The Age of the Golden Empire

The Age of the Golden Empire is a mythic age, that is according to the Sunarians, and other peoples of the south, to have occurred before the Age of Gods. Thought of as a legendary golden age, predating the modern world, most of what is known of the Golden Empire is hearsay, and legend with the only true evidence of its existence being a scattering of ruins located across Sunar, Nebtka, and the coasts of Belezine Bay.

It is believed by some that the Golden Empire was centered under what is today the shimmering waters of Belezine Bay. This idea suggests that at some point in the distant past the sea level in the area was far lower, and that deep below the bay a vast network of ruined cities remains submerged, waiting to be discovered. Whether this idea is in fact true, remains largely a mystery though, as save for a handful of half submerged ruins along the coast, no great ruin is known to exist further out in the bay.

While belief in the Golden Empire is most prominent in Sunar, there are very few ruins actually located in the Sun Delta, or along the Sun River's long length. We do know, however, that the supposed Golden Empire must have extended over this area, as sites located in the Sunarian Empire's far south, such as Sashwan, Gima and Jur, bare striking similarities to the more northerly ruins of Cirphon, Aucmeron, and Obel. The reason for this strange absence of Golden Empire ruins, is explained by the high population density of these areas. Any available building materials would have no doubt been scavenged over the course of millennia by the numerous peoples who have come to call the region of Sunar home. As such, any evidence of such a sprawling empire's existence, would have disappeared millennia ago, to be used in the construction of roads, walls, or other infrastructural projects that saw no value in the ancient ruins of the forgotten past.

Whether the Golden Empire truly existed is one of histories greatest mysteries, and while it is believed as a matter of historic fact among some Sunarians, other people like the Valoni, do not fully recognize it as some lost golden age of man. The only thing most scholars really agree on today, is that at some point in the world's distant past, before the rise of cities in Sunar, another civilization existed, and for some reason ended, long, long ago.