The Dark Years

The Dark Years is a period of 6 years of continuously worsening winter. Zetzwarian uncovered a plot made by Xaiteng, Kizendara and Bezantheram to unanimously destroy all of human kind. To stop them he took their powers away. He thickened the Shield of the World to prevent sunlight and warmth from reaching the earth. He raised mountains of sea ice and made winter eternal.
Entire species died out or were buried inside the ice. Humans migrated with the bison herds until the herds were no more. The ice pushed inland and forced the tribes northward into the mountains of Bezentharam. Once in the range they became trapped between two sheets of land ice. They brought what animals with them that they could for food and fuel, but this did not last them for more than a year. People died off illness and malnutrition.
Bezantheram was the first to surrender. He went to sleep deep inside his caverns and has not stirred since. Kizendara was powerless against the extreme cold as Zetzwarian even sucked the oxygen out of the atmosphere. Left to stand on his own, Xaiteng cowered, but Zetzwarian did not stop. He was furious at the gógari for even considering the wilful genocide of an entire species.
A human by the name of Eith was equally furious, but at Zetzwarian for turning the world into a frozen nightmare. He braved the extreme cold and made it all the way to the place where Zetzwarian stood deep in the range of Bezantheram. Eith was dying, starved and suffering from frostbite, but Zetzwarian cured him. He was curious to find out what the little human who cursed his name wanted.
After hearing Eith's pleas on behalf of his people, and seeing the selfishness of his act to find him when he knew it would probably kill him, Zetzwarian complied with his request. The Shield of the World let the sun shine down and he pushed the ice away. Before the Eith could leave, however, Zetzwarian warned him that humans were not safe, even without the ice. He explained how none of the gógari were willing to protect the humans. Eith asked if Zetzwarian was not able to protect them but he said no. The only way, Zetzwarian said, was for them to protect themselves. And so he taught Eith about the Source and he provided him with the means to use it. Zetzwarian also taught him about the Paths and how to survive within the rules of the gógari so that the two species could coexist.
Eith returned to his people after three years with Zetzwarian.