History
🔆 People, depicted in profile, worshipping what must be gods - rain, thunder, light, time, earth, the usual. Then, a number of such people caught in a ritual with their hands to the sky. Lastly, the gods fleeing from... something. There is a gap on the panel, and it's unclear whether it was meant to represent some kind of void, or if this piece simply crumbled to dust with time... or someone destroyed it on purpose.
~ Mural, Tomb of the Oracles, depicting the Ancient Entities seizing power in the First Age of the New World's history
Ancient beings that centuries, or perhaps millenia, ago usurped the original pantheon of the New World and seized dominion over it. They ruled over multiple civilization, witnessing, or perhaps causing, their rise and fall. These civilizations include Dwarves, Elves and Halflings, who each had their epoch of glory followed by a violent ending.
Titled 'before': The piece is divided in two halves:
"At the bottom, in warm colors, is a highly detail depiction of pyramids and tall spires that populate a lush forest or jungle. Humanoid figures, of disproportionate size, stand in between the structures. Some hold cornucopias and chalices, others parchment and quill, or intricate accesories of unknown purpose. Regardless, all of them share a single feature, a clear white tile positioned in the middle of their forehead.
At the top, in blues and violets, is the sky. Pieces of quartz represent stars, arranged in winding paths that connect the land beneath with half a dozen big celestial bodies at the chamber's ceiling."
Titled 'after':
"At the bottom, in fiery red, rivers of blood encircle crumbled pyramids. Crooked spires raise among darkened vegetation. The giant humanoids now cover their faces with both hands; offerings rotting at their feet. The clear tile on their forehead is the only opaque tile on this translucent mosaic.
At the top, the sky is ablaze, The quartz dots have dimmed, leaving previously obscured tiles shine brighter. Hundreds of glass beads form a multicolored vortex that cascades down towards the realm below. An eldritch maw from beyond."
~ Murals, Saqqaran Observatory, depicting the upheaval of social order at the arrival of the AE
Eventually, their own reign came to an end in the Fifth Age of the New World's history, when an army of Dragons would declare war on them. Through great sacrifice of their own lives and various humanoids caught in the crossfire, the Dragons were able to "kill" one of the Entities and seal the rest of them.
🌸 And finally, the last panel - seemingly an apocalypse. The ground is broken, shattered, and the same winged orbs from before are rising upwards from the earth. Two of them are the largest, and they are hatched, revealing something that could be Dragons. Next, people of all kinds are shown fleeing through many doors and archways, while the Draconic beings are fighting the hungry void. They seem to have emerged victorious, as the latter is fractured into smaller fragments, shown again inside great shields - finally imprisoned?
~ Mural, Tomb of the Oracles, depicting the Dragons' victory and the sealing of the AE, Fifth Age
Yet, as time has passed, the Entities' seals have weakened and they have once again begun to spread their influence, recruiting agents to do their bidding and break the very seals themselves. With the deaths of several dragons in the Dragon Civil War centuries ago, including the Great Wyrm himself, dragonkind finds itself in a precarious position. With seals weakening, the dragons facing natural extinction and the Entities becoming more active despite confinement, it seems the Guild's presence will play a huge role in deciding the fate of this Ancient conflict.
Deities
Cross-referencing information shared by the Dragon Lagamal, the list of deities worshipped by the Dwarves in Crucible 2 and the reliefs found in the tunnels under Zar-Mothet, possibly of Drow origin, we know of eight deities:
- Monday
The eight deities worshipped by the Dwarves share similarities with the known AE, but it has not been possible to establish a consistent one to one correspondence between the two lists. The latter deities were named: Anvil-Mind, Rust-Lord, Echo lord of recording, Core-Builder, Shiftspark the Gear-Tender, Ore Heart god of the Mountain, Data Engine lord of data manipulation and Steam Warden god of steam power.
Another entity has begun to spread its influence, although, this one isn't mentioned in most sources alongside the others:
Members
See individual deities' entries for more information on their followers.