Time of the Eight

The Time of the Eight refers to the period of history with the Eight Makers stepped down from the Celestial Halls to take an active role in the operation of the world in response to the incursion of the Dark Fiend. Although the earliest part of this age resembled greatly the Primal Age, as the Dark Fiend began to make its presence known and felt, it became a period marked by rapid metaphysical and technological advancement, as the acquisition of writing by the goodly races allowed, among other things, mastery of the arcane arts while the creation of the Tapestry of Divinity by the Eight Makers gave to their followers minute access to Divine power and the Planar Veil was created in a radical - but ultimately unsuccessful - attempt to arrest or destroy the Dark Fiend's influence. The end result succeeded in blocking access to the Outer Planes by all but the most powerful of creatures, but the Dark Fiend was able to slowly continue exerting influence operating through the Plane of Shadow (A prenumbral region leading to the Negative Material Plane).

It is generally seen as a time of high sorcery, though of a particularly barbaric and unpredictable kind. Many of the inexplicable and strange beasts of the world - Owlbears, Mimics, Ettin, and so forth - were created during this time from any combination of powerful rogue magicians, elder gods, arcane incident, and/or active Dark Fiend corruption. This period is the origin of the oldest continuous myths of the Mainland,

The earliest stories come from this period, and feature epic heroics who do battle with dread and powerful creatures with only fist and spell. This period is generally viewed as ending after the first sword was forged by the Sidhe Tedril Eladrith (or, crafted by the Dwarf Urist Ironeyes and given to Tedril Eladrith, if Dwarven legend is to be believed) and used as a Kinslayer, the name that the blade would retain in legend. Once it was clear the Planar Veil had only slowed the Dark Fiend's influence, the Eight Makers to launch the First War to save their creation.