Second Epoch: The Dark Epoch

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Second Epoch

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“There are some things that make it easier to be ‘infected’ the more you know.”

This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS relating to some of the most pivotal parts of the "Lord of Mysteries".

“	The Second Epoch was also known as humanity’s Dark Epoch. At the time, the sky, ocean, and land were ruled over by dragons, giants, elves, mutants, devils, phoenixes, demonic wolves, and dead spirits.	„
— Lord of Mysteries, Chapter 180

History

The Sprouting Era (0 - 1268; Rise of the Ancient Gods)

The creatures of chaos dwindled, giving way to an era of fantasy where the Giant King, Elf King, Mutant King, dragons, phoenixes, demonic wolves, sea races, and demons vied for dominance. At this time, giants, elves, vampires, and humans still existed as unified races, not yet divided.

The Era of Fire (also called Era of Giants; 1268–1730)

The world was ruled by eight Ancient Gods: Giant King Aurmir, Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt, Elf King Soniathrym, Sanguine Ancestor Lilith, Devil Monarch Farbauti, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace, Mutated King Kvastir, and King of Demonic Wolves Flegrea.

These eight Gods split the remnant powers and authorities of the Creator, becoming lords of the sky, land, and oceans. "They" ruled over the Spirit World and Astral World, and various races. "They" each had Subsidiary Gods by their side, which were mostly Sequence 2 (of their pathway) and Sequence 1 (of other pathways). There were exceptions to this as some early Gods had impure pathways, and deities from pathways such as Visionary could separate Sequence 1 characteristics from "Themselves", as shown in the case of Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt and "His" son, Dragon of Nightmare Alzuhod.

According to the elves' chronicle, in this era, races that took on human-like forms fought against non-human races, devils and demonic wolves. This corresponded to records of the City of Silver, which said Giant King Aurmir, Elf King Soniathrym, and Sanguine Ancestor Lilith were on one side, fighting against Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace, and Mutated King Kvastir on the other. Devil Monarch Farbauti and Annihilation Demonic Wolf Flegrea were not on any side, wanting to destroy and corrupt everything. Humans established stable societies, forcing mutants, demons, and dragons into decline. A balance formed among the factions (wraiths, indiscriminate in destruction, were suppressed and became rare). Humans were subordinates or even slaves to the giants, elves, and sanguines.

This era lasted for no longer than a thousand years. At this time, these races were still cold, cruel, and bloodthirsty. At some point in time, Aurmir betrayed Lilith and caused "Her" to perish, while Lilith got Kvastir and Flegrea to die with "Her". After "Their" death, "Their" Subsidiary Gods were either killed, turned to other Gods, or vanished and hid in the dark. This included the Subsidiary Gods of Flegrea: God of the Dead Salinger (later known as Death) who turned to Gregrace, and Goddess of Misfortune Amanises (later known as Evernight Goddess) who vanished; Subsidiary God of Lilith: Goddess of Life were killed, and Goddess of Beauty Auernia (later became the wife of Night Emperor), who turned to Soniathrym; Subsidiary God of Kvastir: God of War were killed, and God of Spiritual Creatures Tolzna (later known as Chained God) who vanished. In reality, Lilith was not truly dead and eventually secretly replaced Goddess of Harvest Omebella with the help of the Evernight Goddess and the Ancient Sun God.

Before 1730, the Supernova Dominator served as the sun, but the barrier blocked its light, leaving the world in darkness—one origin of the "Dark Epoch" name. This era ended no less than 3,722 years before the beginning of the story, over 1,130 years before the death of the Ancient Sun God.

The Dual Era (1730 – 1960)

With the appearance of the First Blasphemy Slate, revealing the paths of the divine, humans fractured under the instigation of dragons, mutants, and demons. Giants and others saw themselves as divine creatures, no longer human. After the Sanguine Ancestor Lilith, Mutant King Kvastir, and Annihilation Demonic Wolf Flegrea perished together in a conspiracy, giants and elves split accusing each other of betrayal and waging the 230-year "War of the Betrayers", with dragons and demons intervening three times. During this time, giants under Aurmir and dragons under Ankewelt were the dominant race, hence the name of "Dual Era".

The Era of Silence (1960 – 2325)

The balance shifted across continents. Giants, elves, dragons, demons, and phoenixes reached a stalemate, leading to 365 years of relative peace. Enslaved humans lost their history entirely, forgetting pre-cataclysm civilization. At this time, newborn elves and giants began to have more emotions and feelings. During this period, Aurmir sought cooperation with some human secret organizations in an effort led by "His" son Badheil and "His" wife Omebella to deal with Soniathrym. This secret organization probably worshipped the Ancient Sun God.

Rise of Ancient Sun God (2325 – 2561)

According to the Orthodox Myths of the Seven Churches, the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of Storms, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom led humanity to revolt against their oppressors. Humanity succeeded and managed to defeat and drive the Beyonder races to near extinction.

According to the historical records of the City of Silver, the Original Creator (who was, in fact, the Ancient Sun God) woke up and took back the authorities from the 8 Ancient Gods, allowing humanity to successfully rise up in revolt.

The Ancient Sun God walked out of Chernobyl and inherited the Chaos Sea. He then gradually promoted to the level of quasi-God Almighty, controlling the First Blasphemy Slate that appeared in the Chaos Sea. Arrodes referred to the Ancient Sun God as the "Second Creator".

The Ancient Sun God acquired many followers, including the 8 Kings of Angels beside "Him" and claimed "Himself" to be the Original Creator. "He" fought against the rest of the Ancient Gods and took "Their" power. The Ancient Sun God's first recorded battle was slaying the Elf King and Dragon of Imagination in the year 2348. Subsequently, the Giant King and Phoenix Ancestor were severely wounded—one passing power to the next generation, the other fragmenting across the Southern Continent. The Devil Monarch was also wounded, sacrificing most demons and "His" own power to seal the Abyss, retreating to evade the radiance of the Omnipotent and Omniscient God.

Humans started to study the world of mysticism. They created the Pathway system with potion formulas and rituals. Hermes also created the Hermes Language at this time.

The Evernight Goddess became Sequence 0 some time at the end of this epoch.

This era happened some time two to three thousand years ago.

Timeline

Main article: Timeline § Second Epoch: The Dark Epoch