Prior to Common Unification, the history of Somnum a had no singular system of recording. Often referred to as the "Age of Giants" or "Pre-Unified Age", this period was defined by the struggle of the Mortalkind to fight off Dragons and giant-kin from the Head of the Greatwyrm. Though they eventually succeeded in driving them to the Body of the Greatwyrm, much of its history was inaccurate, inconsistent, or lost outright. Tales from this time period were often considered folklore as much as they were historical fact, and few smallfolk were long-lived enough to give firsthand accounts of such matters.
Most information of this age was lost due to the incredibly dangerous conditions of the world, filled with magic and monstrosities. Different cultures generally did not share languages, systems of writing, or measurements of time, and amalgamating accounts from the past became a fervent ordeal for academics. Disparate tellings of similar events from different smallfolk were abundant; for instance, extensive records from long-lived Elf scholars often clashed with Dwarf historical accounts. Oftentimes, recorded or orally-kept details were so far-fetched that the truth was considered dubious.
Though the accuracy of information was often muddy or contradictory, known events that occurred prior to Unification were recorded on the Age of Giants Timeline.