The Age of Desolation was the earliest period in spirit animal records, lasting from around 13,000 to 4,000 years ago. It marked the transition from the Last Glacial Period of the Pleistocene to the Holocene era. During this time, dramatic climate changes made survival difficult, forcing many spirit animals to join human tribes and initiating their coexistence. Additionally, humans transitioned from the Paleolithic to Neolithic era during this period.
Pre-Desolation Ages
Before the Age of Desolation, the Earth’s climate became warmer during the Late Pleistocene. Improved living conditions allowed many species to migrate to higher latitudes and evolve into new forms, such as the Loong (Eastern Dragon).
During this time, spirit animals were largely hostile towards humans. To defend their kinds from human hunters, they often used their spirit power to turn into larger, more powerful forms. Humans feared them as monsters, leaving behind many legends of mythical creatures.
Younger Dryas Cold Period
Around 12,900 years ago, Earth entered the Younger Dryas Cold Period, a rapid climate cooling phase lasting 1,000 years that marked the beginning of the Age of Desolation. Many species, including the aforementioned Loong, could not adapt to the sudden changes and went extinct.
During this time, humans improved their stone tools for survival and began experimenting with agriculture. Spirit animals also started living alongside humans; some acted as “mountain gods” or “river gods,” exchanging favors with humans, while others took human forms and joined their tribes. Feng the Spirit Loong was one such spirit animal from this period.
Ancient Sanhai Plains
During the Last Glacial Period, a significant portion of Earth’s surface water was trapped inland as ice caps and glaciers. The sea level during the Younger Dryas Cold Period was over 100 meters (330 feet) lower than today, exposing the sea beds of Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, and East China Sea to form a vast plain known as the Ancient Sanhai Plains. This region had a cold and dry climate during the Younger Dryas period, making it very difficult to survive.
Nüwa Tribe
The Nüwa tribe was an old Stone Age human tribe active in the Yellow River basin on the Ancient Sanhai Plains. It was also the tribe Feng the Spirit Loong joined. The tribe was technologically advanced for its time, capable of producing high-quality stone tools and pottery, engaging in primitive textile production, and beginning to cultivate crops.
The Nüwa people had developed an astronomical calendar system called Longxing (Chinese: 龙星, the Loong Constellation System) However, this system, created thousands of years ago, had significant discrepancies with the star positions during the Younger Dryas period. Combined with climate change, it became ineffective in guiding the tribe through these challenging times.
Records
Humans had not developed writing during the Age of Desolation, making it difficult to find records from this period. However, residual spirit power in artifacts owned by spirit animals can sometimes be extracted to reveal fragments of their memories. In later times, spirit animals transcribed these memories into writing, gradually forming records of the Age of Desolation.
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