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Four billion years ago the gulf between Man and his gods had grown great.
Among the gods wars were fought until, in this quarter of the Universe, one emerged. A single god of incredible power. A god who ruled galaxies and the trillions that populated their stars.
But he was not without weakness. He yet had fears.
And his greatest fear, that which provoked the full magnitude of his wrath, was that Man might gain the knowledge to become like him...
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The Saga of Ages is comprised of five stories reaching across four billion years. Five novels that chronicle the destruction and subsequent rebirth of Man.
Each is a complete SF novel in itself; one does not depend upon the other.
Taken together, however, these five epic tales make up the sweeping series that is the Saga of Ages.
The novels are:
God of War
Six Kings
Priestess
The One
Annihilator
The following history sets the stage for their telling.
History
In all, since the dawn of Time, there have been seven Ages of Man. These seven Ages have spanned two great universes, within each a multitude of others. The first of these great universes came to an end some fourteen billion years ago, at the mid point of the Fifth Age. From that end was born the universe we know now, named within the scope of these things as Qoyrelm. That which was destroyed was known as the Araced.
The coming of the end of the Araced marked the culmination of nearly 2 trillion years of incredible technological growth. Near the end such science existed as to be nothing short of magic on a cosmic scale. A grand technology that, despite its extent, could not save itself.
At a precise moment, if such a sweeping cataclysm can be so exactly defined, Man, with his most vicious technology yet, ripped the Araced apart.
The Saga of Ages, then, is a collection of five stories that attempt to chronicle the eras succeeding from this moment, leading us to the present. Specifically events of the Seventh Age. Following is an excerpt from the History of Man which sets the stage for these events. From this History we know that at the close of the Fourth Age Man had gained absolute control of the universe. He had also lost complete control of himself. War was the inevitable outcome of this, leading to conflict on a scale never before seen, nor seen since...
THE FIFTH AGE OF MAN
Beg: 24 billion years ago
End: 7 billion years ago
Decadence
Rent by these terrible wars the great empire of galaxies became a shell. After the bloodlust of this conflict Man found himself bereft of his technology, out of communication and once again at the bottom of his state of decay.
This period marks the beginning of The Fifth Age.
For many aeons Man suffered in this state. A dark time that saw the continued use of some technologies, salvaged from the wars, along with the banding of prior anarchical groups, combined with a filth and disregard by Man for himself. The most significant aspect of this dark time was the trend toward perverse mutation of life, a general disregard by Man for the genetics of his organic forms.
Perverting and creating new life forms (life forms that were, in most cases, still Man in the sense we've been describing him) became an obsession across most of the universe. Super beings were sought after and bred through many generations, creating god-like status among the living forms with no god-like powers. Organic gods, created of the very matter they sought to be free of.
And so this period of decadence saw Man's first widespread religions, where some form was thought to be superior, imbued with false power. Worship was a new twist on this steady decline into ignorance and ushered in Man's first great end.
An end that was most abrupt.
The Splintering Mind, it was called, by those who knew of the device before it was used, a quantum engine with a single, awesome purpose. A bomb, perhaps, in the strictest sense, yet one with a clarity and absolution no previous bomb ever possessed. Some say the technology came from the Fourth Age, but the bomb's more likely origins were with the small society that designed it. A group of purists that had been plotting for thousands of years the ultimate `ascendancy', as they called it, seeing no other way to cast off the evils around them.
They claimed their purpose was to save Man.
Whatever their motivation, the bomb had but one goal: to shred the entire universe. To uncreate it and all of the corruption that had come to fill its every corner.
A technology not nearly as complex as it was lethal. The result was as designed. The utter destruction of the Araced.
This destruction, and subsequent creation, was the singular, defining event of The Fifth Age.
Qoyrelm
In one, titanic moment of release, the Splintering Mind marked not only an end but, unexpectedly, a beginning. A moment of conception that marks the formation of the universe we know today. A cataclysm that overlapped and over-folded the old, bringing a large number of alternate universes with it. The moment of birth, the creation of Qoyrelm.
With this cosmic explosion Man was, though the destroyers of the Araced could neither have known nor foreseen it, reborn. Freed, in a sense, moving slowly into the forming space, fleeing the last. Forcibly disconnected in a way he had not been in a long, long time.
For billions of years the new universe glowed with the radiation of conception, more beautiful and bright at its infancy than had been the last. During this time Man simply observed the formation of this newest creation, in awe, perhaps, of his own handiwork. The past was pushed far into his memory and he imagined that he started clean.
Many intricacies came with the new universe. Qoyrelm exhibited far more complexities than the original Araced, organics evolving immediately from the diversity of matter. Qoyrelm was, in fact, born as complex and full of life as the old universe had become.
Genesis
Within the realm of this new space Man enjoyed a period of rebirth. Though still dulled from a trillion years of suppression, freed of that for the moment he was able to re-experience some of his native ability. Very little oppression marked this period, the genesis phase of Qoyrelm stretching on for billions of years, a time in which Man thrived, evolving new ways to wield his power.
Many rose again to incredible heights.
Society settled in slowly as space cooled, lightly, never stretching far and never becoming significant. Loose organizations spanned the cosmos, few connecting.
And among them roamed new rogues.
These rogues accounted for at least half of Man and reveled in unbridled freedom. They engaged widely in conflict, out of sport more than animosity, wreaking havoc among the frail societies that composed the remainder of the universe. Coming in many forms, their methods of travel were many. Gates, starships or even their own abilities provided transport.
During Qoyrelm's genesis, then, half of Man was operating at a very high level, while the rest had begun to suffer under this theater of casual and frequent wielding of power.
THE SIXTH AGE OF MAN
Beg: 7 billion years ago
End: 4 billion years ago
Power
The cycle of power, then, was beginning to occur at the end of the Fifth Age, though the distinguishing line between Ages came more with the introduction of the definition of power than with its reduction. Power, in fact, was on the rise.
With the growth of the suffering societies came a need for control. Once enough stability had been gained to bring these rogues into their fold Man started for the third time down the regimented road to order.
Feudalism was the first to take hold. It was a natural progression for the societies who once had been plagued by these powerful beings to constrain them as rulers, thus alleviating the random destructiveness of their contact. Advisors from the beleaguered societies contributed much to the channeling of these new powers and it wasn't long into this era before most abilities had been clearly defined, thus standardizing power. Once encumbered with such classification the rogues were soon reduced to wizard-kings, with specific abilities, and so settled into rulership of the cosmos.
As more came to operate within the same framework, a time of magic evolved.
Worship
With the conquering of worlds came a desire to create new space. Despite defining boundaries that set the abilities of the new wizard-kings, evolution occurred and indeed power continued its upward climb within the confines of these definitions. New space was occupied, blow-offs from the eruption of Qoyrelm and the original Araced, many of significant volume. Into these new spaces moved many societies. Long travel, either between worlds or dimensions, occurred during this era via gates, stationary portals established by the wizards or their apprentices at either end; truly a time of magic and sorcery. Utopias were grown, bringing increased levels of aesthetics, raising dependency on these increasingly powerful individuals. Over time Man fell into pure awe of his shepherds.
Thus came again a period of worship.
THE SEVENTH AGE OF MAN
Beg: 4 billion years ago
End: Near Future
Gods
Power among certain of the kings had now peaked, which is to say god-like status had once again been achieved. Many became feared for their power, opening the door to its perversion, along with all manner of oppressive activities. This group of wizard-kings who ascended to such heights have since been called, by those aware enough to recognize them, The Few.
Reverence for these individuals had not been uncommon prior to this phase, as they exhibited great wisdom and ability, yet none had risen to the heights of divinity. When god status was achieved so changed the inevitable course of history.
Religious codes of conduct replaced laws, giving added force to the whims of the new gods, penalties for disobedience moving into the realm of eternal suffering. Soon these gods had risen completely beyond usual contact with their subjects, assuming a disembodied state not unlike that seen almost universally during the First Age. Powerful, untouchable, or so it seemed, in complete control, able to exert influence of an incredible magnitude.
Religious Marches
It wasn't long before Man held these greater powers so far above himself that he granted his own existence no more status than simple servant. Unlike the fabricated gods at the opening of the Fifth Age these new gods had real power, able to create broad effects on those who feared and worshiped them. Man began to organize vast crusades, missions commanded by the gods, all in the name of appeasement. The Religious Marches found entire societies on the move through the cosmos, anxious under the yoke of their increasingly powerful masters. The disparity among Man had reached a peak.
And those who were gods grew more powerful. Still separated from each other in most cases, they controlled very definite spheres of influence, directly controlling their followers, some beginning to rise to even higher levels, more restored of their native power than Man had been in a great, long time...
The collected works of the Saga of Ages tell the tale of this era, a time of destruction which, ultimately, sets the stage for Man's future. The Saga begins near its end, with the epic tale, The One...
Now available.
