Pre-Arx eon:
The Pre-Arx eon has no definitive start date, its beginning is as vague as the creation of Priktiktrai, its end date is almost as nebulous, occurring some time about ten-thousand years ago. These are the broad strokes of history during that period.
Tribal Age: ~50000B.R.-35000B.R.
This age, like much of the Pre-Arx eon, is shrouded in mystery. It is believed that during that time after sentient life emerged, small communities sprang up. These communities, suggested to be familial groups, were often nomadic hunter-gatherers. Despite the obvious dangers of life exposed to the elements, if modern tribes are to be used as an example, the communities enjoyed a nutritious diet, long periods of leisure, and even creative pursuits.
Again, using current tribes as a basis for the lives of these communities, they worshipped the “spirits of the forces''. As in, they worshipped physical manifestations of the forces such as elementals, spectrals, feifolkie, and golems. Often the spirits were represented with handcrafted busts made of clay, wood, and bone. This mystic religion persists to this day and is a major religion in the Fei Vvoods, Orcish Anarchy, and the Tribes of Clonol. Their tools, though simple, were artisanally designed and have stayed intact in their original forms up to this day. Some scholars even suspect that these communities had unprecedented mastery runic spells to have made spears that survived over 50 millennia of apocalypses.
The diets of these communities most likely varied by location, and once again, we only have the records of modern tribes to form even the most basic of ideas. However, it can be inferred that they were far more carnivorous than most other civilizations. Plant food lacked the nutrition, reliability, and sometimes even safety to be consumed regularly. Meanwhile, meats had most of the required nutrition, and what they lacked could be supplemented with organs, the remaining animal could be turned into clothing, blankets, even materials for religious and military purposes. These communities took care not to waste the kill, or disrespect the spirits with their survival, often treating that which they just killed with the respect modern civilizations reserved for gods.
In summary, by utilizing finely crafted tools that survive to this day, and practicing religions still practiced today, these communities began to master the forces. Advancements in their exploitation of machanix and biolix, in particular, gave rise to agriculture, and eventual consolidation of these communities for mutual benefit, leading to the imperial age.
Imperial Age: 35000B.R.-25000B.R.
The Imperial Age saw the rise of several hundred kingdoms that continued to conquer and consolidate power over the next 10,000 years.
Compared to the rather slow advancement of the previous, at least, 15,000 years, advancement in the Imperial Age was quick. A sort of provincial Darwinism was in effect, where if a kingdom didn’t rapidly develop, it would get consumed. Most of what we know of this age comes from the grace of the Qualinthan empire, Lophta, and the Eistali Republic, as all are surviving members of one of the three great empires that emerged from this age. It is suspected that other states like the Rev’lysion, Ikodexian Empire, and Yrv’nard also retain records, but due to their varying degrees of isolationism, they haven’t allowed for much sharing of knowledge.
Regardless, this era has little information on it. It seems that the lives of those living in it got lost in the wars raging between the hundreds of nameless states. What we do know is that the lives of those in the modern-day compare to the lives of those living near the end of this age. Though disparities in quality of life across the continent make that metric difficult. Academics believe that due to the similarities between the current age, and the Imperial Age, we are on the dawn of a second wondrous age.
Wondrous Age: 25000B.R.-10000B.R.
This age is perhaps the best-known age of the Pre-Arx Eon. Due to the advanced technology of the time, ample records were kept of the societies in the Wonderous Age. This in turn provides ample relief for historians documenting the age, despite the large number of records that were destroyed in the Arx.
Sometime during the Imperial age, several key advancements were made to technology. The greatest of which was the exploitation of Magix as a resource. No more was the weave a thing to be borrowed from by mages, it was now an energy source, a weapon, a piece of art. This ability to exploit Magix was achieved in one of two ways. Firstly, the creation of Arxin, a synthetically grown crystal of pure magixal energy and radiation. Secondly, burrowing into the underway, where elemental gem grows, this being the easier of the two, had more representation. Those that could create Arxin guarded their secret viciously.
But what is the difference between the two? Elemental gems contain the essence of a state of elementalism, four current states are known, but texts from the wondrous age hint towards well more than a dozen other possible states. Arxin, however, is magix made into a solid form. Both have their trade-offs but function in the same ways. Able to create immense prosperity, and immense pain.
The societies of this time had coalesced into four areas. The Provincial Dominion, Southern Empire, Drak-Rax, and the Proxy States. The first three were massive empires, while the fourth was nothing more than a giant battlefield for them to fight over. This war existed almost in a state of superposition, it was both cold and hot. While there was no declaration, and no reason to fight other than to consume what territory was left, troops in the proxy states were seldom from the proxy states. All conventional warfare was done by troops and supersoldiers.
Supersoldiers were made to exemplify a certain force. Each empire had its own class of supersoldier representing its own force. The Southern Empire prided itself on its alchemical mastery of Biolix, the Drak-Rax paid no mind to the natural and all but turned its supersoldiers into Machines of Mechanix, the Provincial Dominion, however, had its men and women reduced to little more than sentient spellbooks, slaves to Magix. When all was said and done, life in the wondrous age was only wondrous if you could count on the security of your nation’s strength of arms.
Of course, it seemed strength of arms couldn’t win the day, and sometime around 10000B.R., came the destruction of the world. And the world took with it the records of millennia, the empires of old, and the lives of billions. It is hotly debated whether or not life on the continent of Akasi could survive such an extinction, but we may never know. For, at the dawn of a new eon, came the dawn of a new population.
