Luke Grenache
Historian
Luke spent his life trying to understand what happened in the distant past of Tarien, focusing his efforts on what occurred before the Soulmeliti began recording births and deaths. The challenge, with this sort of research, of course, was the lack of primary sources. Indeed the events that Professor Grenache attempted to catalogue occured over three millenia in the past and little remained of them even in oral histories. To compensate, he spent much time in New Kharolin and New Solarin, speaking with elders among the Khadra and Soulmeliti about their creation beliefs. He also befriended a elderly druid named Verazsuuth who shared his order's beliefs. It was through this contact that he learned of most ancient races - the Kari-Zaro and the Tzecheni'korak, though he had no way to interview them directly. Finally he met with the heads of several religious orders, noting that the faiths of Anderi Landric were particularly helpful.
After his travels for research - which began as a short sabbatical and lasted nearly 2 decades - finally ended, Grenache postulated that Tarien was in its fourth age. Each age that had come before had some sort of defining characteristic - such as the fascination iwth Teck'nahl'eesh in the Age of Sun. He published his works in a treaetise called History Before Words, via the University of Karradone. According to the professor, our current age - named the Age of Waves after the rolling pattern of years in the Soulmeliti Scroll of Years, had yet to have its definining moment. While his work is still considered the best academic work on the subject, many modern scholars question his conclusion, given the biases of his sources. Of course, none of these critics have undertaken a research project to interview other races about their beliefs.