Age I: The Thawing (~10,000–7,000 Years Ago)

The world awakens from the Ice. First fires, first kinships, the ancestors stir.

Overview

The Age of The Thawing marks the great exhalation of a frozen world. As glaciers, ancient titans of ice, crept away from the earth’s furthest reaches, they left in their wake rivers that ran like veins through the flesh of the world. Waters, once locked in the heart of glaciers, now flowed freely, weaving through valleys and carving new paths, new stories into the land. This was an epoch of stirring—a time when both the land and the soul began to awaken, when the bonds of kinship were first forged in the heat of fire and shared struggle.

The air felt raw and alive, filled with the scent of the thaw. The sacred rivers, born of the ice’s retreat, grew strong and powerful, rushing with a vitality that seemed to speak directly to the hearts of the first peoples. They were not mere physical lifelines, but spiritual ones—wellspring channels of memory and myth. The land was no longer the silent, frozen stone of old, but a vibrant, breathing world that echoed with the first footfalls of those who would come to remember it.

The first settlements sprang up near warm springs and sunlit valleys, where the earth’s breath was still warm beneath the surface. These hearths, crackling with fire and teeming with new life, became sacred spaces. From them, tribes spread like seedlings carried by the winds of the thaw, each beginning to weave their own threads into the great tapestry of history.

Land & Climate

The land in this Age was one of constant change. The glaciers, while retreating, had left behind a world marked by deep ruts and scars, vast plains where rivers now flowed freely, carving new paths into the earth. Sacred mountains, once hidden under the mantle of ice, now rose high into the sky, their peaks gleaming with the last of the snow that refused to leave. Vast, fertile valleys were formed as the ice melted, becoming fertile grounds for the growth of life.

The climate was unpredictable—seasons were not yet fully tamed, and the warmth that seeped from the land was both a blessing and a curse. The first tribal peoples settled near hot springs and riverbanks, places where warmth clung to the earth. These places became not only refuges but shrines, where the very act of survival was seen as sacred.

This was an age of upheaval, as the land shook itself free from the grip of ice, and nature began to reclaim what had been buried for eons. The peoples of the age, guided by a sense of the land’s deep memory, worshipped the flowing rivers, the rocks that held the warmth of the earth’s core, and the towering trees that witnessed the passing of eons.

Peoples & Cultures

The first tribes of the Hearth Tribes were born in the wake of the glaciers’ retreat. These tribes lived in close communion with the earth, their lives shaped by the rhythms of the land and the sacred warmth of the hearth. They were not just survivalists, but dreamers—those who gathered around the fire and shared the warmth of the flames, passing down the first stories, binding themselves not just by blood but by shared dreams and visions.

Alongside these peoples, the Elder Kin began to stir in the woodlands, mountains, and ruins left by the forgotten Flowering World. These beings—the Elves, Fey-touched, and other beings born of forgotten ages—walked with a quiet grace, appearing in sacred groves and overgrown ruins. Their knowledge, passed down in riddles and whispered omens, guided the first mortals toward wisdom and understanding. These ancient beings were not rulers, but whispers of the past, offering signs and symbols that would guide the world into its next era.

The Stone Dwellers, remnants of ancient civilizations, were also present during this age. These enigmatic people lived in caves, carving their lives into the stone walls and leaving behind strange symbols, whose meanings were still deciphered only in the fading light of ancient memory. They spoke of forgotten gods and older times, and their ruins still echo with the chants and prayers of their long-gone inhabitants.

Magic & Mysticism

Magic in the Age of Thawing was not yet the learned craft it would later become. Instead, it was a primal force, a force of nature that was felt in the very land itself. It was found in the rush of water, in the crackling of fire, in the whisper of the wind, and in the silent passage of the stars overhead.

The early magics of this age were deeply entwined with nature—the powers of the earth were called upon to heal, to create, and to protect. Shamans and oracles would channel the energy of the land, interpreting omens in the movements of animals, the patterns of clouds, and the alignment of stars. The rivers themselves were thought to possess divine spirits, and the first rituals were performed by the water’s edge, where mortals could commune with these primordial forces.

In the deep, forgotten groves and crumbling ruins, the Relic-Binders began their work, seeking out the lost knowledge of the Flowering World. Their tasks were both sacred and dangerous, for the ancient magics they uncovered could bind the soul or call forth terrible powers from beyond the veil.

Creatures & Beasts

The last of the Titanic Beasts roamed the earth during this age. The woolly mammoths, sun-bears, and moonfang lions moved across the land in small, lingering groups, seen only once in a generation. These creatures were not merely beasts—they were the last living memories of an older world, giants of the age before, whose passing was both feared and revered. Their tracks were treated as sacred markings, and their existence was a reminder of the power and mystery of the land.

The Scaled Remnants, descendants of draconic bloodlines or ancient, titanic reptiles, began to take their places in the great cycles of the earth. These ancient beings, whether reptilian or draconic, were seen as both protectors and omens—guardians of deep places and forgotten paths.

Conflict & Memory

The age was not one of war, but of primal struggle—the struggle of life to rise from the cold and carve a place in a world that was no longer silent and frozen. There were skirmishes among tribes, as they sought to claim the richest riverbanks or the most fertile lands. The memory of the old world, whispered in the winds and rivers, shaped much of the age’s conflict. The Elder Kin and the Hearth Tribes were at times allies, at times rivals, as they navigated the path forward.

Some of the great early conflicts, such as those between the Stone Dwellers and the newly awakened tribes, have passed into legend, their causes now shrouded in myth. Was it a battle for survival, or a clash of differing beliefs about the sacredness of the earth? The echoes of these first conflicts still reverberate through the songs and stories of the people.

Artifacts & Ruins

The ruins of the Flowering World still stand as monuments to an older, forgotten time. Among these ruins, the first Relic-Binders discovered artifacts—cracked tablets, ancient rings, and fragments of shattered statues. These relics held knowledge, not only of the past but of the great powers that once ruled the world. Some were seen as keys to unlocking forbidden knowledge, while others were sacred objects, passed down as symbols of the ancient gods.

One such artifact, the Song-Stone, was discovered in the valley of the sacred river. It was said to be an ancient relic of the Elder Kin, a stone that sang the stories of the world’s first days when the ice was still thick upon the land. To touch it was to hear the voice of the earth itself.

Legacy of the Age

The Age of Thawing set into motion the very rhythms of life that would define the coming ages. The tribes that emerged from this age would shape the future, as would the first rites, the first kinships, and the first myths. The relics uncovered would become sacred texts, the stories whispered into the wind would shape the language of the future, and the memory of this age would be passed down as the foundation of all that was to come.

The rivers that flowed freely and the fires that crackled with warmth would live on as symbols of unity and survival, and the echoes of the Elder Kin would remain, woven into the songs of the hearth. The seeds of a thousand future cultures, stories, and civilizations had been planted, and in time, the age would be remembered not just as a time of survival, but as the time when the world first awoke to itself.

Optional Extras

Named Tribes or Heroic Lineages:
The Flamebearers – A tribe that was said to have first discovered the sacred art of fire-tending, their rituals preserved in sacred stone tablets.
The Riverweavers – A nomadic people who believed they were descendants of the sacred rivers themselves, able to read the currents for divine guidance.
Moon Phases or Celestial Events:
During this age, the alignment of stars during the first winter solstice was seen as an omen—some believed it heralded the beginning of the age of humankind.
Early Languages or Scripts:
The first glyphs of the Stone Dwellers were discovered carved into the sides of ancient cliffs. These pictograms, though difficult to understand, are thought to represent the earliest written form of communication.
Major Taboo or Law:
In the early days of the Hearth Tribes, it was taboo to speak the names of the great Titanic Beasts aloud, for doing so was said to invoke their ghosts, who could turn the world cold again.
Sidebar: “How This Age Is Interpreted Today”
The Age of Thawing is remembered as the time when the world first exhaled, casting off the long grip of winter. In later epics, it is portrayed as a time of the gods’ silent watchfulness, a period before human-kind could rise to their potential. In modern times, scholars debate the historical truth of the great floods and fires that shaped the world’s first civilizations, but the stories are cherished nonetheless.

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