The Ancients

>
> Legends tell of Topan and Pol, who stepped out of the Moon and onto the Square to become the first Polytopians. As their descendants multiplied and spread across the land, they formed an empire which the tribes know now as "The Ancients." Here begins the story of the Ancient Polytopians.
>
>
>
> –2020 Concordance Day celebration
>

**The Ancients** are the common ancestor of all Polytopian tribes. They have been described as a "simple, yet resourceful folk". They once ruled a great empire that stretched across the Square, the ruins of which are still present. The empire forced conformity in dress and behavior on its citizens. This led to dissent that intensified into the Ancient Civil War, a large-scale rebellion that resulted in the collapse of the empire. The Ancients were destroyed at the Plains of Razul. Concordance Day commemorates the peace following the end of that war.

The Ancients have been heavily teased as the next upcoming tribe, with a notable redesign in the 2022 Concordance Day post accompanying a blurb heavily implying that the Ancients were not driven to extinction as was previously believed. The official Polytopia Discord server additionally added an Ancients tribe role and channel.

The Ancients wear a tall grey turban, a square-shaped glowing ornament on their foreheads, and light-blue clothing.

## Development History

The first appearance of the Ancients was in a 2018 Tweet commemorating 6000 total years of cumulative Polytopia play time, where they served as a depiction of the ancient Sumerians. They had a white turban and an orange beard.

The Ancients were officially added to the Polytopia mythos with the first Concordance Day celebration in 2019. The Ancients have been featured in the lore blurb of every Concordance Day celebration since then.

In December 2022, the Ancients recieved a new head design in preparation for their release as the 17th tribe. The old appearance of the Ancients has been explained in-universe as how the present-day Polytopians perceive the Ancients to have looked like. This is due to a gradual error in transmission, where "'tall hat' became 'hat and long beard' over time".

## Lore

### Concordance Day Posts

2019: The first Concordance Day celebrated the end of the ancient Polytopian Civil War, fought by the original Polytopians. A simple, yet resourceful folk, the ruins of their many settlements can be found dotting the Square to this day, often harboring Giants, wisdom, and treasure! By Harry Wang.2020: The winner of the art competition is Discord user Mantis987. Legends tell of Topan and Pol, who stepped out of the Moon and onto the Square to become the first Polytopians. By Mantis987.2021: Forced conformity was key in the Empire of the Ancients, with strict rules about clothes and behavior. Factions arose to combat this tyranny, demanding their own land and independence! Dissent turned to riots, and riots into hostilities, and this great empire was falling apart—the Ancient Civil War had begun. By lisavda.2022: The war was long, the battles were brutal, and the Ancients were slowly losing their grasp on the land. This coalition of upstart tribes had won, and there was no doubt about that. Some say the Ancients weren't actually wiped out that day at the Plains of Razul, but went into hiding to plot their revenge.

## References

1. ↑ Midjiwan on Twitter
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Zoythrus on Reddit
3. ↑ Zoythrus on Steam
4. ↑ Zoythrus on Reddit
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Midjiwan on Twitter.
6. ↑ Zoythrus on Discord.