The Ancient Ones

Countless ruins from bygone eras are littered throughout Archestria. Little is known about these ancient civilizations. Occasionally, documents are recovered from their ruins and are translated, revealing snippets of the past. The ancient puzzle is missing far too many pieces to understand the image; museums like the Museum of Ancient History in the village of Salmund are happy to offer a reward for any discoveries and information.
Plenty of magical treasures, old artifacts, and occasionally primal crystals can be found within ancient ruins, in addition to documents. This makes them a popular place for adventurers. Many ruins are fraught with dangers, however: traps protect their loot, puzzles and magical defenders keep out intruders, and monsters occasionally take up residence inside.

Different languages

Ancient documents have been discovered in a handful of scripts. See the Ancient Scripts article for a list.

Ancient Timeline

The Origination is a cycle, with new races being created at the beginning of each era and destroyed at the end. It’s unknown how each era begins, but they all end with the Fiends wiping out all humanoid life.

Known Ancient Races

The known ancient races are listed below in chronological order.

(Unknown Race)

Little is known about these ancients. They wrote in the barcode script, a series of vertical lines with varying shape and thickness.
They built unexplored cities in the Kazzin forest, the Colorless Hills, and the Deepwood region of the Spiritwood.
Writing examples:

• Aradince's hovel
• Candessa's shrine

Stoutfolk

These humanoid people are stout like dwarves, but more cylindrical in body shape, and do not have beards. They write in the Hieroglyph script, a series of symbols that represent concepts.
The Stoutfolk were talented artificers who studied the primal crystals and used them to construct the Orbs of Power after learning something about the cycle in Cindon’s Library.

• The Orb of Radiance is The Sun, based on yellow primal crystals, created to illuminate the dark world.
• The Orb of Equilibrium is The Moon, based on blue primal crystals, created to counteract the overwhelming heat of the Orb of Radiance.
• According to the dragon Dawnzithyre, the sun and moon are crucial to the survival of the spirits, and in turn all life.
• The Orb of Knowledge, based on red primal crystals, was created to provide the Stoutfolk with divine insight on how to break free of the cycle. The one Stoutfolk who touched the orb went mad, gave a monologue about the uselessness of their struggle, and killed himself. The other Stoutfolk renamed this orb the Orb of Madness afterward.
• The last known location of the Orb of Knowledge is the Great Northern Tower in western Snavon.
• The Orb of Preservation, based on purple primal crystals, was created to allow the Stoutfolk to continue their work after death. This orb sustains the ghosts of the Haunted Realm, including the dragon Grathaliar at Howlpeak.
• The Orb of Communication, based on green primal crystals, was created to hopefully allow the Stoutfolk to communicate with some unknown entity, or at least allow the Stoutfolk to communicate with each other across long distances. Its last known location is in the ruins of the city of Atla.
• The Orb of Enhancement, based on orange primal crystals, was created to empower the Stoutfolk to fight back against the Fiends. It was last seen being taken away from the Ancient Laboratory by Vinefolk of an unknown fiefdom via a Hindsight Lens. The orb may have ended up in Subterranea during the Vinefolk’s last stand against the Fiends.

The orbs were constructed in a forge in Solaki which has yet to be explored.
Despite their best efforts with the Orbs of Power, the Stoutfolk were mostly wiped out by a tsunami and finished off by the Fiends.
Notable people:

• The residents of Atla and the Great South Tower.

Writing examples:

• The journals found in the Great South Tower.
• The journals found in the Ancient Howlpeak Laboratory.

Coneheads

These humanoid people have teardrop shaped heads that slick backwards, with beaded eyes with long ears that trail off into ribbons. They are slender and elflike in stature. They write in the Constellation script, a series of differently-positioned dots connected by lines.
There’s evidence of some Coneheads fleeing north after finding Cindon's Library, suggesting an event similar to the Stoutfolk’s tsunami.
Notable people:

• King Orvald and his Orvald kingdom in the Haunted Realm.
• The Watchers.
• Queen Shawala and her Shalador Kingdom in the Bazen Lowlands.

Writing examples:

• The Watchers' texts.

Vinefolk / Mazefolk

These humanoid people have bodies that appear to be constructed of a mass of vines or ropes. They are somewhat plantlike and have large glowing eyes without pupils. They write in the Labyrinth script, where a single connected maze conveys an entire message.
The Vinefolk society consisted of competing fiefdoms. Lord Phiramet sold their soul to the Fiend Pluxidu in exchange for the ability to manipulate the arcane weave. They led their fiefdom Ghaztiwoil to war against the other fiefdoms, eventually conquering Archestria with the Fiends’ help and driving the remaining survivors underground to Subterranea. Lord Phiramet destroyed the writings of the other fiefdoms and executed captured prisoners at Pluxidu’s request in exchange for more power.
The survivors of Lord Phiramet’s conquest created The Labyrinth at the heart of Subterranea. It’s unknown how the people of Ghaztiwoil and The Labyrinth were eventually wiped out.
Notable people:

• Lord Phiramet, their fiefdom Ghaztiwoil, and its capital city Ghaztyut.
• Creators of The Labyrinth.

Writing examples:

• The History of Ghaztiwoil and Lord Phiramet told in the haunted pyramid city of Ghaztyut.

Insectfolk / Thri-Kreen

These insectoid humanoids have narrow carapaced bodies with four arms. They write in the Alphabet script, a series of symbols that combine to make up words.
The Insectfolk fought a losing war with the Dragons against the Fiends roughly 250 years ago. They were driven underground to the outskirts of Subterranea and eventually wiped out by the Fiends.
Notable people:

• Archaeologists Vak and Div.

Writing examples:

• Vak's Journals
• Dragons
• The dragons were created at the same time as the Insectfolk, though in much smaller numbers. Unlike the Insectfolk, they survived the end of the last cycle. The Dragon Council allied with the Insectfolk against the Fiends, but were betrayed by Dalinax.