Lore: The Divine Invasion

The earliest records speak of a time when Dragons held dominion over the Ring, and humans were their servants for countless ages. The cause of their fall is lost to time, but it is said that around three thousand before the Invasion, humans rose to independence. The event that sparked this change is obscured by myth and fading memory.

By half a millenia before the Invasion, humans had colonized all major Islands, expanding their influence across the Ring. With the rise of empires, old beliefs were discarded, and the world grew more unified.

Then, in what we refer to as Year 0, the Invasion came. The Divines - beings from the sky - were initially worshipped but an unexplained, violent assault by them nearly wiped out humanity. It is said that soon after this, the Deep was discovered, guided by the being known as "Sword".

From the Deep came weapons: Magic and Archlances, that enabled the last survivors to fight back. By Year 3SE (Sword Era), the Divine forces were repelled, but the years that followed brought internal strife and the depletion of weaponry. Magic was partly reverse engineered, but the power of the Archlances remains finite to this day.

After about fifty years, stability started to return, and small kingdoms began to reform under a global religion called The Builder's Word, which states that the visitor "Sword" was sent by the Builder, supposed creator of the Ringworld. Today, the majority of younger generations have weakened faith in the Builder, especially following the Year 190SE, when the Golem was unearthed on the Island of Wes.