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The End of an Era is always noted as a time of great upheaval. The war against the Dark One that heralded the Fall of Camelough and the End of the Golden Age of the Sun King was one such ending. Although reliable accounts of the ends of earlier Eras are almost impossible to find, it is the consensus of sages that the End of an Era is always marked by trials and tribulations unrivaled in calmer times.
Many people have proclaimed that we are once again at the end of an Era, judging from the chaos that has befallen much of Avillonia, and even the rest of the Oerth, these last several years. Indeed, some sages have even claimed that the many strange events of these years have precipitated the End of the Era. Of course, this is nonsense. The events are symptoms of the End of an Era, not the catalyst of the end. Anyone who studies the stars could tell such a thing.
The Oerth turns, giving the cycle of day and night. And the Oerth circles the sun, experiencing spring, summer, fall, and winter in an unending cycle of time. The cycle of day and night is a cycle within the cycle of the year.
All of us, the Sun, the Oerth, the other wanderers, circle something else, something yet to be discovered. Look at a sailor's star charts over the years: The stars and constellations change over time. But the patterns we see above us at night are just like the patterns that were in the skies over two thousand years ago. The star charts that have survived from the Golden Age of Camelough are identical to the star charts we use today. The stars have once more reached positions like King Uther Paendroeg saw when Camelough fell. This placement of the stars marks the end of Eras; the stars have aligned once more. The course of our year is but a cycle within the cycle of the era, as the day is a cycle within the cycle of a year.
But our End of an Era is different. Not only have the stars aligned to signal the End of an Era, but the other wanderers have aligned with the Oerth and the Sun. A yet rarer event than the End of an Era is upon us: the end of a cycle of Eras. The End of an Epoch.
We have not been experiencing a mere End of an Era, but we have been experiencing the End of an Epoch. What our world will become at the beginning of the next Epoch is still undetermined. We may witness devastation akin to that of the Morning Star. Or we may witness a time of prosperity that makes King Uther Paendroeg's Golden Age pale in comparison.
From the musings of Father Rishala McKinnon, advisor to the Emperor
Continue to Book I, Chapter 1: Preludes
Back to the Book I Index.
Back to the Dark Mysteries Campaign Chapter Index.
Original Draft 8 March 2003
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