Long before the Breaking of the World, the Age of Legends was a time of peace, prosperity,
and advanced technology, made possible in large part because of the Aes Sedai, servants
of humanity who channeled Saidin and Saidar, the male and female halves of the One Power.
This unique magical energy flowing from the True Source, allowed them to heal wounds and
illnesses, construct beautiful, nearly indestructible structures, perfect food production and perform
many other incredible feats which eliminated poverty, hunger and homelessness around the
world.
Although evil, greed and selfishness did exist, it was exceedingly rare, as social and professional
status was dependent on good works and how ones actions helped serve humanity.
Among their many great centers of learning, none were more prestigious then the University
of Collam Daan and it’s research center Sharom, a great floating sphere where a number
of their top scientists including Beidomon and Mierin Eronaile, discovered the True Power,
a new source of magical energy located beyond the Pattern of Reality, which could be accessed
equally by both men and women, meaning it was free from the frustrating limitations
of the one power.
Eager to access this new source of magic, researchers drilled a small hole called the
Bore, through the pattern, only to discover they made a terrible mistake, as the energy
detected came from the Dark One Shai’tan, a primordial being of evil who stood in contrast
to the Creator.
Although the Bore was not big enough for the Dark One to escape his prison outside reality,
it allowed him to directly touch and influence the world, creating a renaissance of greed,
anger, jealousy and violence which swept across their lands.
Despite the immediate destruction of Sharom and Collam Daan, the full effects of the Dark
One’s corruption spread slowly, leading to the collapse of their near Utopian civilization
over the next century.
With humanity made more susceptible to their evil impulses, many joined the Dark One, lured
to his side with promises of immortality and greater prominence in the new world he would
create.
Ordinary human who turned against the light were known as Friends of the Dark, while Aes
Sedai traitors were called the Chosen and Forsaken.
These greater servants of evil were marked by the Dark One, which in addition to making
all his minion obey them, meant he could find them wherever they went, never escaping his
grasp.
Though some of these people immediately went over to the Shadow, bolstering their armies,
others remained with the forces of light acting as spies and saboteurs, creating chaos and
division among their ranks.
The bravest, most ambitious and dedicated of these followers, swore their oaths of allegiance
directly to the Dark One by travelling to Shayol Ghul, where the pattern of reality
was thinnest, becoming the focal point of his power.
Among the 29 Forsaken who were allowed to use the True Power, 13 survived beyond the
Age, standing above the others in authority and ability, performing deeds of such malice
and cruelty they were remembered for thousands of years.
Among the male chosen, there was Ishamael, Rahvin, Demandred, Sammael, Aginor, Balthamel,
Asmodean and Ba’lal, while the females included Lanfear, Semirhage, Moghidean, Graendal and
Mesaana.
After building up their forces, the Forsaken launched the War of the Shadow, also called
the War of the Power, a ten year conflict which devastated the world, nearly causing
the total collapse of civilization.
Their ultimate goal was to release the Dark One from captivity so he could destroy all
that was and in it’s place create a new world in his own image, where the Forsaken
and Darkfriends would rule in his name.
Winning a number of early victories, the Dark One’s armies conquered many territories
where they ruled through terror and brutality.
In addition to their human soldiers, their numbers were greatly augmented by Trollocs
and other Shadowspawn, viscous monsters created and controlled by the Forsaken, whose sole
purpose was to destroy and wage war for the Dark One.
Though they were initially caught unaware, the forces of Light eventually organized themselves
under the Dragon Lews Therin Telamon, and started to push the enemy back, taking back
some of their lost lands.
In addition to being hindered by the martial prowess of Lews Therin and his armies, the
Dark forces were afflicted by constant in-fighting, with their leaders and warriors engaged in
an unending competition for supremacy as they sought to increase their personal power and
authority.
The Forsaken especially were always scheming against each other, hoping to be name Naebliss,
or second in command to Shai’tan, leading to many of their deaths.
Despite the potential problems these internal struggles might have posed, the Dark One encouraged
their rivalries as he wanted only the strongest under his command.
Yet even so their disadvantage did not last long, and soon the forces of Darkness were
once again on the offensive, with the armies of light experiencing their own problems,
beset with betrayals, disorganization, low morale and increased division among their
leadership.
Threatened by impending defeat, two major proposals to achieve victory were considered
by the Aes Sedai in the Hall of Servants.
The first, advocated by Lews Therin Telamon, was for the forces of light to attack Shayol
Ghul, where 6 male and 7 female Aes Sedai would conduct a ritual to seal the bore with
7 cuendillar which would cut off the Dark One’s access to the world and ensure his
indefinite imprisonment.
However this idea carried enormous risk, as their failure to perfectly place these seals
could actually releasing the Dark One completely, dooming the world.
The other proposal, supported primarily by the female Aes Sedai Latra Posae Concord,
was to use a special ter’angreal and two powerful sa’angreal to create a secondary
prison around the bore, temporarily cutting off the Dark One’s influence until a more
permanent solution was found.
A staunch enemy of Lews Therin’s plan, Latra conspired against him by forming the Fateful
Concord, where all the most powerful female Aes Sedai of the Hall signed an agreement
forbidding them from aiding his efforts.
Since the dragon’s plan required the use of both Saidin and Saidar, it was quickly
shelved, and work began on Latra’s proposal.
Yet as the forces of Darkness continued to advance her approach suffered a severe setback,
when the territory where they held the necessary Ter’angreal was captured by the enemy.
Making matters worse, the regions which held the needed sa’angreal were also being threatened
and on the cusp of falling to the Dark One.
With Latra’s proposal in jeopardy and all efforts to retrieve the Ter’angreal failing,
Lews Therin again tried to advocate for his position, but the female Aes Sedai continued
to oppose him, despite the fact they had no immediate alternative.
With enemy armies closing in and total defeat fast approaching, the Dragon knew they could
no longer wait, enacting his plan without the aid of female Aes Sedai.
Accompanied by 113 of his closest supporters, called the Hundred Companions, and an honorguard
of ten thousand warriors, Lews Therin marched to Shayol Ghul, arriving at the same time
the Dark One was holding a meeting with his 13 most powerful Forsaken.
Battling the armies of Darkness, Lews Therin and his male Aes Sedai successfully completed
their mission, by perfectly placing the seven cuendillar to close the bore and reseal the
Dark One’s prison.
In fact, their efforts proved doubly successful, as they also managed to trap all 13 Forsaken,
thereby eliminating the Dark One’s greatest generals and supporters.
However, because there were no females present, the males were forced to exclusively use Saidin
in their ritual, which meant directly touching the Dark One with this magical energy.
This presented their enemy with a unique opportunity, and so he performed a counter-stroke, tainting
the male half of the one power with his corruption, ensuring that anyone who used Saidin from
that point forward, would inevitably go mad with an unyielding desire for chaos, destruction
and violence.
Therefore, in addition to losing 45 of the hundred companions, and a great portion of
their honor guard in the fighting, the rest of the male aes sedai including Lews Therin
went mad, causing massive destruction to the world in the wake of their victory.
Although the Dark One was defeated, and his remaining armies were pushed back, destroyed
and scattered by the forces of light, every wielder of Saidin left alive started to lose
their sanity, resulting in devastating damage to lands and seas over the next 3 centuries,
referred to as the Breaking of the World, which only ended when female Aes Sedai finished
killing or gentling the last of their male counter parts.
Though the Dark One and Forsaken were gone, the problems they faced in sealing the bore
meant the threat was not completely eradicated, and so prophecies emerged, including the Karaethon
Cycle, which foresaw that the Shadow would one day return, as would the Dragon, reborn
in a new body to again face off against this evil and save the world.
Thus began the Third Age and years After Breaking, when humanity attempted to rebuild from the
ashes of their fallen civilization.