Age of Sundering

In time, the other gods decided that the continued avoidance of their agreed upon tasks by the twin gods would stand no more, and requested Jos'Nala and Jos'Dar come to The Conclave to discuss the future of The Inquest.  What began with angry words ended with an event so cataclysmic that the world entered a new age. A fight amongst the pantheon ended with Calaq dead, and a continent sundered in three as The Conclave was destroyed. The surviving gods went into hiding, some even amongst their own followers, fearing that, should another confrontation be forced it would end in the extermination of their beloved peoples.  Theologians refer to this “hiding” as The Eclipse and estimate its occurrence to be some time in 3AS. The tattoos that each person on Ankaluun receives upon coming of age can trace its origins directly to The Eclipse.   The Age of Sundering lasted but 100 years and was a time of great upheaval on Ankaluun.  The continent split into three parts, centered at the former site of The Conclave. The great city of Kirinor was split, almost down the middle, with the former eastern portion remaining Kirinor (until it was renamed during the Imperial Age), while the western portion of the city became what is now known as Jos’Dakar, a glorious city in its own right.  Following the Sundering, generations were lost to the chaos that followed such a cataclysmic event. Much knowledge and culture was lost in the tragedy and progress came to a standstill as the people of Ankaluun fought to survive through the aftermath filled with earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, and great storms.   Sometime around the year 75AS the natural aftereffects of The Sundering finally ceased.  Ankaluun’s people could begin to build their cities and their lives once again. In the east, a follower of Kirin, called Mendhalia, who possessed a great wisdom and even greater foresight was able to begin to unite those who remained in Kirinor.  In time, she moved out into the country to the east, uniting the various settlements with the same promises she made in her home city, protection and advancement through solidarity and equality.   In the west, a different type of force was surging across the land.  A war-priest adherent of Jos'Nala and Jos'Dar named Kren had risen into leadership in Jos’Dakar through charisma and cunning.  By the time he solidified his leadership of the city and moved west he was able to bring towns and villages into the fold through his silver tongue or his steel sword, in equal measure.       To the north, completely removed from the former cultural and learning center of the continent, the third sundered piece of land saw no such unifying force.  Independent city-states formed, for economic reasons, around mines, forests, and large bodies of water.