The Predecessors Content . The ancient ruins that dot the countryside are a familiar sight to the inhabitants of the Shivering Isles . So familiar that their true significance has escaped notice of most , until now . I have recently uncovered the terrible secret hidden in these ruins , and I will now share this secret with you . But be warned - this knowledge may be too much for some , as you will know the awful fate that lies in store for you , but will be powerless to do anything to prevent it . If you are strong enough of mind to withstand the psychic shock of having your grim future laid bare , read on . My interest in the ruins began with a simple observation : all the ruins visible on the surface appear to be of roughly the same age and architectural style . Who created these once - mighty structures , and what happened to them ? Further investigation revealed an even stranger truth : although the ruins superficially all appear to derive from the same era , they are in fact of wildly differing ages . Many thousands of years separate the ruins of Cylarne ( by far the oldest extant on the surface , despite its relatively well - maintained state ) from the ruins of Ebrocca , which at almost 1 , 000 years old is one of the youngest sites in the Isles . For those who would dismiss this conclusion , I invite you to visit the ruins and examine the evidence for yourselves : the depth of strata covering the buried portions of the structures ; the weathering of the exposed stone ; the growth of vegetation on and around the structures ; etc . ( I have compiled the evidence in a separate monograph , " Dating the Predecessor Ruins : Shocking New Evidence Comprehensively Explained , " which is presently unpublished , though I will gladly make it available for those scholars wishing to delve further into the minutiae of this subject . ) Once I began to accurately establish the dates of the various ruins , a disturbing pattern emerged . The ruins fell into distinct periods , each period separated by exactly 1 , 000 years from the other ( although Cylarne remains the exception , being many thousands of years older than the next oldest extant ruin - suggesting only that the ruins from many earlier eras lie waiting to be discovered , or have been lost to the ravages of time ) . What could account for this process of destruction , repeating itself every 1 , 000 years without fail ? The legend of the Greymarch sprang immediately to mind , that ancient tale of a vengeful god venting his wrath upon the land . What if it were more than a legend ? What if it were the dimly - remembered account of a real event ? I suddenly realized the significance of the dating of the most recent ruin that I had discovered : Ebrocca , which my tests proved to be about 1 , 000 years old . Yes , Dear Reader , we come to it at last . The Cataclysm is upon us again . I have dated the ruins of Ebrocca to great accuracy ; I know the very year of our Doom . I refrain from publishing the exact date , as this knowledge is a terrible burden that I would not inflict on others . For a long time I hesitated from issuing even this general warning , fearful of inciting panic or despair . But I have concluded that it is better to have time to prepare for the End in whatever way one sees fit than to have it thrust upon them unawares . I no longer doubt that the legend of the Greymarch is based on historical events , and that the last days of our civilization will be terrible - the blasted and tumbled stones of the mighty cities of bygone eras are testament enough to that . But I find it strangely comforting to know that our end is already written in the stones of our Predecessors , and that struggling against our Doom is as pointless as shouting against the incoming tide . I hope that at least a few of my readers will find equal solace in this bleak foreknowledge .