Precursor

Documenting the history of the world between the Ages is almost imposible. Organisations like the House of Dreams have tried to understand the world through organisation and categorisation, preserving its continuity and knowledge, but the length of an Age is unpredictable and they are always bracketed by enormous physical and arcane upheaval as Reality and Dream seem to pass through each other. One area of extended study focuses on the origins of the sapient species of the world but, despite well documented and coherent physical evidence, the lineages of all known sapient species remain confused.
What is clear is that magic played a significant role in the shaping of the world as it stands, offering the only possible explanation for the existence of non-biological species like ljudoy, it is also accepted as the reason for how cultures like Ohoulian, which have otherwise robust and reliable oral histories, include stories in which they were created from some wildly dissimilar precursor form, despite the existence of fossil records showing gradual evolution from a nonsapient ancestor.
Evidence that can be attributed to the precursors appears superficially similar to artifacts from early human species, but thaumatological dating shows that it predates the evolution of all known species. Precursor artifacts have been found worldwide and include extremely rare fossilised bone fragments, outlines of buildings and ruins, and artefacts showing advanced tooling.
Such evidence that is available suggests a creature similar to an ialy or pigmy yutaaq - a social biped with one or more pairs of highly dextrous upper limbs. Precursors were omnivorous, lived in large social groups, and built permanent settlements containing enormous monuments, despite not having much - if any - magic. They were adept tool-users, and decorated even simple arefacts with carvings and paint. Despite living near lakes and waterways, there is no proof to suggest that they extended into the water, seeming to be primarily land-bound and possibly lacking a yutaaq's aquatic ability.
Some paleo-artists, attempting to link the precursors to all biological human species, have shown them with rudimentary wings. This is purely speculation but has become the popularly accepted image of the precursors.