Geopolitics of First Age Materia

Author's Note: For Materia in its modern era, after the plane-wide devastation of The Deluge, the ensuing chaos of the "Lost" Second Age, and a relative calming thereafter, refer to the Geopolitics of Third Age Materia.

What seest thou else
In the dark backward and abysm of time?

— William Shakespeare
The Tempest

All articles contained herein refer to Waking Materia in its First Age, which was generally characterized by a series of extraplanar colonizations, predominantly the Kelpeater Dominion under its God-Emperor, Ina'ut, then later the New Rozsan Empire under the twin God-Emperors Nir and Nef. These colonies were, in turn, resisted by a federation of anti-colonial heroes known as the Insurgent Gods.

Though a distant backwater from the multiverse's primary planar hub, the Eridún Crux, Materia saw a brief (approximately two centuries') explosion of interplanar trade and piracy. In particular, the Kelpeaters' heavily colour-based society created a massive demand for dyes and their component materials, of which their home plane of Lorgain had ample supply but Materia generally lacked. The various clashes for these resources (as well as "preferred seller" status with the Lichlords) were collectively known as the The Dye Wars.

The stability of the two great empires was not to last. Due to a massive, plane-wide disruption in crop yields due to the Darkest Decade, the Kelpeaters and New Rozans were suddenly unable to provide for their peripheral states, forcing them into independence. The result is now known as the Great Fractionation, wherein dozens of new, sovereign nations were born. A few of these nations even survive to the present day, having weathered the chaos of the Second Age.

The First Age ended with the Deluge, at about I.M. 2850.

The Yasnan Calendar

The most common calendar used in modern Materia is the Yasnan Calendar, created by the Kelpeaters. On this calendar, the transition between the "Dawn Era" of Materia's pre-history to the First Age of Man is marked as 0 years I.M. (Intra-Merantha, the Age of Meranthic Man). The Insurgent Gods arrived approximately I.M. 80 (see also: Arrival of the Insurgent Heroes), and the Rozsans arrived about I.M. 600 (see also: Arrival of the Rozsans).

First Age Archaeology

Knowledge of the geopolitics of the First Age is scant due to a lack of surviving writing, artefacts or other clues about their existence. Though Empyreal societies were more advanced than modern Materia, including the use of printing presses, damage by the Deluge, as well as the societal chaos that ensued, were severe. Furthermore books decay with time, often leaving archaeologists to make deductions using inscribed art or objects, or context provided by surviving tools and infrastructure. Much of the knowledge surrounding this era is possessed only by a few scholarly circles, while most of the plane's population approaches the subject only through story and myth.