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The first Age of Darkness[1], also known simply as Darkness[2], was the time before the Time of Enlightenment. It was a tumultuous time that spanned aeons and where evil reigned.

History[]

Before the start of time[]

In the Edgeworld, 'time' was believed to have started with the coming of the very first Mother Storm[3][4], which brought the first glister to the barren rockland of the Edge.

During this era, the Edge was populated only ghouls and demons, one of which was the gloamglozer. These ancient beings dwelt in the air and fed off each other, but were not truly 'alive'[1]. There was no sun or weather at this time; these were brought with the first storm[3].

Gardenoflife

Riverrise, where the Mother Storm always struck.

The beginning of time[]

"Once upon a velvet blackness came a spark. The spark turned. And the wind breathed. And the rain cried. And the sun smiled. And the first minute of all minutes came to pass."
The Myth of Riverrise[3]

During her first three journeys to the Edge, the Mother Storm brought glisters that would form the three ancient ones: the Sanctaphrax rock, the Great Blueshell Clam and the caterbird.

The first Mother Storm[]

When the Mother Storm first struck Riverrise, it brought with it the a single glister that would become the Sanctaphrax rock, the ancient one of the Earth. This glister travelled down the Edgewater and planted itself at the tip of the Edge, in what would become the Stone Gardens.

The second Mother Storm[]

When that the storm first returned to the Edge, about five thousand years later, it brought with it many glisters. These too travelled down the Edgewater and became the forests of the Deepwoods. One particular glister rooted itself in a lake that would come to be named the Mirror of the Sky. This glister was the ancient one of the Water, the Great Blueshell Clam.

The third Mother Storm[]

On the Mother Storm's third journey to the Edge, about 10 thousand years after its first, it brought with it many glisters, including the one that would become the caterbird, the ancient one of the Sky. It settled in a lullabee grove and wove its first cocoon there.

The subsequent returns of the Mother Storm[]

The Mother Storm returned to the Edge every five to six thousand years[5] for aeons, bringing both destruction and new life every time. This lead to the evolution of a huge variety of flora and fauna, which lived mostly in the Deepwoods. The demons and ghouls that had roamed the Edge before the Mother Storm all disappeared over time, the only remaining one being the gloamglozer, which survived because it was a shape-shifter.

The build-up to the Time of Enlightenment[]

Many sentient species developed over the millennia, forming into tribes and clans. These groups waged constant war on each other and slavery was rampant. One particular group of outsiders was formed from the interbreeding of dozens of different races. These were accepted by no clan and had no kinship and would later be named fourthlings by Kobold the Wise.

In the late Age of Darkness, Kobold, a fourthling, was born. He would dedicate his life to uniting the warring clans and spreading knowledge. As an adult, he would rise to power and usher in the Time of Enlightenment.

Historical recordings[]

GloamglozerDrawing

An ancient folk-drawing of the Gloamglozer's true form

Before the start of time[]

Very little is known about this period, since no truly living creature existed at the time. It is unknown if any of the little available information is true at all, or if it is entirely mythical. However, if any of the facts are authentic, then they must have originated from the gloamglozer itself, as it was the only being to survive this period. These were likely embellished, passed down as legend through generations of oral tradition in the Deepwoods.

After the Mother Storm[]

The caterbird's near-infinite knowledge was a reliable source of information on the early days of the Edge, after the first few comings of the Mother Storm. For accounts of shortly before the Time of Enlightenment, there were scribes who completed bark-writings, some of which told of the legends that had been passed down to them through the generations.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Curse of the Gloamglozer, Chapter 21: The Creature
  2. Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, Chapter 11: The Western Quays
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Midnight Over Sanctaphrax, Chapter 8: The Lullabee Inn
  4. The Immortals, Chapter 100
  5. The Last of the Sky Pirates, Introduction
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