The Timeline of Ruin Mist

At a Glance: The Four Ages

• First Age — Age of Titans: Dominion, revolt, sacrifice, and the sealing of Over-Earth.
• Second Age — Age of Men, Elves & Dwarves: Self-rule and uneasy coexistence.
• Third Age — Age of Men & Elves: Betrayal, then a thousand-year war.
• Fourth Age — Age of Men: Victory, censorship, outlawed magic, and the return of darkness.

The First Age — Age of Titans

The First Age belongs to the ancients—titans, dragons, eagle lords—and to the vast, distant domain called Over-Earth. The lesser races live beneath colossal authority, their lives shaped by power so old it feels like nature.

Key Turning Points

• Titan Dominion: The world is ruled by titans; lesser races exist under their control.
• The Great Purge: The titan Ky’el chooses sacrifice over supremacy, breaking the chain of dominion.
• The Sealing: The only known gate to Over-Earth is sealed, and the realm fades from recorded life into legend.

In later ages, Over-Earth becomes a myth to many—dismissed by those who prefer the comfort of smaller histories.

The Second Age — Age of Men, Elves & Dwarves

After the sealing of Over-Earth, the “brother races” begin to govern their own fates. It is an age of building—of cities, laws, alliances, and identities—yet even in prosperity, tension quietly grows.

Key Turning Points

• Self-Governance: Men, elves, and dwarves rise into sovereignty.
• Relative Coexistence: Trade, shared borders, and uneasy cooperation shape the era.
• Old Shadows Stir: As memories fade, pride hardens; political fractures deepen beneath the surface.

The Second Age is often remembered as a time of “before”—before betrayal, before the long war, before the world learned to fear its own magic.

The Third Age — Age of Men & Elves

The Third Age is defined by a wound that never stops bleeding: the Great War—also called the War of Ten Million Tears. It lasts one thousand years, long enough to become the only reality many ever know.

The Spark: The Betrayal of Dnyarr

• The Betrayal: The Elf King Dnyarr commits an act that shatters trust between the races.
• The Collapse: A single treachery becomes a thousand-year cycle of vengeance.

The War: A Thousand Years of Attrition

• A War of Generations: Civilizations rise and fall in the shadow of constant conflict.
• Magical Devastation: Ancient relics and powerful magic are used until survivors fear magic itself.
• The Withdrawing of the Dwarves: Exhausted and diminished, dwarves fade from history into legend.
• The Ruins of Time: Cities become scars; landscapes become memorials.

The End: Victory of Men

• Decisive End: The Kingdoms of Men prevail—at terrible cost.
• Legacy of Hate: Peace does not follow; only a different kind of war begins.

The Fourth Age — Age of Men

The Fourth Age begins with victory, but victory carries a darker companion: fear. In the aftermath of a thousand-year war, Men attempt to control the future by controlling the past.

The Great Cleansing

• Records Destroyed: Books and histories that do not fit the kingdom’s narrative are burned.
• Magic Outlawed: Magic is hunted, feared, and “cleansed to dust.”
• Propaganda Replaces Memory: Truth becomes what power says it is.

The Dark Age (500 Years)

• A Long Silence: For five centuries, knowledge is restricted and the past is simplified.
• Elves Driven to the Reaches: Isolation hardens; myths replace living understanding.
• The Forbidden Past: What remains of history survives in fragments—whispers, hidden texts, and the memories of those who refuse to forget.

The Return of Darkness

• Old Powers Stir: Threats older than kingdoms rise again.
• Unity or Ruin: Men and elves must confront what they think they know—and what they were taught to fear.
• History Collides with Reality: The past does not remain buried. It demands a reckoning.