The World that came before
That’s what we call it, the before now. There were generations of people just like us who trode upon Gaia. Generations of people who built a world of metal upon the fertile ground, who harnessed all of the mothers gifts and turned them into weapons. Generations of people who made war upon each other, who defiled and raped the land, and used and used and used until Gaia was made a husk, until the mother could no longer sustain life. The people died, their souls filling the well to bursting, and the Earth, sweet Gaia, slept. She slept and gradually she shifted and changed and blanketed herself in earth and sea and forests and sand. Rejuvenated, the animals made their homes in her burrows and plains, in the crevices and open places, in the oceans and in the mountains and tall trees. The Keeper of the well watched as the great mother brought forth life once again after her long slumber, time having buried man’s hateful legacies.
By now Gaia had grown old, the Earth would not survive another rejuvenation cycle, and so the Keeper decided to give humans a final chance to be stewards of the land, to grow past their mistakes, to live and care for their ancient mother. But to grow from past mistakes, one must know their past mistakes, and so the Keeper chose eight of the oldest souls from the well, eight queens who would found eight nations, and with the last of the Keeper’s strength the queens were gifted with the knowledge of the world that came before. They would know of the darkest evil humanity is capable of. Those memories are passed to one of their children, and the child who inherits the memories inherits the throne, so that history is never forgotten, rulers and prophets both. The queens wrote books filled with the knowledge of the memories so that all of humanity might learn how to live in harmony, might have knowledge of the world that came before, so that we might all learn of our forebears mistakes and do better.
And thus was born the third age of man.
Excerpt from the study journal of Elara, fourth Princess of Marchosia.