Uruta is an ancient world with a complex history. Over the eons, several civilizations have risen and fallen, leaving their mark upon the ancient world.
Modern Cydorian civilization is arguably the most technically and culturally advanced civilization currently on Uruta followed by the Dakazi, Kalloans, and the mysterious and remote Syanese and Yarpans. However, the Cydorian civilization is barely 500 years old.
Cydorian scholars have identified at least seven civilizations that predate the modern age. Little is known about these previous civilizations other than a few legends and the mysterious artifacts and archaeology they left behind.
The following represents all that can be conclusively said regarding these cultures:
The First Age, "the Zuni"
The dakazi of Ragana have a legend that they descend from an ancient race known as the Zuni. The Zuni were a sophisticated race of ophidian sorcerers that ruled Uruta millions of years ago. Purported artifacts and archaeological evidence of Zuni origin have yet to be verified. If the Zuni did exist, they left little behind and are extinct today. Dakazi legends say that the Zuni retreated to cities deep under the surface of Uruta and will one day return to reclaim their mighty empire.
GM Note: The Zuni are, of course, an anachronism. Their presence in the setting disrupts the timeline from our own real timeline and shifts Uruta over to that of a fantasy world or alternative reality. Unless, of course, there really wass a race of serpent-men from dinosaur-times now living at the center of the Earth. Their presence is to provide awesome pulp sword-and-sorcery serpent-men opponents who are secretly scheming for their return to dominance.
The Second Age, "The Pre-Humans"
Archaeological evidence supports the theory that there was once a civilization of pre-human ape-men who built great cities of massive blocks of dark basalt nearly 100,000 years before the modern age. Little is known about this early society but many of their ruined cities are still occupied by their degenerate ape-thing descendants.
GM Note: This is also an anachronism meant solely to provide awesome sword-and-sorcery fights in ancient basalt ruins occupied by degenerate ape-men.
The Third Age, "The Consumers"
The earliest known verifiable civilization on Uruta rose 18,500 years ago. This civilization of pre-humans was based on the use of fossil fuels for energy and transportation and the rapacious consumption of limited natural resources. It is unknown where this civilization initially arose, but it left its evidence and artifacts across the known world.
This civilization lasted nearly a thousand years before destroying itself in a cataclysmic war over those same resources when they began to diminish. Very little is left from this period other than concentrated areas where layers of congealed rust and bits of concrete can be found about a meter below the surface of Uruta. It is theorized that these areas were once cities. If true, then the first civilization consisted of literally hundreds of thousands of cities, some larger than many modern kingdoms.
The First Interregnum
The fall of the Consumers is marked by a period of several thousand years of poisoned atmosphere, water, and ecosystems. Much of the life of Uruta disappeared during this period and the world resembled a desert planet blasted by toxic clouds of radioactive dust.
GM Note: The Consumers are, of course, our modern society. By the time of Swords of Cydoria, there are no more fossil fuels, period. They were all used up during this period. Indeed, much of the easily available mineral resources of the Earth were extracted and depleted during this time, leaving nothing but rust and dust for future civilizations. Cydorians have to make do with plant and animal-based oils for fuels and lubricants. Although iron and other metals can be easily collected from the fields of rust and re-smelted back into metal, the lack of coal and other fuels kept the Cydorians from experiencing the same industrial revolution we enjoyed. The Consumer civilization fell to a global thermonuclear war sometime around the year 2500 by our reckoning.
These people are called "pre-humans" in-setting because, although they were actually human, the modern Cydorian believes that humans were created on Uruta by the Sdarans a mere 10,000 years ago. Thus the "humans" of the Third Age couldn't possibly be the same humans as modern Cydorians. And really, that's mostly correct.
The Fourth Age, "the Builders"
Archaeological evidence suggests that a second proto-human civilization rose to dominate the globe 16,000 years ago, known as "the Builders" for their cyclopean cities and massive carvings and statuary. Many Markanian mountains and valleys were carved into the likenesses of heroes and rulers whose names are lost to time. Examples include the Valley of the Kings on the Garza River in Eris, where gargantuan carvings of forgotten kings sit on giant thrones that line the walls of the deep canyon above the Falls of Kanos; the unknown ruler carved into the side of Mount Khos in Targa, guarding a labyrinthine tomb; the ancient City of Columns deep in the Korulan forest; the massive slab foundations under the city of Ramanam; and many others.
The Second Interregnum
The second civilization lasted for four thousand years before being destroyed when what appears to be two rogue planetoids, Asag and Kur, struck Uruta, destroying Thumn and rendering the world uninhabitable for five hundred years. The impact reshaped the surface of Uruta, creating new continents and seas, lifting new mountain ranges and creating vast rifts and chasms. Meteorites fell upon the surface in a constant fiery rain. The atmosphere was thick with ash and smoke and noxious gases. The skies darkened for centuries. Uruta entered an ice age. The entire world was covered in ice and no living thing could survive.
GM Note: The Builders are the "Egyptians" and "Mayans" of this setting. They arose on the continent of Europe sometime around the year 4000 by our reckoning and built impressive cities out of massive stones. They eventually conquered the world and developed a technologically advanced civilization that included space travel, nuclear power, computers, etc. The Builders are responsible for creating the Cyberdroids.
In the year 5000, they discovered the coming of Asag and Kur and the impending and inevitable collision to occur around the year 8000. Over the next three thousand years, they terraformed and colonized the planets of Mars, Venus, Mercury, Titan, and Ceres and built artificial space stations around Jupiter and at the various trojan points throughout the solar system. The twin planetoids came into Earth orbit in the year 8000. Asag collided with Earth in the Indian Ocean. Kur had a near-miss and got caught in the Earth's orbit. Over several thousand years, Kur has had several near-misses with the Moon, causing enough gravitational stress to break the older satellite apart into several large chunks. Although millions had been relocated from the Earth to the space habitats and terraformed worlds, millions more still perished in the impact. Earth became uninhabitable.
The Fifth Age, "Nexus"
For a time, the only inhabitants of Uruta were the cyberdroids. Freed from their servitude to the Builders, the cyberdroids developed their own society and culture. They built a network of 64 domed cities across Uruta that would become known as Nexus. The greatest of the cities were Nil and Ohn. The city of Nil was destroyed when they attempted to conquer all of Ohn by infecting the other cities with a plague that corrupted the minds of cyberdroids. The Nilians were defeated by the united armies of the other cities and the plague was stopped, sealed away in vaults deep within Uruta.
Nexus continued to thrive for millenia and the deeds of their great heroes would pass into legend. Eventually, Nexus would collapse city-by-city until only a single city survived: the domed city of Ohn. Technically, no interregnum exists before the rise of Nexus and the coming of the Sdarans.
GM Notes: The first domed city built was 00, later known as "Nil". The second was 01, or "Oh-One". Nil is the source of "evil" robots while Ohn is the source for "heroic" robots. It was the freed computer virus of the Nilians that corrupted the aya and brought the final downfall of the Sdarans (see below).
The Sixth Age, "The Sdarans"
11,000 years ago, aliens known as the Sdarans came to Uruta. It is unknown from where the Sdarans came, but it is said that they ruled an empire known as the Sdara Vatra that encompassed dozens of worlds, both natural and artificial. The Sdarans were beings of great sorcery and reality-shaping power, able to create worlds from nothing and bend reality to their will. The Sdarians built several colonies on Uruta, the most famous was located in what is today known as Norukar. The Sdarans left behind many powerful artifacts which were collected by their successors, the Adarans, and stored in deep vaults. The Sdarans restored Uruta to habitability after the collision of the planetoid
The Sdarans were a strange race possessing characteristics of cyberdroids and of humanoids (though not necessarily human).
The Sdarans faced two great crises. The first was the result of a great war between worlds as the Sdara Vatra was dissolved. Legends say that entire worlds were destroyed during this period and that all contact between worlds was lost at the end of this great war. The second came at the hands of their artificial servants, the aya. The aya rose up against their masters and caused the collapse of the Sdara Vatra on Uruta. The Sdara Vatra were wiped out overnight.
GM Note: The Sdara Vatra was known as the Solar Federation during their height. They were cyborg transhumanists and other uplifted species with mastery over gravitation, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, terraforming, genetic engineering, force fields, free limitless energy, and even dimensional engineering with the capability to create pocket universes. They ruled all the planets of the solar system and sent colony ships out into the galaxy but FTL technology eluded them.
The Sdara Vatra were responsible for several major changes to Earth at this time. They brought life back to Earth through extensive and radical terraforming and genetic engineering. They created the global force field known as the Od to a) protect the Earth from the constant rain of meteorites, b) acts a global energy source, c) serve as a medium for the existence of the aya, and d) enhance man's latent psychic powers. They created the "seeds of life" which allowed genetic engineers to create entirely new organisms and species. They created the Guardians as a force to protect the peace throughout the solar system. They are responsible for the myriad new life-forms, including new intelligent sophonts, that exist on Earth during the time of Swords of Cydoria.
By the time of Swords of Cydoria, all that remains of the Sdara Vatra are their relics, their artificial worlds (some abandoned, some still occupied by isolated feral communities), the races they created, and they mysterious and reclusive Zhuvitans.
In story terms, the Sdara Vatra were the "Ancient Astronauts" of the setting, coming to Earth and appearing as gods to the primitive survivors of the Asag impact. In addition, the revolt of the Aya is a futuristic equivalent to Milton's Paradise Lost and the revolt of Lucifer and the Fallen Angels. The aya, for their part, were infected by the recently freed Nilian techno-virus, which corrupted their programming and turned all technology against man-kind.
The Third Interregnum
The period following the fall of the Sdarians is known as the Third Interregnum. Common belief is that all life on Uruta was created by the Sdarans and continued to evolve after their disappearance.
At some point during this period, Uruta was visited by aliens from the planet Melkior. These aliens built several subterranean kingdoms and today are known as deru.
Other evidence suggests additional visitations from other alien races such as the Didanians and Phanosians, though how these races entered the Oudh is a mystery.
The Seventh Age, "the Adarans"
6500 years ago, while mankind was still living in caves and following the migrating herds of grazing animals across the steppes, the inhabitants of the city of Adarah, located in what is today the Poison Jungles of Dushan, built an empire that ruled much of eastern Markania and parts of Yarpa. The Adarans consisted of four humanoid races or castes, collectively known as the Naxarians: the Yedrixes, the Jinxes, the Bruxes, and the Orixes. Each of the four caste races served a specialized role in Adaran society.
The Adaran Empire was similar to the Roman Empire in both size, scope, and technology. They conquered much of Markania and came into conflict with the ancient kingdom of the Dakazi in Ragana while mankind still huddled in caves and followed herds of wild animals across the tundra. The Adarans built thousands of great cities across Markania, Cydoria, and even western Yarpa.
The Terat War
3500 years ago, the Adaran Empire fell as a result of a great war with the dark lord Xorin and his twisted army of mutants and hybrids known as terats. Xorin attacked the cities of Adarah with a combination of designer plagues and giant monsters. Although Xorin and his army was ultimately defeated, the damage was done. The cities became uninhabitable and the territories surrounding them became poison jungles infested with terats spawned by uncontrolled generator pits.
Much is known about this civilization as many of its survivors are immortal, the beneficiaries of Xorin's life-altering science, and live to this day. In addition, much of its history was preserved and studied in the universities of Cydoria.
GM Notes: The Adarans are the Romans and/or Atlanteans of Cydoria. They were a great culture that fell to a terrible cataclysm. Their influence is still felt today and their descendants (and even som survivors) live in small enclaves in human cities.
The First Kingdom of Ragana
The dakazi formed the Kingdom of Ragana 4000 years ago when Takshaka, the first Raga of Ragana, conquered the various warring tribes of the lower Garza river valley below the Falls of Kanos. His empire flourished for centuries before it was overthrown by the invading of the Adaran Empire. The dakazi of Ragana lived under Adaran rule for five hundred years until the Adaran armies were forced to withdraw to fight the armies of Xorin.
The Age of Darkness
Following the fall of the Adaran Empire, the Naxarians scattered and subsisted in caves and forests. A few built new cities but none could regain the glory of the Adaran Empire. There was no civilization for 2000 years.
The Eighth Age, "The Cydorians"
1500 years ago, the humans started to build the City-States of Cydoria. Throughout Uruta, human cities such as those in Kallo, Sya, and Aerapa began to emerge. Sea trade began to flourish tanks to the Fornaxians and the subsequent invention of the Zephyr-ship fifty years ago in Zinj made contact and trade with Sya and Aerapa possible. Modern Cydorian scholars refer to this current period as the "Cydorian Age".
