Age of Kings

Though elves and dwarves now lived on Boros, the Age of Kings was in many ways the first great age of humanity. This period, starting around 12,000 years ago, saw the rise of the Phoromyceaen civilization. Not a single empire, the Phoromyceaens spread from an unknown point of origin to found independent city-states across much of the world, all of which, for some as yet undiscovered reason, were built underground. Though a solidly Bronze Age culture (and outside their cities, essentially Neolithic), they were magically advanced, with sorcerer-kings or priest-kings ruling most of their cities. Some of those ancient rulers are said to have survived the fall of their civilization and become lichs, enduring to this day in the hidden depths of the world.
Among the cities founded by the Phoromyceaens were Barakus, beneath the Duskmoon Hills of the Sinnar Coast of Akados, which was abandoned in –6627 I.R.; Lyemmos, on the island of the Crescent Sea now known as Insula Lymossus, which was swallowed by a massive sinkhole in –6484 I.R.; Nestril, the ruins of which are said to be hidden under the eaves of the Forest of Parna, also in eastern Akados; and Tharistra, on The Plains west of the Gulf of Akados, possibly in the vicinity of Stoneheart Valley.
In addition, it is believed that during these years a great empire arose on the legendary continent of Notos in the seas south of Akados. Nothing but myths and tales survive of this power, if indeed it ever existed. Before the end of this age, the myths say that Notos was destroyed in a cataclysm and sank beneath the seas, leaving only a scattering of islands above the waves that today are known as the Islands of Arkanos.
In this age, a mighty god walked among the people of Akados. He was Arvonliet, an angelic being of almost painful splendor known as the Prince of Beauty and also as the Bringer of Light for his radiant presence. He brought great achievement, artifice, and indulgence to his followers, and if he also introduced jealousy, spiteful competition, and vice, for long years no one was the wiser. For Arvonliet was not only the self-proclaimed Prince of Beauty but also the Prince of Hate. It is said that Arvonliet either destroyed or corrupted all the Phoromyceaen cities and brought an end to that civilization throughout the world.
To ensure his dominion over the lands of Boros, Arvonliet began construction of a permanent gate to his home plane of The Abyss. At last, the gods of good realized the peril the world was in. Together, the three sibling gods Thyr, Muir, and Kel overthrew Arvonliet, driving him from Boros and casting him into the outer plane Ginnungagap. To ensure he would not return, the gods created a mystical ward known as the Keltine Barrier, over which they raised a mighty range of peaks, the Stoneheart Mountains. Ever after, Arvonliet would no longer be either beautiful or light, and became known as Orcus.
Whether a coincidence or otherwise, at almost the same time as the defeat of Arvonliet, some event in the realm of Alfheim led to a large migration of elves from their homeland to Boros. Known as the First Exodus of the Elves, the cause for the sudden influx of population is unknown, except perhaps to the grey elves of the Emerald Mountains, who do not speak of such things. The vast majority of the arrivals fled to the Southern Reaches of Akados, into deep forests that extended almost from the western edge of the continent to the shores of the Sinnar Ocean in the east. There they founded new elven realms far from the humans of Akados.
Thus ended the Age of Kings in –6484 I.R.