Humanity's Waking

We have so little left of our past, the years tearing away what few words we once knew. It should be no surprise that this evidence - evidence of our first breaths - is so important to us...

— human scholar from Ordan

Between regional calamities, the reigns of despots and empires, and the events of era-shattering wars, the early days of Istralar are shrouded in mystery. The elves have records of their own arrival to the planet, having already been established on dozens of worlds prior to this, and the dwarves recall their arrival in the terms of their creation myth - one which revolves around the Heartforge of Iskaldhal.
But for humanity, the most populous species on the face of the planet, there is shockingly little left of those early days. Many of their early works - from cave painting to early civilisations - have been lost to their own innovations or to the aforementioned global disasters. Anthropologists regularly mourn the loss of information in the once-populous Sunari Wilderness: the Arcane War resulted in the Sunari's desolation and the destruction of the many libraries and civilisations that had formerly been located there.
More worryingly, still, comes the recent discovery of the Shards of the Void. The Unbroken March, whilst an unknown to many, was recently discovered and destroyed - but not before it had the chance to alter all texts within the Endless Archive. Given the prevalance of missing information and lost knowledge over the years, particularly after the Worldrend - which is rumoured to be the original creation event of the Shards - humanity cannot be certain how much of their knowledge was lost to honest means... and how much was intentionally stolen from them by a manipulative Shard.
It should perhaps be unsurprising, then, that one of the earliest records of humanity's existence comes from the records of another species -- though it remains unclear which. The record, a letter entitled "Humanity's Waking", seems to be a message from a powerful fey-like entity to the nascent human populations. It mentions 'the Sune' -- suspected to be an early name for part of the Sunari Wilderness, potentially forming the name by which it is now known.

Well, they were right to warn us, at least. Pity that didn't help us avoid getting enslaved by Galasthin for centuries, hey?

— bitter scholar

The rest of the information in the letter is largely mysterious, the words seemingly nonsensical. It seems to warn of the coming of elves, dwarves, and other creatures - orcs, giants, and dragons are some of the guesses made on these potential species. Other theories indicate that the warnings are of otherworldly threats - demons, devils, and the like.

Modern-day scholars cannot be truly certain on what threats, exactly, the letter painted pictures of for its readers. What seems to be of most concern is that the letter calls out to those reading in the future with words still not understood today.
If the translations are accurate, the words indicate that these mysterious entities made a pact with humanity's ancestors and sealed away a dangerous threat that, if learnt of, could risk the world. Naturally, little further research has been done into this.

Read the Document

Humanity's Waking

This document has been translated from its original First World dialect into Sylvan, and from Sylvan, into an ancient form of human language long predating Common. Whilst the translation from said language into Common has worked with the aid of magical translation devices, some of the initial context has doubtless been lost.

To the ones who awaken on this world they inherit,
We see you awake and we see you delight. We see the joy in your souls and the shortness of your lives. We laugh, we are amused! We laugh at your small lives. This world is danger, heading one day to oblivion. You are its owners, inheritors, the ones who prevail. We watch you, and we offer you fruit and clothes.
One day the pointed will stand here too, one day too will the stout rule. Soon, too, rise the strongest, rise the largest! The wisest await you, the loudest shall come later. Blood crossing lands, blood through time. We will help you. This is our contract, our covenant, our truth. Let our wills join and create life where there is none! Let our love for your brief mortality birth protection! Let us be known to one another!
And to the ones reading many years after, let there be mystery! Dangerous is the truth of their world; let safety prevail.
We will meet in the Sune where your people call home, and we will share your words with the ones far away. We will let all your kind know the truth, and bind this safely!
Awaken now to the words of gods, see true the skies above! We shall watch, and we shall wait!

Close

Type

Text, Letter

Medium

Crystal, Magical

Are we meant to have this? Has fate planned things that neatly? I find this greatly concerning...

— scholar

History of Humanity's Waking

The otherworldly document containing the writings of Humanity's Waking was discovered in the early 1400s in a demiplane accessible only through a terrible series of trials laid out underneath a temple in what would later become the Vostene Republic. It was passed through numerous countries' control over a series of wars, and was nearly destroyed a number of times. It is currently is in the possession of the Aletheian Empire and stored within yet another demiplane for safekeeping.