Ages of Aroka

The majority of Aroka's history has been lost to time, especially following the First Firefall where the world effectively ended and its history consumed by fire and buried in ashes. However, the scholarly have managed to create a general timeline of the ages of Aroka leading up to the current Age of Reclamation.

Age of Trials

The Age of Trials is the earliest recorded era of history. There are very few written accounts from this time, but historians were able to piece together a general impression of the age. Essentially, scattered groups of people lived on a baren world that seemed to have recently experienced a world-ending event. Just surviving was a brutal challenge, especially against the few monsters that roamed the world, seemingly designed to test the resolve and skills of the world's inhabitants.

Another notable feature of this era was the Awoken. The only commonality between these individuals and what set them apart from the rest of the world's inhabitants was that they were all incredibly gifted in a particularly art or skill, most often related to combat or survival and frequently with a magical component, and that they had all woken up on day on Aroka with no memories of their past. Initially, these individuals were considered odd coincidences, but as their numbers grew and began to do more than just survive, it became clear that there was more to their existence. Many believed they were champions or saviors sent by the gods to tame the world and allow its people to thrive while others believed they were another challenge to be overcome.

Age of War

As the Awoken continued to rise to power and take up the mantle of leadership among the numerous tribes of the Aroka, the focus shifted from surviving the natural hazards and monsters of world to competing for the scare natural resources vital for the survival of their growing populations. Tribes that had once cooperated for survival turned on each other, seeing them as competition. The Awoken led their followers in small skirmishes, slaying all that stood against them and subduing those that surrendered. Soon, numerous tribes were assimilated under the same banner, led by a single Awoken or council of Awoken that had elected to combine their strengths to ensure their survival. What started out as skirmishes for survival quickly escalated to battles for dominance, officially bring Aroka into the Age of War.

Historians also believe that these large communities allowed for the rapid development of weapons of war with the Awoken serving as the catalysts. Those skilled with magic quickly learned how to maximize its destructive potential, gifted warriors perfected the art of laying waste to opposing armies with all manner of martial weaponry, and intellectuals applied their knowledge to push the limits of their primitive technology and allowed millennia of military technology to be developed in just a few years. The results were truly devastating as new horrors of war were developed on a daily basis. The most incredible part of this age was how they didn't managed to put the world through another mass extinction.

Age of Restoration

How long the Age of War lasted is unknown but historians agree that it can to an abrupt end, likely after a particularly devastating battle. It is believed that this last battle left such a impression of its survivors that they vowed to put their differences aside and work together. This suggested that the world's population had been so heavily reduced that the current resources were deemed sufficient for survival. Furthermore, it is believed areas of Aroka not caught up in the destruction of the Age of War had begun to flourish, changing from barren landscapes to biodiverse biomes full of flora and fauna.

This age is also marked by significant strides in magic and technology, only focused on the enrichment of life instead of the eradication of it. Cities rose and spread out over large portions of the world, cultivating the wilderness to support and exploding population. While occasional disputes resulting in violence occurred, the memories of the horrors of war were fresh enough to prevent any large scale conflicts, allowing the world to thrive.

Age of Ascension

Exactly when the gods revealed themselves to the inhabitants of Aroka and brought them into the Age of Ascension is unknown, but it marked yet another turning point for the world. With the gods walking among the mortals and exceptional mortals able to ascend to godhood, Aroka entered a golden age where magic, technology, and prosperity reached new heights.

This utopia came to an abrupt end when Aroka's moon exploded, showing the world in flaming earth and blotting out the suns with ash and smoke. The event, called the First Firefall, also marked the silence of the gods as they all vanished from the world.

From the ashes rose multiple armies with technology far in advance of anything they had seen before, seemingly using the fundamental forces of nature itself as weaponry.. This one-year conflict became known as the War of Ashes. The survivors of the Fire Firefall spoke of monstrous machines of war floating through the skies, rumbling across the earth, and churning the seas, firing multicolored blast of energy each other. Many described their battles as terrible thunderstorms where flashes of multicolored lights emanated from clouds of ash and smoke, accompanied by the booming of incredible explosions. These conflicts seemed to not take any heed to the Arokan survivors of the apocalypse, focusing their efforts on destroying the opposing army, seemingly unaware of the countless Arokans caught in the crossfire.

A handful of the splintered factions of Arokan survivors attempted to at least protect themselves from the war, but they rarely succeeded, not even gaining the attention of the armies as they leveled already crumbling cities that just happened to be caught between two or more of the armies. Tales of weapons that may have stood a chance circulated among the survivors, but is seems that none of these were used, leading many in the modern age to seek them out in hopes that they are still functional after hundreds of years of lying dormant.

Just as quickly as the War of Ashes began, it ended. The armies disappeared the world fell silent. It had been almost a year since the First Firefall and the world was beginning to cool rapidly. The ash and smoke had blotted out the suns and snow began to dominate landscapes and bodies of water began to freeze. The War of Ashes was over, but the world was no less safe. Those that were still alive retreated beneath the earth to escape the cold, beginning the Age of Ice.

Age of Ice

For 181 years, Aroka's surface was frozen solid. Its inhabitants founded cities beneath the earth and had to compete for resources and space between the Deep-Folk that already called this layer of the world their home. This led to numerous wars that never saw The Light of day, further threatening to result in another extinction of life for Aroka. While scouts occasionally braved the frozen surface to seek out new resources for their community, very few walked the world's surface during this time.

Age of Reclamation

The end of the Age of Ice is marked by an event called the Second Firefall, where balls of flame once again rained down on the planet, though in significantly reduced volume and causing minimal damage. Shortly afterwards, it was obvious that the global temperatures were rising and Arokans began returning to the surface. To their surprise, they discovered to peoples that had not been there previously, the Dryn and the Var'Yn along with a host of new flora and fauna.

As the world thawed and began to flourish with life, its inhabitants once again found themselves fighting for survival until they were able to care out just enough space to found their first cities, often built atop the ruins of ones from ages past.