Earthmasters is the common name used for the first inhabitants of Hârn; the name by which they knew themselves is lost. Surviving murals and sculpture portray humanoid figures of diverse stature and configuration. This might indicate that they were either shape-changers or of several distinct species. When and from where the Earthmasters came is unknown. Legends tell of an empire flourishing on Hârn 15,000 to 20,000 years ago. There is physical evidence to suggest their presence in Lythia and many believe that the Earthmasters controlled all of Kethira. Persistent legends claim they could travel vast distances instantaneously, change the weather at will, and control the minds of lesser creatures.
Earthmaster Sites
Stories of the Ancients are so incredible that their very existence could be dismissed were it not for the sites and artifacts they left. These mysterious ruins can be found scattered across Hârn and elsewhere. Considering their antiquity, it is remarkable that anything survives at all. Known sites tend to be in remote, inaccessible locations. Physical evidence of roads linking the sites has never been found. Although above-ground remains tend to be poorly preserved, most sites have extensive and wellcrafted underground chambers and tunnels. One legend describes the lost city of Lahr-Darin, said to exist beneath some mountain on Hârn.
Earthmaster Artifacts
Known Earthmaster sites have been repeatedly sacked and several outstanding artifacts have been secured by persons of power. The kings of Evael, Azadmere, and Kaldor are said to possess Earthmaster artifacts and many others are said to be in the keeping of the mages of Melderyn. The most enduring and mysterious artifacts of all are the “Godstones” found at all Earthmaster sites. For more information about Godstones and Earthmaster artifacts, see Godstones (COL #4915).
The Departure of the Earthmasters
Approximately 16,000 years ago, the Ancients suddenly vanished from the face of Hârn. Their departure remains a subject of uneasy conjecture. Why did they leave? Where did they go? Will they return? Some have claimed that the Earthmasters never left but merely withdrew to the Isle of Melderyn, where their descendants reside to this day.
Dating and Sindarin Perceptions
Scholars are unable to date artifacts by purely physical tests. Hence, there is no reliable physical material evidence as to when the Earthmasters dwelt on Kethira. They obviously predate the Sindarin because their relics were present when the elves arrived.
Some modern scholars theorize such relics were the constructs of an advanced human civilization. While it is true that civilizations rise and fall, their collapse generally does not involve the disappearance of the race. When the Sindarin arrived on Hârn and in northwestern Lythia (c. 10,000 BT) however, they perceived their surroundings to be free of humanity.
The Sindarin found numerous Earthmaster ruins and artifacts and, although the elves find many of these spiritually repellent, some of them were certainly curious about their origins.
O mighty cones and shadowed spires
That quell the living heart,
That cast thy baleful unseen glooms,
And tear the soul apart.
What daunted hand, what twisted fear,
Hath raised thy roof and wall?
Against what horror art thou wrought
What power caused thy fall?
These anonymous words were written by an explorer soon after the elves arrived on Hârn. Which site they describe is unknown, but the author clearly perceives it to be a fortress and wonders what threat could have caused it to be built and to have eventually ruined it.
Divinatory Dating
The date of the Earthmaster arrival on Kethira has been tentatively established by divination at 20,000 BT, and that of their departure at 15,000 BT. These dates are probably accurate to within a millennium.