Pre-history

The pre-historic understanding of world history is currently largely based on a mixture of national myths, folk legends, and archaeological evidence. At the present moment, world history is limited to the known world, which is geographically isolated to the Thornia, Chen, and Tyavylian spheres of influence.

## Lost civilisations

The three modern civilisations of Ume, Xandu, and Tyavyli, as well as various indigenous tribes originate from two parent cultures: the Proto-Umo-Aphthonic-Xandunese and the Proto-Tyavylian cultures. There are currently no solid theories which speculate the origin of these two cultures.

### Proto-Umo-Aphthonic-Xandunese peoples

The Proto-Umo-Aphthonic-Xandunese are thought to originate from the unexplored lands west of the central continental jungle, or The Great Jungle. The ancestors of the theoretical descendant inhabitants of this land are known in historiography as the Far Western Culture.

This culture split into two at some point in history. One splinter culture moved north-east around the Great Jungle and into what is now Greater Aphthonis, and even across the Goruid peninsula. This culture is known as the Eastern Splinter Culture. Another splinter culture spread southwards into what is now the Han Valley in Greater Xandu. This culture is known as Southern Splinter Culture.

The Proto-Umo-Aphthonic-Xandunese era is regarded to have last for 3 thousand years.

#### Far Western Culture

The Far Western Culture are regarded to be the direct continuation of the Proto-Umo-Xandunese culture. Little is known of these peoples due to the great geographical distance between their lands and the rest of the modern world.

They are largely a theoretical people group as it is unknown if all inhabitants joined the Eastern and Southern Splinter Cultures in migrating away from their homeland, or if a population remains (or has eventually gone extinct).

It is probable that this culture would share little with other descendant cultures in the modern era due to ancient invasions by other unknown cultures further west.

#### Eastern Splinter Culture

The Eastern Splinter Culture was the largest of the two splinter cultures. They were large enough in numbers to colonise much of what is now Greater Shantouxian and Greater Aphthonis. Colonisation of the east occurred slowly, with the first thousand years spent in what is now Greater Shantouxian. Colonisation of lands farther east and southward into Greater Aphthonis took another thousand years.

In the last millennia of the Proto-Umo-Aphthonic-Xandunese, Aphthonic culture blossomed as major settlements were established on the Sea of Temples, Dobresia, and along the southern coasts of Aphthonis. The modern Aphthonic tribes of the Am Lon, Hga Bun, and Kul Khit retain the savanna and desert living practices of this population. The only other known Aphthonic tribe, the Sabarans, were completely assimilated by the Umic settler population.

It is believed that the first city in the world existed in what is now the Sea of Temples as it was perhaps the only explanation for the ring of partially submerged temples around the sea. A probable asteroid strike likely destroyed this city, known by historians as Bai Eun based on local myths, which resulted in the abandonment of many settlements around the Sea of Temples as many fled southward. The harsh years-long winter conditions that followed the strike were cold enough to freeze the Sabaran Sea, which allowed thousands to flee south into Goruid. The Jhutari, Erwada (now extinct and assimilated into the Umic population), and Paiewan tribes of Goruid claim descent from these refugees. The Paiewan tribe in the far south of Goruid represent the last population of ancient migrants of Eastern Splinter Culture origin.

Differences in the languages of the Aphthonic and Goruidian tribes have led historians to suspect that an unknown culture once existed on Goruid prior to the Aphthonic migrations.

The legendary city of Bai Eun is thought to have been the centre of a massive trade network that spanned all Proto-Umo-Aphthonic-Xandunese territory prior to the asteroid strike. The economic support from Bai Eun and allied settlements likely allowed the Far Western Culture to remain militarily relevant in the far west and to keep cultures from even further west from migrating into the Han Valley and Greater Shantouxian.

#### Southern Splinter Culture and Agrazchst Culture

The Southern Splinter Culture migration into the Han Valley and the Agrazchst Valley (or Spawn Valley) took less than a thousand years. Most settlements were agrarian in nature and were relatively close to one-another.

The population that migrated into the Agrazchst Valley likely made contact with and merged with Proto-Tyavylian tribes, creating a new culture known as the Agrazchst Culture. The Agrazchstic people likely spoke a creole of Proto-Umo-Aphthonic-Xandunese and Tyavylian.

Based on Tyavylian legends, a culture from further west invaded much of modern Tyavyli, the Han Valley, and the Agrazchst Valley during a period of intense winter conditions. This is likely the same winter-like conditions created by the asteroid strike that created the Sea of Temples. The collapse of the Eastern Splinter Culture's trade networks are thought to have caused a collapse of the Far Western Culture, leading to far west being open to invaders from further west.

The invasions might have wiped out all Agrazchst Valley settlements, and almost certainly caused their migration into the Umic plains, thus marking the beginning of Umic culture. The modern Umic language evolved from Agrazchstic and developed even more Proto-Tyavylian features over another 2 millennia.

The Han Valley population likely fled eastwards as well, with many congregating in what is now Greater Shanjing, marking the beginning of Xandunese culture. The Agrazchst and Han Valley refugees are known to have built Fort Agenetmae together prior to their splintering into Shanjing and Ume. Most of the Han Valley population eventually returned to the valley. According to their legends, a king or lord led a quick, fierce resistance to the invaders and retook their homeland.

Both the Proto-Xandunese and Proto-Umic peoples remained sedentary and relatively isolated in their new homelands for 500-700 years. The trade networks of the Bai Eun period were never revived after severe environmental calamity destroyed many of the old paths and tracks that connected the various cluster of settlements on the continent.

### Proto-Tyavylian peoples

The Proto-Tyavylian people group are relatively unknown. They had almost always inhabited the Tyavylian valleys and were isolated from other people groups until the arrival of the Proto-Umo-Aphthonic-Xandunese in the Agrazchst Valley. The Agrazchst culture is thought to have introduced metallurgy to the Proto-Tyavylians.

Their lands were attacked and briefly occupied by the same invaders who pushed the Agrazchst and Han Valley civilisations eastward. Many features of the Proto-Tyavylian language were replaced by the language of the invaders during this time period. This explains why the modern Tyavylian and Umic languages no longer share a lot of the same grammar.