Very little is known about the world of the Ancients. One thing is certain, however: All of them were human. The process by which the Ancients diverged into the ancestries of today is colloquially referred to as “the Change”.
The origin of the Change is a matter of intense study and endless debate. Academic seminars have been known to descend into outright brawls over the subject. There are a number of opinions and variations, but the three most common families of theories are detailed below.
The Follies of Man
The first theory holds that the Arks themselves, the bastions in which the Ancients sealed themselves away, were flawed. Proponents of this theory disagree over whether the flaw was inherent in the Arks’ design or came about after centuries of degradation. They also disagree on whether the modification agent came in the food, the water, the air supply, some combination thereof, or something as yet undiscovered. More radical thinkers even suggest the Arks were used as test beds for deliberate genetic modification. No matter the specific details, however, all of the branches of this theory place the blame squarely on LOSTech and on the Ancients.
The Fundaments of Magic
The second theory holds that magic itself is the cause. Some proponents think its explosive return triggered the Change sometime before the Ancients sealed themselves away. Others believe the Ancients were still human when they descended, but while they could escape the predation of the Horrors, they could not escape magic itself. The most radical minds claim the Arks behaved like reservoirs - with so many people trapped in one place, magic could gather and build, but could not escape. With nowhere to go and nothing else to act on, they believe the magic suffused the Ancients’ bodies, and in so doing, altered them to suit their new world.
The Flaws of Memory
The third theory holds that, at one time, the Ancients were not all human. Proponents of this theory believe that much of what the University's scholars call “fiction” is not entirely fictional, but heightened re-tellings of actual history (think King Arthur, Robin Hood, Tomoe Gozen - mythologized stories which likely have basis in reality). Some believe that, at some point, non-human ancestries must have gone into hiding. Others think perhaps they were wiped out in some great war or plague, leaving only humans and half-siders who favored their human sides behind. Whatever the cause of this great disappearance, followers of this branch believe the Change was not a change per se, but rather a rebalancing that returned the world to its former state.
