Age of Dragons¶
"Dragons ruled over the world and the worldstone and Elves served as their associates and emissaries." — The Nature of Magic (S208)
The Age of Dragons is the long era between the Demon Wars and the Shattering, when the Worldstone stood whole and whoever controlled it ruled Terrun. Two powers held it in turn: the High Elves of Anthu'Mithis, whose Elven Imperium the sources also call the Elven Ascension or the Pax Lothim Anthu, and after the First Dragon Wars the Draconians, whose world-empire is the Draconian Ascension or Pax Draconia (S419). Arcane magic was born in this age, and it ended when the Worldstone was destroyed. The treatise on magic gives it "approximately 14,000 years" (S208); the 2014 compendium names a calendar for it, DE, Draconic Edictus, but no date in that calendar survives (S372).
The ordinal is not ruled: the treatise calls this the Fourth Age, the 2014 compendium the Third, and the 2020 history folds it into its Age of Titans.
The Elven Imperium¶
"After the end of the Demon War, the High Elves were declared custodians of the Worldstone and the Primal Dragons as their protectors. The Einar formed a council of arch-wizards that controlled access to the Worldstone and trained many others in the art of this magic" (S386). The Mithis article agrees that the Worldstone "was initially controlled exclusively by the High Elves of Anthu'Mithis during the period known as the Elven Ascension/Pax Lothim Anthu" (S419). The Elves "consolidated their control over the continents, building far-reaching outposts and delegating some authority to their inferior cousins, the wood elves, as well as other faithful races" (S386). The last known Nephilim, a fallen Einar living on the Material, "was destroyed long before the Shattering during the Elven Imperium" (S520).
The 2015 ethnographies remember the Imperium from inside. The Avi'Lothim, the Moon Elves, "were the aristocracy of the ancient elvish empire, which ruled most of Terrun"; the Maridan'Lothim, the Sun Elves, built the mountain fortresses and valley cities the Avi still inhabit, and "no longer serve the Avi as they once did" (S387, S498).
The Einar did not stay united behind the custodians. They "quickly fell back into the familiar patterns of competition and conspiracy", fought out "among their mortal followers and pawns", and the biggest prize was the Primal Dragons. A faction of gods set out to restore the Throne of Law and undo Kalar's changes; "the Einar split into two groups: Kalari and Izhtarus. The Izhtarus recruited many Primal Dragons and a few arch-wizards to their cause, granting them Ascendancy and other power in return for their loyalty" (S386).
The birth of Arcane magic¶
"Great power was granted to the twelve Archwizards and their disciples who were able to tap directly into the power of the Worldstone. This was the birth of Arcane Magic. However, it was limited to High Elves, Dark Elves and some breeds of Draconians and Dragons" (S208). The first wizards' staves "allowed them direct access to the vast magical reserves of the Worldstone", and the wizards were governed by the Wizard's Covenant until the fall of the Council of Wizards (S208). The ability to harness Mithis "is in bloodlines", and all beings of Lothim descent carry it as "descendant[s] of the original owners and caretakers of the Worldstone" (S208). The outlawed art of the Spellbreaker, which turns Mithis against itself, was "originally employed during the Spell Wars" (S208); no source dates those wars.1
The Draconian Ascension¶
Fighting among the dragon broods became the First Dragon Wars, "just over a thousand years" of global war in which most of the Primal Dragons and their broods were slain. "Draconians crushed most of the Elven Imperium and gained control of the Worldstone and establish their own worldwide empire which lasted over 600 years before it's fall" (S386). The Mithis article names the new masters: "after the fall of the High Elves of Anthu'Mithis, the Worldstone fell under the control of the Twilight Dragons during the Draconian Ascension/Pax Draconia" (S419). The Aquitanian kingdom in what is now Qom "was wiped out" during the Draconic Ascension, and the Sun Elves were left "few in number" by it (S387).
"After a long reign and under unclear circumstances, the Worldstone was destroyed, throwing the entire planet into apocalyptic chaos" (S419). That is the Shattering, 0 MA, which closes this age and opens the Age of Magic.
Earlier accounts¶
The 2014 compendium (S372, S384) counts three Wars of the Dragons in this age and puts the Shattering at the start of them rather than the end. The Rakkari "were successful in bending a large group of primal dragons to their cause", and "during the First War of the Dragons, the Worldstone was shattered, releasing Ethereal magic into the world". The stone "only shattered, spreading billions of shards across the globe", and its binding on the Abyss "was mostly intact, though it became possible for gateways to the abyss and elemental planes to now be opened for short periods of time".
Second War of the Dragons¶
"The Second War of the Dragons saw the extinction of the Primal Dragons loyal to the Ventari, and the dominion of the Rakkari. The next two thousand years was one of constant conflict and destruction" (S372). The Ventari themselves "vanished from history in the middle of the third age, most dying out in the Dragon Wars of that age" (S372). The 2020 history has no second war in this age; its Second Dragon War is fought under Pravustiratel in the Age of Magic.
Third War of the Dragons¶
"At the brink of extinction, an alliance of Elves, Dwarves, Giants and Men began the Third War of the Dragons. During this apocalyptic war, the last of the Primal Dragons was killed. The Elves and Dwarves both suffered huge losses and a loss of the majority of their ancestral lands. The Giants, already few in number, were all but eradicated. Men seemed to bounce back the strongest after this Age" (S372). In the 2020 history the last Primal Dragons die much later, in the God Wars.
Gap
No source dates anything in this age, in DE or any other calendar, and none names a Draconian emperor, an elven ruler, or any of the twelve Archwizards other than Lothos.