Year 138 of the 7th Age (2152)
Famas
L'Naym Residence
"All the land became ash."
Ingstar gently ran his hand over the large stone covered with stone etchings that his mother had been translating.
It was ancient, dating back to the late 2nd Age, over nine thousand years before.
The Age of Wandering had lasted for 8000 years. But then, 14,000 years ago, the Age of Settling
had begun. It had begun thanks to a major development- the domestication of animals. Animals which could be
used both for labor and transportation, animals which had gradually turned the early tribes from nomadic foragers/
hunter/gatherers into pastoralists.
With the aid of such beasts people could cover greater distances and ancient tribes had slowly expand westward,
with increasing numbers roaming the Great Dune Sea. Semi-permanent settlements had begin to form around the larger
oasis becoming the first villages. In the interior of the continent the first such settlements had been at the Balisha Oasis,
the Khasha Oasis and the Famas Oasis. At the same time groups of fishers had make semi-permanent settlements
on the eastern and southern coasts of the Golden Sands and on the rugged coasts of the Valo Hills Peninsula.
With semi permanent settlement had come the advent of early gardening. And with people having more reliable
sources of food, the Mating had struck more frequently. Tribes had increased in number, some with up to a hundred
members.
And that hadn't been all that had increased. Pictographic writing had developed at the settlement
of Famas and had rapidly spread. He had spent countless hours in Archives studying such writings painted, etched
and chiseled on rocks, clay, hide and canvas.
"I see you're busy studying even when you're getting ready to leave."
Ingstar looked up to see his mother standing in the doorway, arms folded.
Qyleen smiled and came up to him. "This brings back memories," she said as she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Even when you were barely a year old you always toddling your way into my or your father's study.
We tried to keep you in the nursery at first but you just kept coming in to our study areas. You enjoyed being with
us of course, but you especially loved to get your little hands on books or anything with writing on it. As far as you
were concerned they were better than any toy. Eventually we realized it was a waste of time trying to keep you
out because absolutely Inothing/I was going to stop you."
Ingstar smiled and embraced his mother. "I suppose not. And what better place for me to be than the study
of one of Famas' greatest archivists? Or one of its greatest linguists?"
His mother chuckled and then her eyes grew sad. "I suppose memories are all I'm going to have of you for awhile."
Ingstar's smile faded. He was leaving Famas in the morning. Once students reached Level 3 it was common
for them to leave their homes and spend a year or so studying abroad. It became a requirement once they
reached Level 4. This was seen as good preparation for the day they became adults and were on their own
permanently.
He had achieved Level 3 two years ago and now at the age of seventeen he would be leaving Famas
to study. He had selected from among the 'Scholar Cities.' Every city state on Nlia prided themselves on their
Houses of Learning but the Scholar Cities were particularly renowned.
In the Western Land there was of course Famas, the City of Scholars, Aviy, the City of the House of Knowledge
and Panomu, the City of Learning. In the Eastern Land there was Porthel, the City of Manuscripts and Galeel,
the City of High Reach.
He had chosen to go to the Northern Land. To Benlon, the City of Deep Roots. He had chosen it largely because
of his current focus in historical studies: the Cataclysm, the Northern Journey and the Founding of the Five Tribes.
11,000 years ago, midpoint of the 2nd Age, the Cataclysm had struck and wrecked havoc on not one but two
continents. The coastal areas of the Valo Hills Regions on the Western Continent and the Northern Tip of the
Eastern had suffered a series of cataclysmic earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Virtually every hill had been
split apart, filling the air with ash and fire. Great rents had opened in the earth belching lava. Entire areas near
the coasts had collapsed and fallen into the sea, forever altering the shape of the land.
The Western Continent had suffered the worst damage and for a thousand years afterwards the Valo Hills region
had suffered periodic eruptions and upheavals. And for a thousand years after the upheavals stopped the Peninsula
was still known as the 'Land of Ash' and other tribes had avoided it.
When the Cataclysm first happened nearly all of the tribes dwelling there had perished except for the few
who managed to flee eastward. Four villages of fishers from the northeastern coast however, had survived,
fleeing the destruction in their tiny boats.
The refugees had traveled northeast, following the migratory patterns of the now extinct White Gliders.
And they had made a monumental discovery: the Northern Land. A land as different from the Southern Lands
as the sun was from the moon. A land of endless green and covered in thick forests! The refugees had settled
in their bountiful new home and in time had become the Five Tribes: whose pale skinned descendants lived
in the Northern Lands to this day.
Separated from the rest of the Nlian race for thousands of years, the Northerners had developed their
own unique culture. All of the different tribes met regularly at the Caverns of Memory, the Grove of Memory
and the Lake of Memory, recording their history and knowledge in elaborate pictographs recorded on rock,
bark and later bark scrolls. The city of Benlon had arisen near the site of the Grove of Memory and was
the location of the North's largest collection of ancient knowledge.
"Mother..." Ingstar hugged his mother more tightly. "I'll only be away for a year and I'll visit."
She smiled. "I know. Don't mind me. My little boy's growing up and I have to let him leave the nest
and test his wings."
She moved out of his arms and over to the desk. "Benlon is the perfect place for you to study. You've been
spending so much time lately going over the founding of the Five Tribes and as they say in the North:
I'The best place to gain knowledge of something is at its roots."/I
Her smile broadened and her pride was obvious. "And as they also say in the North, I'A good seed,
with proper care, grows strong and in time produces many more seeds' /II've always known that you
were a strong seed, my son. And I know that you will produce many more."
DATES
200,000-20,000 B.C. (180,000 yrs)
The Time Before/The Most Ancient Days
20,000-12,000 B.C. (8000 years)
The First Age/The Age of Wandering
12,000-8,000 B.C. (4000 years)
The Second Age/The Age of Settling
9000 B.C.
The Cataclysm
9000-7000 B.C. (2000 years)
The Land of Ash