Known to the Etayen as the era of Unladen Sorrow, the Weeping Era was marked by deep divisions between peoples and nations, and a wave of chaos caused by the death of Atûn and the spread of Vojûn. It is as well the era when races beyond Etal started to make their mark upon the world. For over a millennium, between the year zero, when Corgastor liberated Everos from Étunas with the assistance of Nassarus Nathroghal, and 1150, when the Ghetod of Corgastor was founded by Ghet Horst the Blessed, petty kings and warlords waged battle across the continent. Indeed, at times where more than two dozen of these would-be rulers vying for control of the land, rising and falling as their fortunes peaked and faded. The lack of unity after Corgastor's death hindered the realms of men in these early years, leaving them vulnerable to assaults from both within their lands and outside of them. This air of uncertainty was felt throughout Qadal, as the era of its greatest empire came to a violent, rapid end, leaving the world adrift. The legacy of Étunas cannot be underestimated, for it was the nexus of activity in Qadal for centuries, guiding nations whether it was their friend or foe.
In Othos, the tribes of the Awakening that began to settle into proper kingdoms began to develop common identities, culturally if not politically. The first Konin of Vestidia, Sagar Boedring, was crowned in Worthend in 980, which manifested the centuries long evolution of Vestanir culture from disparate tribes into a single cultural nation. While it would be years yet before they would unite politically, the crowning of a Vestanir konin ensured their survival as a people. The Eurobasar remained divided along ancient tribal lines established during the Awakening and continued to vie among themselves for power. In their favor, they had tasted unity during their struggles against Étunas and Zorídas. However, it wasn't until the time of Lysander that Eurobia came together as a culture, in which time it was trust into the position of empire. During the Weeping Era, Eurobia spent its time establishing itself as a region of trade and defending itself from the Gressar just across a narrow channel. In the west, the population of Zorídas had changed immensely from what it had been during the Awakening and early Ascension eras, before colonization by Étunas. The Atamani had once dwelled there, in their same settlements of thatch and wood. They worshipped the spirits of Artam and Marasi, earth and sky, and cultivated small scale agriculture in harmony with the seasons. When Zorius arrived in the late Ascension to establish colonies of Étunas, him and those who followed him quickly displaced the Atamani, driving them eastward. Over the following centuries, passing into the Weeping Era, a new population of Aemar, immigrants from elsewhere in Othos, Etayen, and Thûletal. The last group was unique to this era and is comprised of offspring of Etayen and Aemar parentage. In that way Zorídas evolved. The modern conception of Lothrand did not arrive until the 1500 to 1600s, with the life of Lothus the Redeemer and the establishment of the Corgastodmar Principality of Erothod under Ghetunbast Malden.
The tenuous status quo that existed during that age might be confusing to the modern mind, in which nations are unified and relative prosperity reigns. How could the confederation of allies rallied by Corgastor fall into such disorder? Moreover, how is it that over a millennium passed before one of the patchwork realms of Everos came to preeminence? The reason is two-fold.
The most dangerous of the threats within was posed by nemeshari and other constructs of Vojûn, whose aims were unpredictable and equally destructive. Numerous realms, weak from a lack of central moral or secular authority, fell under the sway of these Nemgarotirs. Many readers may think of Typhon and his aspect spirits when they think of Nemgarotirs, but it must be remembered that those events happened in the 1380s, a good 150 or so years after the end of the Weeping Era. No, these were dark and ancient creatures as old as the world itself, who dwelled in the dark places of Qadal. Their birth was not of flesh and blood either, but of Vojûnic energy, a relic left behind from the death of Atûn over 1,000 years prior. This made them difficult to track, and nearly impossible to destroy before they fully matured. Worse yet, the chaos of the continent limited any opportunity to even attempt it.
Only a handful of them were know by their true names, such as Rozar the Red, who carved out a domain of death and hellfire in southern Everos with the help of beings wrought from fermented Vojûn and the husks of the deceased pulled back to life by Áckesh; Zaral Blacktongue, who convinced the Tressonar of Eurobia that his wife was a vile nemeshari and then told him the only way to purify his esseythu was to bleed out the evil with 1,000 leeches. His cruel death showed Zaral's treachery, but not before the monster had escaped from Pyrgoros to never be seen again; and arguably the worst was Zuloret the Orphan, who used his malign powers to corrupt the Order of Seekers and destroy them from within. The collapse of the order hall of Midwedler ruined hundreds of tomes and documents and set Aemarda's collective knowledge back centuries. What was his motive for this destruction: the sheer enjoyment of ruination, just as olûndi themselves might like to watch things break and burn.
Those nemeshari, if they may be called such, and others like them are extraordinary entries into history, for the great majority of such beasts are known by no name at all. Often, they will be given a name by the local people that they terrorize and harass. Names such as Thousand Eyes, Dark Scale, Break Bones, and others are the only way to identify many of the beings that rampaged throughout the land over 2,000 years ago. This blight continued throughout the Weeping Era, and the first steps to destroying such abominations were only made after the Empire of Corgastor was founded. Indeed, House Goldheart, the dynasty from which Ghet Horst the Blessed hails, became famous for its ferocious purges of Nemgarotirs throughout not only their domains, but all across Everos. His third son, Lorod Galdyn Goldheart, became known as the Hammer of Nemeshari for his valor against unnatural forces. These were beginning efforts, and thus ad hoc in their execution. It wasn't until the creation of the Nerod in 1373 by Ghetunbast Larich II that the Everosi had a cohesive means of fighting the spawns of darkness.
The Nerod was successful in its efforts, more so than is appreciated by the common person. Nemgarotirs and evil at large do not have a hierarchical structure. Each Nemgarotir is a free agent of destruction, interested in nothing more than causing as much damage in the short term as is possible- for they are manifestation of the base desires of the olûndari psyche. They are untampered by precepts of society, race, or religion, and seek only to amuse themselves and wreck havoc. This lack of central control was a mixed blessing for the early Nerodhûn of Corgastor. The lack of a hierarchy among the Nemgarotirs meant that threats were localized, and thus easily containable by a dedicated force. They could be hunted high and low, near and far until they were finally caught and killed. The evident problem that arose, however, was that these independent forces of evil are incredibly hard to predict. If all they desire is destruction and manipulation, how does one track them? It can take weeks or months to begin to establish a pattern of action, and who knows how much could be destroyed in that time.
The Weeping Era was as well a time that many of Everos's most colorful heroes lived and died, such as Ambrose the Iron, whose flesh was as tough as iron and who wielded the truck of a tree carved into a maul. He was from Othos and made his name by challenging all men, both great and small, to fight him atop the hill of Black Bone hill. It got its name from the ritual Ambrose would conduct upon slaying and enemy: He would bring their body to the top of the hill and burn them in a pit dug specifically for the purpose. In time, the hill's peak began to take on the color of soot and decay that came from the bodies. He was finally defeated by Darnat of Gildmaras during his trials to become a hero of Vestidia. Another potential example is Mortimer the River King, who ruled a veritable floating kingdom of ships that sailed up and down the Gosver river and to the waters beyond. He called his kingdom Gosveron and ruled it until the day of his death in 534. After his death, his son and heir Mordrus decided to settle the town down along the shore of the Gosver, ending its golden era of mobile control. They settled the town along the river's western shore, in what is now Lohoremas, and named their home Mortigast.
The Realm of Corgastor, so named was the kingdom before it became an empire at the dawn of the Twilight Era, began to formulate and make its mark in these early days. Corgastor, having already united many holds of men and expulsed the Etayen from the continent, began to solidify his power. The town that would later become Ghethemas was the site which he chose to base himself and his supporters, building the towers of Sul, Fror, and Thel to house them. This would later be expanded by Aragos the Builder to become the Trident from which the nerve center of the Corgastodmar Empire is located. Further information on the creation is located in the section regarding the Empire of Corgastor.
Beyond the realm of mundane olûndari considerations existed another variety of danger. Ebal’eshan from distant Voryndal took deep interest in the shaken status quo of the great half. Perhaps this meant an opportunity to weaken the boundaries further, and thus release some of the tensions which inevitably grew from the cramped lesser half.
The swift action of Aebaster and Mesian repulsed the most ambitious of the Ebal’eshan who sought to establish dominion in Qadal, but their efforts were not universally successful.