Age of Myth

The Age of Myth represents the era between Sanzeia's prehistory and the modern age. It is said to have started some 10,000 to 5,000 years ago, after the fall of the Giants, when the first human appeared. It officially ends with the creation of the Dywdian Calendar, though others have pointed to a wide variety of evens that could have been cited as the end of the age. Most of the knowledge of this age comes from oral tales that have been passed down for generations. It is an age mostly of myths and legends though historical evidence does support the belief that there is some fact behind the tails.
Some common themes of stories from the time period:

• Gods physically manifest on Sanzeia
• Gods mating with mortals to produce demi-god heroes
• People being cursed for angering the gods - particularly mortals from the above point or the Neatherese Civilization
• Gods taking blatant and direct actions
• Gods fighting amongst each others
• Heroes with powers that are probably fictional
• Magic much more powerful than currently know

Divine Interventions

The during this age the gods took a direct role on Sanzeia to a level not seen since. Some traditions indicate an intentional distancing after the fall of the Neatherese civilization, but these are all much later sources and likely more explanatory than historical.
Broadly speaking, the gods interacted with mortals of the age in the following ways:

• Physical manifestation - tales of this form either focus on the gods manifesting in their full power. This occurs both at times of great need (often in battle) and more generally as many of the gods were physically inhabiting (usually remote) places of power. Tales indicate that gods could be injured in this form, though typically only by other gods, and the damage seems to be temporary.
• Avatar manifestation - far more common than the above, during the age of the myth the gods are said to have created bodies for themselves. The nature, form, and strength of the bodies vary. Tradition states that many of these avatars still remain in the world, lying dormant; Norian tradition for example claims that one particular rock formation off the coast, is actually the sleeping body of Throndar.
• Visions and influence - the only form of divine intervention that most clerics believe still occurs in the modern age, the gods of the age of myth often spoke to their followers through cryptic dreams and visions.
• Mortal investiture falls into two categories
  • Godblooded, or demi-gods, where the offspring of a mortal and a divine being or avatar. In most but not all cases, a physical act - willing or not - was required to create these divine children. While this was assumed to give the offspring powers beyond a normal mortal, many Godblooded can be deemed to be simply exceptional mortals. Many rulers, particularly in Human and Yuan-ti cultures claim to be descended from gods in this way.
  • In contrast to the Godblooded, the Godtouched always manifest powers far greater than should be possible. Godtouched appear at the will of the gods, or randomly to mortal understanding.

Historical Basis

Though most of the stories of the Age of Myth cannot be verified, ruins throughout Sanzeia are support the tales of the Fall of the Neatherese and elven records reflect the Exile of the Dark Elves. Perhaps other tales could be true as well.