The Dark Times: Difference between revisions

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In the beginning, when the world was first formed out of dust and ice, before mankind came to dominance, the world was ruled by [[Eldritch Abomination|dark forces]], [[Ultimate Evil|evils beyond imagination]], [[Abusive Precursors|ancient tyrants]]. Or at least that's what some horror and fantasy stories want you to believe, that before man arrived (and even sometimes after) there were creatures that ruled this world that are now gone.

Most often, this is important to the [[Backstory]] of a series, giving writers room to introduce remnants of those old evils [[Sealed Evil in a Can|sealed in a can]]. Sometimes [[The Dark Times]] become [[The Time of Myths]] and then lead to [[Gotterdammerung]]. Alternatively, the creatures that populated [[The Dark Times]] are merely waiting [[Beneath the Earth]] until they regain their strength.

Most often, this is important to the [[Backstory]] of a series, giving writers room to introduce remnants of those old evils [[Sealed Evil in a Can|sealed in a can]]. Sometimes '''The Dark Times''' become [[The Time of Myths]] and then lead to [[Gotterdammerung]]. Alternatively, the creatures that populated '''The Dark Times''' are merely waiting [[Beneath the Earth]] until they regain their strength.

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== [[Literature]] ==

* Midkemia of ''[[The Riftwar Cycle]]'' was ruled for an untold amount of time by the Valheru, beings who arose long before the coming of the younger races and even the gods. They were enormously powerful and, at the time, not so much consciously evil as totally amoral. They lived out their time by sporadically killing one another, enslaving entire races, and periodically riding out to slaughter and sack entire worlds. Their conflict with the newly created gods and their expulsion after their defeat is a vital [[Backstory]] point.

* Most [[H.P. Lovecraft]] stories, where [[Eldritch Abomination~~|Eldritch Abominations~~]] are just waiting [[When the Planets Align|until the right stars align]] to return. [[Cosmic Horror Story|There is nothing humans can do about it beyond slightly delaying the inevitable]].

* Most [[H.P. Lovecraft]] stories, where [[Eldritch Abomination]]s are just waiting [[When the Planets Align|until the right stars align]] to return. [[Cosmic Horror Story|There is nothing humans can do about it beyond slightly delaying the inevitable]].

* [[The Silmarillion|Middle-Earth]] has cycled through various [[Dark Times]] when Morgoth and/or Sauron were the dominant forces in the world (perhaps the most notable being when Melkor/Morgoth ruled the all of the world except for Valinor completely unchallenged- it was only the coming of the elves that inspired the Valar to act against him). The plot of [[The Lord of the Rings]] basically consists of Sauron trying to start up ''new'' [[Dark Times]].

* The [[Cal Leandros]] series includes as part of its distant past a time when the world was ruled by various monsters like the Auphe.

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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* In the ''[[Continuum]]'' RPG, the time before 14,000 BC was/is ruled by the civilization of Antedesertium, whose narcissistic experiments and attacks on the timestream led to their Scorpion Kings becoming [[Eldritch Abomination~~|Eldritch Abominations~~]], before finally destroying their civilization, triggering more or less a millenium of temporal chaos that led to the creation of the Sahara Desert.

* In the ''[[Continuum]]'' RPG, the time before 14,000 BC was/is ruled by the civilization of Antedesertium, whose narcissistic experiments and attacks on the timestream led to their Scorpion Kings becoming [[Eldritch Abomination]]s, before finally destroying their civilization, triggering more or less a millenium of temporal chaos that led to the creation of the Sahara Desert.

* The second age of the ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' setting ''[[Eberron]]'' was the Age of Demons. And they are, in fact, [[Sealed Evil in a Can]] [[Beneath the Earth]]...

** In the default setting, [[Eldritch Abomination|the Aboleths, intelligent beings that look like crosses between great fish and cthonic monstrosities]], once ruled all the world. How do they know? They have photographic genetic memory. ''They remember.''

* The world of ''[[Exalted]]'' under Primordial rule may have been this. That's the official story, anyway, but the sourcebooks encourage readers to [[Alternate Character Interpretation|consider the possibility that]] [[Unreliable Narrator|the gods may be lying about that part.]]

* [[Warhammer 40000]] has several Dark Times: the aftermath of "The War in Heaven" stands out when all life was enslaved under the rule of the [[Physical God|C'tan]], until a ''plague of [[Eldritch Abomination~~|Eldritch Abominations~~]] killed 99% of all living things.''

* [[Warhammer 40000]] has several Dark Times: the aftermath of "The War in Heaven" stands out when all life was enslaved under the rule of the [[Physical God|C'tan]], until a ''plague of [[Eldritch Abomination]]s killed 99% of all living things.''

** By most series' standards, Warhammer 40k is entirely made up of Dark Times.

** Arguably 40k subverts this trope by having the present be the Dark Times with the past for the Imperium and the Eldar being depicted as glorious golden ages undone by their own pride. Since then [[It Got Worse|it just keeps getting worse]].

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== [[Toys]] ==

* ''[[Bionicle]]'' had its own Dark Time, and it was called just that, but it wasn't ancient. That is, it wasn't for most people, save for the tribes on the Mata Nui island, whose memories had been wiped. The era started with the Great Cataclysm 1000 years ago and ended directly before the main plot ~~began -- but~~ it only lasted for 999 years on the island of Mata Nui, because the [[Big Bad]] agreed to give the islanders one spare year to build their villages that he later wanted to besiege. The rest of the Universe wasn't as lucky.

* ''[[Bionicle]]'' had its own Dark Time, and it was called just that, but it wasn't ancient. That is, it wasn't for most people, save for the tribes on the Mata Nui island, whose memories had been wiped. The era started with the Great Cataclysm 1000 years ago and ended directly before the main plot began—but it only lasted for 999 years on the island of Mata Nui, because the [[Big Bad]] agreed to give the islanders one spare year to build their villages that he later wanted to besiege. The rest of the Universe wasn't as lucky.

== [[Video Games]] ==