The Age Of Darkness

Cultural event

Any technological advance can be dangerous. Fire was dangerous from the start, and so (even more so) was speech―and both are still dangerous to this day―but human beings would not be human without them.   ―Isaac Asimov

Without physical forms for The Spear to pull against, and without The Wheel to resurrect them, the souls of the dead formed streams and rivers, flowing down through the veins of the earth, torrenting towards the true death in Oblivion. But the underworld soaked them up like a sponge, and the demons of the Iaghana tortured them to siphon their essence and rejuvenate themselves.   Once again, the world had lost something of itself; and gained something lesser in-turn.   Without a proper connection to Heaven the gods were irrevocably changed. Forced to obey The Divine Prographein, but lacking the ability to do so, they had to reinterpret their orders and reinvent themselves to face the changed world. By the time Tehyiah resurrected itself, more than two thirds of all souls were already trapped below. The Wheel had become The Ring of Evanescent Light, and Tehyiah became Syol. This change brought about the Cycle of Reincarnation as we know it today.   The homeless gods found man who hid in caves; man who swam deep beneath the waves; man who flew above the clouds; man who wished to live and know the world beyond. Thus man did learn from god and of god; and they were beholden. Without proper ritual to guide them to the light, the ghosts of men and animal alike would stalk the land; and left long enough, they could be lured into the underworld by the new regents of death. So the gods first taught man of the rituals of consecration.   The mannish species', as it turned out, were also a perfect source of sustenance: They were mentally and physically equipped to carry out sacrifices to provide the gods with power and to understand their ritual importance to the high-functioning of the world. In turn the gods blessed their new worshippers with protected and favour; which let them prosper and thus give greater sacrifice. Countless ancient religions were established in this time.   Without the mandate of heaven the gods became divided. In the ages past, all gods were treated equally in the eyes of The Ishvara; but now a true celestial hierarchy precipitated out, with The Empyrean Quartette rising to the top.   An arms-race of sorts emerged from the mannish cultures too. Man sought knowledge from the gods: Language, fire-making, beds, tools, boats, weapons, clothing, armour, metal, music, agriculture, housing, temples, writing, and more. The gods were wary and limiting at first, but others were braver and more trusting. Some made great advances, some were disparaged. The gods held absolute power over their world, and the power to take their gifts away at any time too.   The power of ritual and sacrifice is a strange and subtle art. At several points throughout this age, man independently uncovered the secrets of augury, folklore, and of drawing strength from the spirits for succor and service. These principle magics are the most ancient and weakest of the blessed arts; but without them, the arts of Summoning and Enchanting would not have developed. Nowadays the princeps magicae are almost entirely forgotten, existing mostly as an oral tradition.   Perhaps it was inevitable then that man would make contact with the ghosts of the dead, new and old, and the demons that ruled them. Ancestor cults emerged in places where spirit binding was prevalent, and the Iaghana took advantage of the new opportunity to possess the living. Man gained powers to rule over man, powers to form the first nations, powers even to challenge the gods! But their hearts were so easily corrupted, and those countries swiftly fell into the thrall of greater devils as retribution. The souls of these first Incarnates were sacrificed to spread the dark tendrils of the underworld up through the land, creating the first Necrohols.   And so the fate of the world teetered again on the edge of damnation.