Age of Sorrows
The Age of Sorrows is an event that features in White Wolf's Exalted.
Contents |
History
The Age of Sorrows was the name given to the historical era in the Exalted universe that followed the catastrophic end of the First Age. It was not a specific, singular event but rather a period of profound decline, chaos, and struggle that began with the Usurpation, also known as the Great Betrayal. During this pivotal moment, the Dragon-Blooded (Terrestrial Exalted), manipulated by the Sidereal Exalted, rose up and slaughtered the vast majority of the Solar Exalted, who had ruled the world as powerful and righteous god-kings. The Solars were thought to have fallen to a primordial death-curse that drove them mad, turning them into monstrous tyrants, which provided the justification for the Usurpation. Their murder effectively ended the "Golden Age" of unparalleled magic and wonder, ushering in an age where the world was diminished, wonders died with their previous masters, and a new, harsher, less-magical reality set in under the rule of the Dragon-Blooded.
The domestic and geopolitical landscape of the newly established Scarlet Empire entered a highly volatile state of permanent taxation and strict military subjugation over the subsequent seven centuries of the Empress's reign. Operating from the Blessed Isle, the ruling Dynastic Houses utilized their elite, dragon-blooded forces to aggressively dominate the outer Threshold, forcing independent mortal nations to pay exorbitant tributes of jade and resources in exchange for protection against external terrors. This heavily regulated peace was maintained through the absolute surveillance of the All-Seeing Eye, a clandestine state intelligence apparatus that systematically tracked and assassinated suspected political dissidents and rogue sorcerers. However, this stable infrastructure collapsed entirely when the Scarlet Empress suddenly vanished from her private chambers without leaving an heir, throwing the imperial court into an immediate succession crisis. In the absence of her stabilizing authority, the Great Houses immediately mobilized their private legions and hoarded their military assets, turning the imperial capital into a paranoid powder keg on the absolute brink of a catastrophic global civil war.
The structural and supernatural balance of the world experienced a terrifying paradigm shift when the ancient, long-buried cosmic champions known as the Solar Exalted simultaneously began reincarnating across the planet after eons of systematic ideological imprisonment. For centuries, the ruling Dragon-Blooded and their fanatical religious order, the Immaculate Philosophy, had hunted these entities down as demonic abominations, executing their nascent mortal hosts through a global tracking protocol known as the Wyld Hunt. However, the sudden dissolution of the imperial command structure allowed dozens of newly awakened Solars to successfully evade the hunt, rapidly mastering near-infinite martial arts and solar sorceries that completely catch the local garrisons off guard. This sudden influx of god-like entities catalyzed a severe surge in localized anti-imperial rebellions across the Threshold, as ancient, forgotten Solar god-kings reclaimed their ancestral throne rooms, transforming the outer provinces into volatile battlegrounds where mortal rebels openly defied the dragon-blooded elite.
Overview
In appearance, the Age of Sorrows was a shattered reflection of the glorious First Age it replaced. Following the Usurpation, the world entered an era of profound decline and desolation, marking a period where the immense power and magic of the past began to wane. The great works, wonders, and enlightened civilization of the Solar Exalted fell into ruin as their Dragon-Blooded successors proved incapable of maintaining such a complex and advanced world. The initial origin of this era was a world reeling from the sudden, violent removal of its god-kings; the grand infrastructure of the First Age crumbled, the highly sophisticated technology and wonders ceased to function without their creators and masters, and society fragmented into smaller, warring states and isolated pockets of civilization. The landscape itself bore the scars of this transition, marked by forgotten ruins, collapsing magical defenses, and a general air of decay, where the surviving populace struggled amidst widespread poverty, ignorance, and constant conflict in a world significantly less magical and more dangerous than the one that had just ended.
Participants
- Chejop Kejak : architect of the conspiracy and the leader of the Bronze Faction, he was the primary mind behind the plan to overthrow the Solar Exalted, manipulate the Dragon-Blooded into doing the fighting, and hide the truth from the other gods and the Gold Faction. He is still alive in the current Age of Sorrows, serving as the Mouth of Peace and leader of the Immaculate Order, the state religion that justifies Dragon-Blooded rule and the hunting of "Anathema" (Solar and Lunar Exalted).
- Peleps Deled :
- Cynis Tehani :
Appearances
- Exalted:
External Link
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
