Civilizations
Peoples and cultures uncovered by the Apocrypha excavation teams. Each civilization has been reconstructed from the archaeological record — their governments, economies, belief systems, and artistic traditions pieced together from fragmentary evidence.
Fallen Civilizations
The Serath Ascendancy
1050 BCE — 200 BCE
- Government
- Military aristocracy emerging from Kethari collapse. The Ash-King ruled from the fortified citadel atop Mount Serath's lower slopes. Provincial governors (Flame-Captains) administered conquered territories. Conquered peoples were integrated through mandatory service in the Ash Legions.
- Economy
- War economy supplemented by tribute from conquered peoples. Standardized iron currency (flame-stamped discs). State-controlled iron mines. Significant military infrastructure spending — roads, fortifications, signal towers. Slave labor in mines.
Iron smelting (the technological revolution that ended the Bronze Age Kethari). Advanced siege engineering. Road network across the basin (still traceable in satellite imagery). Signal tower communication system using smoke and mirrors. Military medicine including basic surgery.
The Kethari Dominion
“Keth-ari”
2800 BCE — 1100 BCE
- Government
- Theocratic oligarchy ruled by the Council of Seven Flames — high priests of each temple district. Succession determined by oracular augury using volcanic glass scrying bowls. The Flame-Speaker (first among equals) held veto power but rarely exercised it, preferring consensus.
- Economy
- Copper and obsidian trade network spanning the entire basin. Standardized weight system based on obsidian blanks. Major exports: obsidian tools, copper ingots, volcanic glass jewelry. Freshwater pearl diving was a state monopoly. Tax collection was temple-administered.
Advanced metallurgy — bronze production by -2200. Sophisticated kiln technology for pottery (reaching 1100°C). Hydraulic engineering for rice paddy irrigation. Obsidian knapping reached an art form — surgical-quality blades thinner than a fingernail. Limited astronomy focused on volcanic activity prediction.