There are six distinct “times” in the history of the Earth that fall into one of three categories:
- Before Dominion (BD). This is the time generally before Yune is in active control of Earth.
- Under Dominion (UD). This is the time during which Yune has an active role in the management of Earth and the creatures on it. UD officially begins with The Fracture which begins the Time of Breaking.
- After Dominion (AD). The shortest of the historical periods, and representing the current time of 896 AD, this period signifies Yune’s abandonment of managing the Earth and his, and the Inferi’s, withdrawal into the Garden.
Prior to The Time of Shaping (before 10,000 BD), there is just timelessness, when Yune exists, when he brings into being the First Children (the Inferi), but prior to the creation of the known world (Earth, or Ear-du-roth)
The Time of Shaping (from 10,000 BD to 8,000 BD)
At the command of Yune, the Inferi bring the Earth into being. Yune also creates the Garden and humans. During this time, the Inferi create the other races as well. During the tail end of this time period, Yune is distracted and the Inferi, bored, begin to war with each other. It is believed that Bawae seduces the humans from the Garden and enables them to procreate, to grow, to build cities and armies, and to join in the fighting.
The Time of War (7,999 BD to approximately 7,000 BD)
During this time, all of the races are warring with each other at the behest of their Inferi patrons. Eventually, though, Yune turns his eye towards the world and explodes in rage. This explosion of magic results in The Fracture which tears Earuth, at the time Ear-du-roth apart, scattering the pieces across the Universe and, in some cases, through the Veil. The result is known as the Shards of Earuth. The Inferi are cast away too in this explosion, expelled to the watch over the races they created.
The Time of Breaking (6,999 UD to 4,000 UD)
All of the races live in fear of a vengeful Yune. Many of them are scrabbling for a living, moving between the shards through threads of creation that hold the shards together. But much has been twisted and monsters, full of Yune’s hate and fury, prey upon all of the creatures.
The Time of Heroes (3,999 UD to 2,000 UD)
The races begin to take back control of the world as heroes rise up. Members of all races battle monsters and re-establish the superiority of the races across all the shards. There are artifacts imbued with magic left over from the Fracture that empower heroes with the strength to overcome the challenges that have plagued the lands for the last 2,000 years. Magic still courses through the lands and is shaped and wielded, in some fashion, by many of the races. It is the magic of creation.
The Time of Miracles (1,999 UD to 1,000 UD)
Yune feels guilty at what his anger has wrought and is proud of all his children who are trying to be good, to lift each other up, to be better. So the lands are blessed with miracles, some great, some small, touches of Yune’s magic in his active role of managing the world, his fingertips on the lives of all his creatures. But Yune realizes that he has had too heavy of a hand and if his children are to be redeemed, they must do so on their own. So the miracles begin to fade and in the last few hundred years of this time, Yune has pulled away, back to the garden. He has called his First Children to him, to be by his side, trapped within the Garden that now has walls hundreds of hands high.
The Time of Man (999 AD to 896 AD) [also known as the Age of Redemption, or the Age of Man]
The threads between the shards are becoming inert as the magic has gone from the world with Yune’s exit. The items once wielded by heroes, and the heroes themselves, have passed into legend. Man has become frugal and territorial as he exerts his dominion over the world with steel and technology. Magic is a blasphemy, for it is the power of the Yune, and to attempt to wield it is an affront upon that Creator who has punished Man for his sins, for seeking that magic in the Garden, for resulting in him being cast out. Man has forgotten much of the times before and hopes only for redemption, a way to return to the Garden.