Before the Brothers Three, before the Spindelum of Time, there was the war that nearly broke the world. The old songs call it the First Sundering. The people remember it as the Age of Ashes.
The War of All
It began over a thousand years ago, when Malakaroth, the Dread King, rose from the shadows. His power was unlike anything the world had faced before — a hunger not for land or gold, but for the very soul of creation. His armies moved like a tide across Eldoria, burning, corrupting, consuming.
This was no simple clash of kingdoms. It was a war of the world itself. Every people, every race — elves in their silver towers, dwarves in their deep halls, men in their fledgling kingdoms, halflings in their quiet valleys — were drawn into the struggle. Even creatures now lost to memory are said to have taken part, their names surviving only in half-sung songs.
It was the one time in all of Eldoria’s history when unity became a necessity. The banners of Silvermoon, Greenwood, Ironclad, Stormwatch, and countless lesser realms flew side by side. Differences were set aside, though not without struggle — the proud dwarves distrusted the elves, men fought among themselves even as they fought the shadow, and many wondered if peace among allies was possible at all.
But the greater darkness left them no choice. The War of All had begun.
The Shadow’s Legions
Malakaroth’s strength was not only in his will but in the armies he summoned. Songs speak of the Blackened Hosts — men twisted by shadow, their eyes hollow, their voices no longer their own. There were beasts as well, some born of fire, others carved from stone, still others crawling up from pits of endless night.
Legends tell of the Revenants, generals of dread who could not be slain by steel, for death itself seemed to serve them. Others whisper of forests corrupted into armies of thorn and root, moving at Malakaroth’s command.
The war was not only fought on battlefields but in the very fabric of the world. Storms raged unnaturally. Seas rose higher than before. Mountains cracked, and entire valleys were swallowed by shadow.
The First Sundering
The war stretched across generations, its cost too great to measure. Some say entire kingdoms were erased from history — not conquered, but sundered, their names carried only in fragments of song.
The final battle came at the foot of the greatest mountain in Eldoria. There, the armies of light and shadow clashed for the last time. The ground shook. The skies burned. The rivers ran red.
Malakaroth was at last defeated — but not destroyed. For evil such as his does not die easily. He was bound in chains of flame and entombed deep within the heart of the mountain.
And so Gallandor, the First Kingdom, was founded above that tomb. It rose not merely as a seat of kings, but as a guardian, a living fortress built to watch forever over the prison of the Dread King.
The Age of Ashes
The victory did not come without ruin. Eldoria was left scarred, its beauty marred by the long shadow of war.
- Forests, once lush, were burned into wastelands.
- Dwarven halls cracked and caved beneath the earth.
- Valleys became swamps, poisoned by shadow’s residue.
- Ruins littered the land — silent reminders of what was lost.
The people called it the Age of Ashes, for even in victory, the world seemed broken, covered in the soot of its suffering.
Though thousands of years have passed since Malakaroth last walked the earth, the dread of his reign lingers. Whispers cling to the ruins. Old wounds ache in the land itself. And there are places in Eldoria where his shadow still festers, waiting.
The Scars That Remain
The First Sundering was not just a battle — it was a breaking.
- The elves of Silvermoon still sing laments of those who never returned.
- Greenwood bears trees twisted black, remnants of corruption.
- The dwarves of Ironclad carry deep grudges, for they lost more halls than any people, and many never forgave their allies for failing to hold the lines.
- Stormwatch’s cliffs are said to have risen higher during that age, carved by waves whipped by Malakaroth’s storms.
Even the smaller folk — halflings, nomads, wanderers — carry tales of ancestors driven from lands they never reclaimed. The Sundering touched all, and none escaped unchanged.
This is why Eldoria feels heavy with memory. Every ruin whispers of the Age of Ashes. Every kingdom carries scars, both visible and hidden.
A Living Legacy
For the Brothers Three, born in Gallandor, this history is no distant myth. It is their inheritance.
They live above the mountain that sealed the Dread King. They breathe the air of a kingdom founded not on peace but on vigilance. They are the sons of prophecy, their birth echoing with scars that tie them to that ancient darkness.
The Spindelum of Time itself may be bound to the Sundering. Some say it was forged in those days, others that it was uncovered in the aftermath. Whatever its origin, it has become a thread woven through Eldoria’s fate.
Why I Build Histories
As a writer, the Age of Ashes has been one of my favorite parts of shaping Eldoria. I’ve always been drawn to the way Tolkien built his worlds — how The Silmarillion gave weight to The Lord of the Rings, how ancient wars and forgotten heroes shaped every page of the stories that came after.
I wanted Eldoria to carry that same depth. Not just a surface story, but bones beneath the soil. The First Sundering may not be the tale readers follow page by page in The Brothers Three, but it shapes every corner of their world.
Writing history into fantasy is more than lore for me. It’s restoration. It’s a way of giving my story roots that go deeper than the characters themselves. It’s also been one of the most life-giving parts of my creative journey — an escape, yes, but also a place where my imagination finds purpose and breath.
Until Next Time…
The Age of Ashes has ended. The First Sundering is long past. But the scars it left still shape Eldoria — and perhaps the battles yet to come.
If the world was once broken, who is to say it cannot be broken again?
And a question, for you:
Do you love when fantasy dives into ancient wars and legends, or do you prefer to discover the story only in the present?
Doing something a little different for today’s post! I’ve been putting a ton of time into plotting, world-building, and just getting that much needed time into writing on my novel series, so I wanted to share some fun tips I’ve learned along the way about writing in the fantasy genre.
A Hobbits Journey 