Age of Man

See Also: timeline

Before the Magi left they left a legacy upon this world. As the Sha’rek’ta created them, so to did they create life. The magi knew that one of the Sha'rek'ta remained on Miranda in eternal slumber. They drew from her the power they need to create life, not fully understanding the cost of their decision. With this power they created the Brund, Ged-zari, and Humans.

Forcing the power of creation from the Sha'rek'ta not only woke her, but drove her insane. She drew in much of the power of the world and would have awoke Mir, but she was stopped by the gods who chained her to the Gate of Time. The gods agreed to forever keep her chained to the gate and the Magi agreed to leave this world forever.

Before they left the Magi took care of their children. They gave the Brund to the dwarves so that they may learn the secrets of the earth, they gave the humans to the elves to learn the magic of the Shadow Realms. Finally the Ged-zari were given the secrets of the Sha'rek'ta and told to guard them until the Magi return.

This is the first of the classical eras during the Age of Man and lasted over 3 centuries. While the dwarves quickly abandoned the Brund, the humans were cared for and taught by the elves. While the mind of a human was incapable of harnessing the power of the Shadow Realms as the elves could, they did contain within them the spark necessary to draw far more power.

The elves taught the humans how to harness the magic of the world around them. This is the only time when man was at peace with his neighbors and Miranda. As time passed the true nature of man made this time fleeting. Man is not simply chaotic and warlike as the elves believe, but also inquisitive and competitive. Eventually the elves simply left the humans to live or perish on their own.

The second classical era lasts for 1500 years and sees the humans begin to divide themselves into small tribes and a cultures while they spread across the world. Many human cultures learn to work bronze and settle into an extended period of urbanization. These new nations begin a period of war and assimilation of their neighbors that continues through the current time.

It was during this time that the humans first turned to the gods for guidance and worship. The gods were very active in shaping human societies as the elves had ceased to teach them. Near the end of this age the rise of the first organized religions began to form as the gods worked to help the nations that worshiped them most fervently.

The exact time when a given region enters the Iron Age differs, but all fall within a few hundreds years of 2000 am. Humans learned to forge iron and steel. In addition changes in agriculture allowed human nations to expand into new lands, oftentimes driving out non-human cultures. Literature and artistry flourished during this period of fast growth as human cultures began to do more than simply copy from those around them.