World History 101, Part 1
It is in this year, the two hundred and thirty seventh of the reign of his Imperial Majesty Emperor Si, Lord of the Heavenly Peaks, Son of the Divine Sage and Master of the Dragon Throne, that this humble scholar presents his completed work. Much has been spoken of the history of our glorious and eternal empire, and yet these tales are fragmented, divided and scattered across a thousand clans, with little scholarly oversight. Once, this was not true, yet the perfidy of the Shang usurpers and the burning of the Sage's Archive has echoed darkly unto this very day.
Yet in his magnanimity and generosity his Highness seeks to redress this millennial wrong, and once again allow for the creation of a comprehensive history of the empire. It has been my highest honor to be the head of the scholarship assigned to this task, and with its completion, this old man will be able to enter his final meditations and join his ancestors without regret.
This record will, by its nature, be an expansive document, covering many volumes, and so, for the convenience of the lords and ladies of the court and his highness, the first volume will contain an abridged version of our timeline and findings, each section of which will in turn be expanded upon in it's own volume or series of volumes in the completed works. The appendices, which will fill several volumes in and of themselves, will contain records and references to the primary and secondary sources used in the compilation, should any doubt our scholarship.
Much has been made of the lack of records from this period, before the rise of even the very oldest of clans in the empire. Yet primary sources are not wholly lacking. Certain elements of pre imperial folklore preserved in more isolated settlements offer a window into this period, spoken colloquially of by monikers such as 'The Great Fear' or 'The Weeping Age' or similarly dramatic titles. These stories, while useful after a fashion, are too garbled by millenia of retelling to offer more than occasional context for more solid sources. Such as those who his Highness' remit has given us access.
With this scholars humble arts in the way of object memory, even spirit dead shards of pottery and nearly faded wall paintings can whisper a few words. In addition, while traveling the lands of Ebon Rivers, this one had the incredible fortune to speak with the avatar of Reveler, the Great Stone Ape. In the midst of his libations and feasting with his kin, he deigned share a few words of the days of his youth.
From these studies and sources, I have divined the following thoughts on the progression of the shadowed First Age.
The first days of the world were harsh indeed. The bones of our Mother yet quaked endlessly, and the divine ichor of the multitude of enemies that our most honored progenitors had slain still boiled close to the surface, toxic to the children of the creators. Similarly, the Heavens were not yet fully formed, and offered little protection from the pitiless and unfiltered alien light of the stars. Fragments of a prayer of these early peoples were revealed to me, from a effaced carving in the lowest basements of the ancient capital of the Emerald Seas.
'O Father, whose radiant eye abhors all evil, your children entreat you, Rise high and tarry long, burn away pestilence[...]
'O Thousand faced daughter, eye of the lost Mother, weep for your frail siblings, that your cleansing tears might bring purity in tainted night[...]
It is to be noted that the translation of these words are a somewhat inexact. The human tongue of the first age was a crude and primitive thing, and it was with some difficulty that we were able to reconstruct the meaning in palatable form. Of the revealed words, these two lines, among others confirm the theories of many imperial scholars. It has long been posited that the sun and the moon were among the very earliest of the Great Spirits formed in the aftermath of the world's creation formed from the last remnants of our Divine creators, and their original role was a very simple one. These spirits were empowered by a desire to survive the remaining hostility heaped upon us from the enemies of our spiritual progenitors. It is known that stellar qi is, unfiltered by the heavens, a terrible poison to human and beast alike. In these ancient days, it seems that very poison shone upon the world each night, mollified only by days of rain, where clouds shrouded the sky from that baleful light.
There is little else to be said of these early tribulations. Humans could but huddle in fear, whether in cavern or shrouded glen, very little meaningful cultures or civilization existed in this period, and even the records of later First Age groups discovered by this scholar's efforts only refer back to it as a time of terrible sorrow and pain.
The later portion of the First Age is more well known to us. In these days, the night sky was no longer poison, and ichor of dead gods no longer clung to the earth, yet the world had not become much less dangerous. Powerful Spirit Beasts who had survived and grown mighty in the chaos of the early world rose to dominate the land. Humanity survived on in a wretched state, offering service and worship in exchange for survival.
The Beast Gods, as they called themselves, valued humankind for a number of reasons. Some appreciated the crafts of our hands, while others found or thoughts or forms pleasing, in various ways. Regardless of their individual reasoning, it is known from remaining records that humans were much sought after as servants and playthings. The first semi-permanent settlements were created in this era, typically rising from monuments and temples raised to please the local god.
However, these primitive and fractious creatures did not hold dominion for very long as these things go. Arising from the Sea and the Sky, the beings known today as dragons soon spread their dominion over the land that would become the Empire. Subjugating the other Beast Gods with their unparalleled might and vast courts of dragon kin, the newly minted Dragon Gods came to become the rulers of the world, save for a few isolated hold outs.
For humankind, this change brought a great alteration of circumstance. Where previous rulers had a certain crude appreciation for humankind's utility. The new rulers of the world valued our crafts and our art greatly, and even came to enjoy taking our forms, in order to better interact with their servants and their creations.
Great cities and sprawling palace complexes rose, carved from the very earth and sky, and for the first time, humans began to cultivate, the Dragon Gods allowing their favorites some measure of power to extend their lives and service
Much like the time of the Beast Gods, this too passed. Dragons are warlike and violent creatures, though admirably, some rise above this nature. However, the Dragon Gods did not have this quality of character. As their realms grew more magnificent, they grew ever more resentful and jealous of their peers, and soon the world plunged again into bloodshed and war.
There are almost no surviving records from this period, and draconic historians, what few there are, refuse to speak of it, and the divine decrees of our most magnificent Sage Emperor demand that we respect their silence. It is known that the resulting war destroyed almost every trace of civilization which had thus far been built, and slew both the great majority of dragons, and the humans who had lived with them.
It is here, that my great fortune in being able to speak with the Zheng clan's Sublime Ancestor, allowed me further insight. He deigned speak only a few words, which I have dutifully transcribed below. These words are not mine, and so I ask that the diction be excused.
'Those idiot lizards broke earth and sky, made the moon bleed and the sun weep. Our Mother spat black blood in rage, their quarreling enough to disturb her dreaming death! Is it any wonder they were cursed? [Expletive] are just lucky I was half grown then, or I'd have bashed their heads myself!'
It was at this point that the esteemed ancestor insisted that I share a drink with him, and thus sadly, I was unable to press the questioning further. This statement corroborates some fragmentary accounts rising from survivors. It is known that in the aftermath, the dragons never rose again, their ability to reproduce with their own kind is crippled to this day, barely allowing the maintenance of their population.
However, beyond these broad strokes, we may but guess at the details of these events.
With the end of the era of draconic dominance, and simultaneous destruction of much of the burgeoning human culture, the turmoil of the world only grew. Yet in that chaos grew the seeds of the inevitable dominance of the human race, long suppressed, the children of the Nameless Father and Mother would soon come into prominence, and claim the world which had been created for them.
In the waning days of the First Age tribes and minor polities beyond numbering rose and fell, some ruled by man, and others beast and spirit, but among there number, three are credited with the ending of the First Age and the beginning of the Second. I speak of course, of Yao the Fisher, husband of the White Serpent of the Thousand Lakes, Zhi the Conqueror, who tamed the Great Stone Ape of the Ebon Rivers, and Tsu the Diviner, blood brother to the Horned Lord of the Emerald Seas.
Yet in his magnanimity and generosity his Highness seeks to redress this millennial wrong, and once again allow for the creation of a comprehensive history of the empire. It has been my highest honor to be the head of the scholarship assigned to this task, and with its completion, this old man will be able to enter his final meditations and join his ancestors without regret.
This record will, by its nature, be an expansive document, covering many volumes, and so, for the convenience of the lords and ladies of the court and his highness, the first volume will contain an abridged version of our timeline and findings, each section of which will in turn be expanded upon in it's own volume or series of volumes in the completed works. The appendices, which will fill several volumes in and of themselves, will contain records and references to the primary and secondary sources used in the compilation, should any doubt our scholarship.
- The First Age
Much has been made of the lack of records from this period, before the rise of even the very oldest of clans in the empire. Yet primary sources are not wholly lacking. Certain elements of pre imperial folklore preserved in more isolated settlements offer a window into this period, spoken colloquially of by monikers such as 'The Great Fear' or 'The Weeping Age' or similarly dramatic titles. These stories, while useful after a fashion, are too garbled by millenia of retelling to offer more than occasional context for more solid sources. Such as those who his Highness' remit has given us access.
With this scholars humble arts in the way of object memory, even spirit dead shards of pottery and nearly faded wall paintings can whisper a few words. In addition, while traveling the lands of Ebon Rivers, this one had the incredible fortune to speak with the avatar of Reveler, the Great Stone Ape. In the midst of his libations and feasting with his kin, he deigned share a few words of the days of his youth.
From these studies and sources, I have divined the following thoughts on the progression of the shadowed First Age.
The first days of the world were harsh indeed. The bones of our Mother yet quaked endlessly, and the divine ichor of the multitude of enemies that our most honored progenitors had slain still boiled close to the surface, toxic to the children of the creators. Similarly, the Heavens were not yet fully formed, and offered little protection from the pitiless and unfiltered alien light of the stars. Fragments of a prayer of these early peoples were revealed to me, from a effaced carving in the lowest basements of the ancient capital of the Emerald Seas.
'O Father, whose radiant eye abhors all evil, your children entreat you, Rise high and tarry long, burn away pestilence[...]
'O Thousand faced daughter, eye of the lost Mother, weep for your frail siblings, that your cleansing tears might bring purity in tainted night[...]
It is to be noted that the translation of these words are a somewhat inexact. The human tongue of the first age was a crude and primitive thing, and it was with some difficulty that we were able to reconstruct the meaning in palatable form. Of the revealed words, these two lines, among others confirm the theories of many imperial scholars. It has long been posited that the sun and the moon were among the very earliest of the Great Spirits formed in the aftermath of the world's creation formed from the last remnants of our Divine creators, and their original role was a very simple one. These spirits were empowered by a desire to survive the remaining hostility heaped upon us from the enemies of our spiritual progenitors. It is known that stellar qi is, unfiltered by the heavens, a terrible poison to human and beast alike. In these ancient days, it seems that very poison shone upon the world each night, mollified only by days of rain, where clouds shrouded the sky from that baleful light.
There is little else to be said of these early tribulations. Humans could but huddle in fear, whether in cavern or shrouded glen, very little meaningful cultures or civilization existed in this period, and even the records of later First Age groups discovered by this scholar's efforts only refer back to it as a time of terrible sorrow and pain.
The later portion of the First Age is more well known to us. In these days, the night sky was no longer poison, and ichor of dead gods no longer clung to the earth, yet the world had not become much less dangerous. Powerful Spirit Beasts who had survived and grown mighty in the chaos of the early world rose to dominate the land. Humanity survived on in a wretched state, offering service and worship in exchange for survival.
The Beast Gods, as they called themselves, valued humankind for a number of reasons. Some appreciated the crafts of our hands, while others found or thoughts or forms pleasing, in various ways. Regardless of their individual reasoning, it is known from remaining records that humans were much sought after as servants and playthings. The first semi-permanent settlements were created in this era, typically rising from monuments and temples raised to please the local god.
However, these primitive and fractious creatures did not hold dominion for very long as these things go. Arising from the Sea and the Sky, the beings known today as dragons soon spread their dominion over the land that would become the Empire. Subjugating the other Beast Gods with their unparalleled might and vast courts of dragon kin, the newly minted Dragon Gods came to become the rulers of the world, save for a few isolated hold outs.
For humankind, this change brought a great alteration of circumstance. Where previous rulers had a certain crude appreciation for humankind's utility. The new rulers of the world valued our crafts and our art greatly, and even came to enjoy taking our forms, in order to better interact with their servants and their creations.
Great cities and sprawling palace complexes rose, carved from the very earth and sky, and for the first time, humans began to cultivate, the Dragon Gods allowing their favorites some measure of power to extend their lives and service
Much like the time of the Beast Gods, this too passed. Dragons are warlike and violent creatures, though admirably, some rise above this nature. However, the Dragon Gods did not have this quality of character. As their realms grew more magnificent, they grew ever more resentful and jealous of their peers, and soon the world plunged again into bloodshed and war.
There are almost no surviving records from this period, and draconic historians, what few there are, refuse to speak of it, and the divine decrees of our most magnificent Sage Emperor demand that we respect their silence. It is known that the resulting war destroyed almost every trace of civilization which had thus far been built, and slew both the great majority of dragons, and the humans who had lived with them.
It is here, that my great fortune in being able to speak with the Zheng clan's Sublime Ancestor, allowed me further insight. He deigned speak only a few words, which I have dutifully transcribed below. These words are not mine, and so I ask that the diction be excused.
'Those idiot lizards broke earth and sky, made the moon bleed and the sun weep. Our Mother spat black blood in rage, their quarreling enough to disturb her dreaming death! Is it any wonder they were cursed? [Expletive] are just lucky I was half grown then, or I'd have bashed their heads myself!'
It was at this point that the esteemed ancestor insisted that I share a drink with him, and thus sadly, I was unable to press the questioning further. This statement corroborates some fragmentary accounts rising from survivors. It is known that in the aftermath, the dragons never rose again, their ability to reproduce with their own kind is crippled to this day, barely allowing the maintenance of their population.
However, beyond these broad strokes, we may but guess at the details of these events.
With the end of the era of draconic dominance, and simultaneous destruction of much of the burgeoning human culture, the turmoil of the world only grew. Yet in that chaos grew the seeds of the inevitable dominance of the human race, long suppressed, the children of the Nameless Father and Mother would soon come into prominence, and claim the world which had been created for them.
In the waning days of the First Age tribes and minor polities beyond numbering rose and fell, some ruled by man, and others beast and spirit, but among there number, three are credited with the ending of the First Age and the beginning of the Second. I speak of course, of Yao the Fisher, husband of the White Serpent of the Thousand Lakes, Zhi the Conqueror, who tamed the Great Stone Ape of the Ebon Rivers, and Tsu the Diviner, blood brother to the Horned Lord of the Emerald Seas.
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