the Eras, it corresponds to the Tenth Era of Anahkólion. But we will talk more about Ernt-nador and its three Eras and various Times in the dedicated sections for each of them in the Ernt-nador menu, with a focus on the year 1974 of the Age of the Wizards, within the Second Era of Ernt-nador, where the initial story is told. It is important to understand that although most worlds were colonized after the end of the First Era of Anahkólion, Anathurilis falls into the exception, and in a certain way, we can consider that Ernathurilis also falls into this category if we take into account that the realm of Thayad's and the realm of Naöhrad were the first to begin their constructions in that world. In this sense, we can anticipate that the beginning of the worlds started in Anahkólion, first, and then expanded to Anathurilis and Ernathurilis. Even though the records place the Second Era as the beginning of the movement of realms in the exploration of other worlds, this fact occurred before the understanding of the movement itself.

CYCLES OF THE FIRST ERA

Before the First Era of Anahkólion, Cycles were not counted; people only noticed the difference between harsh winters and mild summers. The recording of events occurred randomly, with statements like "this happened many winters ago." There was no concern about time because humans had not yet been created, and since the gods and Acrons were immortal and divine, there was no reason to worry about something as insignificant as time. At least, that's how most of the gods thought. After all, time did not influence their lives, at least not yet. Cycles began to be counted with the First Lineage of Naöhrad, more precisely with the appearance of the mage Yondar, long after. Cycles were merely a way to record the passage of time and determine the average lifespan of humans who did not receive the God's or Divine Medallion to perpetuate their immortality throughout the Eras. However, the First Men like Naöhrad, Juhl, Pólorh, or the First Woman, Thayad, did not require the God's Medallion to live as immortals. When a child was born in the First Lineages, the parents could choose whether or not to provide the God's or Divine Medallion to the baby. This medallion contained a drop of blood from each parent and the newborn. The drops were mixed and fused into a medallion crafted by the master Jolur, one of the Artificers of the Gods. With the Medallion, the person gained immortality as long as they wore the artifact. Death could still come to those who used their God's Medallion, but it would not occur naturally. Unfortunately, after a long time, Master Jolur stopped making the artifact, and not all the heirs were bestowed with the God's Medallion. Over time, Yondar taught the Councilors of the Realms the correct way to count Cycles, in order to determine the lifespan of First, Second, and Third Lineage individuals. Each counted and recorded Cycle consisted of winter and summer seasons, as autumn and spring were not well defined at that time. It is important to note that due to Anahkólion being located in the southernmost region of worlds like Ernthys and Ernt-nador, which had not yet been explored at that time, the winters had Cycles twice as long as the summers in temporal counting. In the First Era of Anahkólion, approximately 1730 Cycles consisting of winters and summers were recorded. Comparing it to our counting by the Gregorian Calendar, winters would have approximately 14 months, and summers would average around 5 months. Thus, one Cycle unit would be about 19 months and a few days. The First Era of Anahkólion did not have an appropriate name nor was it properly compiled at the time. However, in the Third Era, it began to be better documented and was given the name "Era of the Gods" by the descendants of the First Lineages. Understanding that what mattered were the recorded facts and narratives in the Book of All Times, the wizard Yondar did not change the name, but added a note about how the people of Anahkólion came to call it.

IN THE CYCLES OF ANAHKÓLION, WINTER LASTED TWICE AS LONG AS SUMMER

FIRST ERA

SECOND ERA

INTRODUCTION

The Second Era begins with the decision of the High Council of Kings in Naöhrad for the migration of several descendants of the First Lineages to the lands of Anathurilis and Ernathurilis. It is important to note that before this happened, descendants of the First, Second, and Third Lineages had already left Anahkólion - with or without consent - in search of new worlds. These events occurred for various reasons that were somewhat concealed to discourage others from doing the same. Each of these reasons will be explained at the appropriate time as the story requires. However, for the same reasons, they were omitted from the records of some lineages. Some of the first two lineages were aware of and approved of the expeditions, while the last one left Anahkólion stealthily, disappearing completely into the seas. As an example of the first two lineages, we can mention the lineage of Naöhrad itself, which, under the command of the king himself, sent descendants to establish the first kingdom of Ernathurilis. Although the true story is different, few know that the first kingdom established in Ernathurilis was that of the Thayad's, but this fact was suppressed. No one would dare take away that merit and achievement from Naöhrad. Besides that, there were incidents involving descendants of the First Lineage of Naöhrad. One of the descendants of the First Lineage of Naöhrad, named Ern, however, took a different path from the others and ended up arriving in another land, which he named Ernthys. There, Ern founded and established the first kingdom called Anörh. Eras and Times later, and certainly many hundreds of Cycles later, Anörh came to be considered the greatest of the kingdoms of Ernthys. However, for Naöhrad, Ern was never seen again, and in a bodyless ceremony, his departure was celebrated. But the truth was different, and Naöhrad was merely fulfilling a role that was ordered of him. The Second Era has a disagreement regarding its end in relation to Naöhrad and Yondar.

TIME OF THE EXPEDITIONS, BEGINNING OF THE SECOND ERA

Other realms were founded in different worlds by descendants of other lineages, but these are stories that will be told at the right moment in history, including the expeditions that took place.

THIRD ERA

INTRODUCTION

The Third Era became known as the Era of Darkness, but that occurred long after its beginning. There is divergence regarding the facts and moments that marked its start. However, with or without divergence, there was a moment when its counting began. For the First Lineage of Naöhrad, the Era of Darkness starts with the abduction of their daughter, Viah, by Nomenadhúrth. This was the beginning that was recorded in the Book of Naöhrad's Lineage. For the First Wizard, Yondar, the Third Era begins with the War of Darkness in the realm of Darkness in Anathurilis.

TIME OF DARKNESS OF ANAHKÓLION

Many significant events took place, and they will be told in Book One of the series - The Origin of Evil - The Lord of Darkness.