The Book of Tides

The Book of Tides, recently copied and bound by the diligent if overly cautious Brother Omnal, is a profound departure from traditional Abbey histories, seeking not to document fixed historical events, but to measure the cosmological ebb and flow of energy that dictates mortal success. As Chronicler, I acknowledge its necessity, for the past is a fluid river, and we must chart the currents, not just the banks. This tome posits that all epochs—the rise of the Aerilon Ascendancy, the zenith of the subterranean cities, and their catastrophic collapses—are governed by predictable, immense cycles of the earth’s energies, which the author terms the grand The [[Great Cycle]]. Omnal asserts that these 'Tides' are the direct terrestrial manifestation of celestial alignments, causing the ebb and surge of raw Auric Resonance. When the Tide is high, great works thrive, but hubris follows quickly, leading invariably to a collapse when the Tide retreats. The book’s primary significance lies in its rigorous chronological dissection of these periods of energetic influence, treating the history of the mountains not as a sequence of moral failures, but as a linear, measurable progression of power saturation and decay. Omnal meticulously documents how the shifting energy levels dictated technology, philosophy, and war. He concludes with a powerful, if terrifying, prediction: that the current era is characterized by the 'Dwindling Light,' a preparatory phase for the next low Tide, which, unless mitigated by artifacts of immense positive resonance like the Sunstone of Aethelgard, threatens to herald a period of unparalleled energetic famine across the Iron-Grip Mountains. This volume serves as the necessary textbook for understanding the deep, cyclical nature of our existence, a map of the eternal forces that bind the dwarven future to the past. Index of The Great Cycle: Measuring the Flow The following chapters chart the progression of the Tides across known history, providing crucial context for the current era: 1. The Chapter of the First Dawn: 3000 – 2500 YE (The Initial Rise and the Earth’s Awakening) 2. The Chapter of the Equatorial Flow: 2500 – 2300 YE (Early Mastery of Stone and Sound) 3. The Chapter of the Apex Tide: 2300 – 1800 YE (The Zenith of Umbral and Untamed Resonance) 4. The Chapter of the Dwindling Light: 1800 – 1700 YE (Retreat of Auric Power and the Great Sundering) 5. The Chapter of the Coming Alignment: 1700 YE – Present (Stabilization and the Call for Rebirth)