Tales from the Zanic Age

Tales from the Zanic Age is a late Razani historical account attributed to Zorgolis of Gevanni. The manuscript presents itself as the recollections of an old man writing in the thousandth year after the founding of the Eagelian Kingdom. Zorgolis claims that he is condemned for speaking the truth and that the text is being completed shortly before his execution in Durobaereste.

The comic is framed as a manuscript passed to Zorgolis's faithful servant Arbogasto. It should be read as a historical retelling rather than a neutral chronicle: Zorgolis writes from within the Zani and Razani worlds, praises the memory of Zanis and Cyrogelos, and admits that much of the story remains untold.

The Zani legacy¶

The account repeats the traditional story of Zanis Zani rising through the Eagelian military after years of wandering. When King Dbunnpun the Fat died, Zanis organized a coup and became king at twenty-four. With Cyrogelos the Loyal beside him, he conquered the civilized world over the following decades and created the Zani Empire.

Zanis's mortal remains were interred in Durobaereste, while his spirit and essence were worshipped as a god. The account describes the empire as prosperous for centuries under his descendants before unworthy emperors, civil war, steppe migrations, and barbarian pressure weakened it. It also emphasizes the growing use of destructive magic in imperial warfare, including battle-changing warlocks and mages.

The Incident and the Great Collapse¶

During the war against the Northern Empire, Zani armies captured capital after capital. The last Northern mages turned to forbidden texts, hoping to find a power capable of reversing their defeat. In Petramonis, the Northern archmage Theolosius the Mad bypassed the ancient seals placed during the Wonder Age and contacted Melodias, who had been imprisoned in her Primordial Well for almost four million years.

Theolosius opened the prison. The resulting surge destroyed Petramonis and triggered earthquakes, landslides, magical storms, tsunamis, and hurricanes. The catastrophe became known as the Great Collapse. Omniluxia split into Morrigon and Luxterra; the Northern Empire and its heartlands were obliterated; and clouds darkened the sky for three years, bringing famine to the survivors.

The comic specifically remembers the destruction of the Ular-Pria, or Snakefolk, empire in the Austropetolian Isles. It also presents Melodias's release as the reason goblins, vampires, and other subterranean or demonic peoples grew stronger after the Collapse.

The world after the Collapse¶

The heirs of the Zani divided the remaining imperial heartland between the Nazani in western Morrigon and the Razani in Luxterra. In the east, the Soventeir are presented as Dragkhanic successors who emulate the Zani legacy, while the heirs of Jarenam the Formidable struggle to preserve their father's conquests.

The account gives several snapshots of the fractured age:

• Ara Sertem rules Baetep as a foreign Pharon over an enslaved population, while the true heirs of Baetep survive in exile in Dune.
• The Stellarics trace their faith to strange beings that survived a comet's fall into Northstar Bay.
• The fall of Srrørum allows the Great Families of Saptarum to rise among the Silver Dwarves.
• The Azari dream of ending their tribute and rebuilding Etemenazari, destroyed by Zanis in the old imperial wars.
• Edis the Grim and the defenders of Bad-Furqorin struggle to hold their mountain fortress against goblin tribes and Selkasian hordes.
• The fanatical religious cult the Seekers of the Way expand through central Morrigon, while Helluvian Shannahs respond to the pressures of the Blood-Stained invasions by calling for religious war against the heathens.
• Jaoz the Bold and Bachin, Lord of Dui-Pattar spread Zainudianism through revelation and conquest.
• The Victory Goddess appears to the rulers of Myahudya, encouraging the Viktreic faithful toward further wars.
• Reports from eastern Luxterra describe the Blood-Stained Drow enslaving thousands, though Zorgolis leaves open the possibility that these reports are rumor.

Historical value¶

The final pages make clear that Zorgolis's account is incomplete. He names Lord Girm and the Hobgoblin Wars of the Dragon Pass, the Orcs of Rendun and Remun, the Saasamen Gnomes, the Zaraken cities around the Bay of Kyaxares, the rise of the Aralans, and the Elven invasions of Horteon as stories still waiting to be told.

See also: Zorgolis of Gevanni, Zani Empire, Great Collapse, and Important Characters.