Ages

Chroniclers divide Vala's history (and pre-history) into distinct Ages, though often any such periodization is merely metaphorical, for the early Ages are especially difficult to fit into any sort of chronology. Nevertheless, a general progression has been established, which is as follows: 
=== Dawn Age ===
The Dawn Age, also called the Godtime, was the birth of the Old Gods, spirits who bonded with the pieces of Yesod and Asur and so developed identities, becoming the foundations of the world. Many more spirits attached themselves to the Old Ones, drawing shattered parts of Yesod together and forming it into a new world. Anyu, greatest of the Old Ones, coils around Asur’s Heart and solidifies the protean world and its elemental spirits. The sun, moon, sea, land and sky come into being. The Godtime ends with the completion of the world and the enclosure of Vala by the sky.
=== Age of Dragons ===
The Age of Dragons follows the Godtime, with the children of the Old Ones further shaping the world. Nyx oversees the world along with her fellow dragons, who each shape different aspects of Vala. The Scions invade Vala during the Dragontime, irrevocably altering the world and its relationship to the Abyss. The Dragontime ends with the arrival of the voru, the star giants.
=== Age of Giants ===
The Age of Giants signaled the beginning of ‘lesser time,’ with the first mortals to witness it. The giants helped the dragon gods create children, and these mortals began to populate and remake Vala. A schism developed between the giants, and the two factions, starborn and earthborn, sent their favored servants, maedi and dwarf, against each other. The first of the dragon children, the hesha, were caught between these wars. Nyx was consumed by grief and rage, incarnating the Beast of Chaos. The Gianttime ends with the exile of the voru and the raising of the Needle of Heaven by the Outsiders, who observe rather than directly guide mortals. 
=== Age Zero ===
Age Zero, also called the Elftime or Twilight Age, begins with the death of Rasvin, who tried and failed to free her mother from Chaos. The death of Rasvin triggered the freezing of Alba and the Great Passage south and sees the hosts of Alba displace the dwarves and bring a definite end to Tir Urdun and the Hundred Clans. The ancestral maedi, the Azlan, become masters of Altea. Most human tribes are slaves to either the kings of Vathram in the north, or the priest-lords of Navarao in the south. The Torags, Vakki and Zorn split from the gnolls. The Ashir later break off from the mass of Ilix who settle in Avrasia. The Elftime ends when Irud Skyson, a demigod child of Rukh, instigates a rebellion against the northern maedi. Queen Akhei-Bel and Yatavo Snakestaff attempt a ritual within the Brass Tower that will ‘unmake’ the race of Man and retroactively eliminate Irud and all his followers. The spell backfires and the ‘resonance’ causes much of the Azlan magic to cease working, and the maedi are banished to the Abyss. The Zakhemite Star Empire effectively collapses and its former slaves found kingdoms upon its ruins. In the Abyss the Azlan split into the Voij, Rasna, Fiarra and Basai. Irud and his followers seize control of the Maedi capital of Vathram and rename it Sacris. Irud is proclaimed first emperor and rules for several decades (or centuries, the Timedeath that followed the failed Tower Spell disrupted usual chronology) before ascending to the sky. The place of his ascension is marked by the Crownfire. The First Age of Man begins. 
Category:Cosmology
Category:History
Category:Chronology