The Earth was covered in ice for two hundred years, as Etreietinem and Maintinem searched. At last, they discovered Amchuis’ lair. They tore down the entrance and ventured into endless dark corridors, crawling with corrupted, vile creatures.

He had been holding hostage humans, animals, and Suru (spirits of nature), for the sole purpose of examining them. He tore them apart, he looked at their insides and drank their blood. All he wanted was to understand life. He was infinitely curious, but his curiosity disregarded the suffering of others. From his experiments emerged monstrous creatures—half-animal, half-human, half-suru. Due to the torture they endured, they became malevolent demons. The godesses were not able to destroy them all, many escaped and quickly spread around the world.

At the end of the tunnels stood an opulent hall, where Amchuis lay atop a mountain of gold. He looked up with his gleaming eyes, stunned.

“Vile creature!” cried Etreietinem.

“Cowardly eel!” shouted Maintinem. “Behold the disaster your absurd ambitions have wrought. You shall be punished!”

Etreietinem soared after him in fury. Just as she was about to catch him by the tail, Amchuis twisted midair and spat again. But at that very moment, Atragtinem descended from the sky and shielded his sister. He was unharmed, for poison cannot wound the Tinem of heavenly fire.

He lunged at Amchuis and seized him by the neck. The creature twisted violently, thrashing with such force that he threw Atragtinem to the ground below. The crash thundered across the land.

Amchuis pounced, jaws wide open, aiming for his throat. Atragtinem held him off, gripping his mouth as sharp fangs pierced his fingers. The beast flailed, and Atragtinem trembled, pushed to the edge of his strength.

“Now, Etreie!” he shouted. “I cannot hold him much longer!”

Etreietinem quickly forged a long net of ice. She swung it through the air and hurled it at the dragon. The net wrapped around his wings, and in his struggle, Amchuis became more entangled until he could no longer move.

Then she dragged him to the highest mountain and stood upon his head.

“You will never speak again,” she declared. “Demon unworthy of your own existence. Your venomous words have spread far enough. This shall be your prison and your punishment for poisoning the souls of Erukönnem’s children.”

Exhausted but content, Atragtinem returned to the skies. Maintinem did the same, and soon she began crafting a new light for the night. Her beautiful creation still shines in the heavens to this day. Yet it is said that this new light never matched the brilliance of the first.

During those years, Ardentinem worked arduosly, creating new bodies for the Ardennen who had perished. She mixed earth and water to form clay, which she kneaded and shaped. She combined different soils—forming everything from the hard skeleton to soft skin and hair—trying to imitate the bodies Erukönnem had once given them. These bodies were not as perfect as the first, but still, they were her most marvelous work.

When they were complete, Iridtinem and Igrudtinem sent the souls to inhabit them. And when the souls reached the bodies, they came to life. The Ardennen who now inhabit the earth were born.

Etreietinem’s ice melted. New rivers and valleys were born. And with the arrival of spring, came the third sun.

The Ardennen awoke in the spring of the third era. Ardentinem was now their protector; they called her mother. They honored her, respected her, and offered her tributes. They also honored Sonnatinem, believing he was the one who gave life to all. At night, they gazed at the stars—the realm of Etreietinem—and the moon of Maintinem.

The third era lasted long. The people of the land and the people of the sea lived in peace. The world was divided now, Ardenlanig (the earth) and Manglülanig (the oceans). But through mutual cooperation, both races evolved and expanded rapidly across the world. 

At that time, the Suru, guardians of nature, protectors of Manglülanig and Ardenlanig lived among the men and were feared and revered. The children of Eru also had to learn how to defend themselves from the evil creatures of Amchuis, who would sometimes seek to take prey on the men. 

The society advanced, reaching the pinnacle of its culture. The men built an imposing city in the middle of the ocean where Mannen and Ardennen could live together. This city was called Tryglienten (the City of Crystal). Beautiful is not a word that would suffice to describe what that city was in all its splendor. Living there was a privilege. The wisest and most talented individuals of all humanity resided there. 

The most talented Mannen possessed the ability to create sublime music, dance and poetry, inherited from the depths of Erglütinem's domain. In Tryglienten, they dedicated themselves to perfect their music. It is said that their intention was to discover to the secret sounds of the world, and sing the songs of the heavens. Come upon the songs that the Etreietinem sang when creating the stars. 

Whereas the most intelligent Ardennen went to Tryglienten seeking to understand life and the universe. They dedicated their lives to philosophy and science. Their findings came one after another, and so did their crafts and inventions. Their goal was to make everyone's life easier, a life without suffering. So, all those years they spent searching for cures for all ailments and solutions to all problems. Yet they could never find a cure for time. 

They watched each other grow old and die, and that filled them with despair. For death was the only thing they could be certain that would arrive to any being that breathes life. They thought they needed to find either a cure for death or a way to stop time. However, some condemned this knowledge: 

"What is life without death? Do you not see that your spirit is already immortal?" said some wise men of Manglülanig. "Our people do not fear death. Ah! It is but a sweet rest in Igrudtinem's domain. If necessary, you will be reborn. If not, you will go to Eru himself and dwell in infinity. Stop meddling with the inevitable." 

"We are slaves of time. This life is too short to finish our work. These bodies are to weak to withstand the weight of age. Would you not wish to die only when you desire?" they argued. 

"You question Iridtinem's wisdom!" others protested, sparking a debate that reached no resolution. 

In the end, this group of scholars continued their study. It is said they succeeded, and they learned to control time or discovered an elixir of eternal life. Either way, what they had done went against nature. 

The kings of men set out to be the first ones to put their hands on immortality. They sent their entire armies to take control of Tryglienten, unleashing a bloody war that ended with thousands of lives. They fought on, month after month, year after year, until the soldiers no longer remembered what they were fighting for. 

What was once a solution for death and suffering had become a symbol of power and the cause of death and suffering. The cities of Ardenlanig, once flourishing and prosperous became impoverished when all their men went to war. Soon all the great human kingdoms fell into disgrace and famines started ravishing the land. 

The city of crystal did not stand a chance. Its walls shattered and the structures collapsed, sinking the bottom of the ocean. The secret of immortality was still intact. 

No Ardennen or Mannen was ever able to defeat death. And that ancient war was futile in the end.

The water suru were angered when all this dead, poison and destruction was brought over to their domains, and they unleashed unrelenting storms. Rain and thunder pounded the skies of Ardenlanig without cease for days. The plants and fruits of the earth that humans ate from were all lost, worsening their hunger. In desperation, the humans offered all kinds of sacrifices to the suru to no avail. They prayed and begged to their gods, but they were not heard. 

Their populations were so weakened that the demonic creatures of Amchuis started roaming around and taking pray of the human children that wandered the infertile lands. The seas swelled and great waves battered the coasts, finishing with what little was left of the human population. 

The Mannen blamed the Ardennen for their own disgrace. They thought that the elixir of life was a sin to begin with and it would bring great misfortune. They quietly watched the civilizations of Arden succumb to chaos. All the Ardennen—guilty and innocent alike—were mercilessly exterminated, and that filled them with sorrow. Every time they had caused their own downfall and brought suffering to thousands with their greed. That greed that they thought to be infectious. 

The mannen turned their heads around and traveled north. They did not look back. 

Meanwhile, the Tinei gathered once more before Erukönnem, weary and resigned. 

"Oh great eternal one! Do your children deserve punishment?" 

"Eru," said Ardentinem indignantly, "I gave them everything, but I can do no more. I will not protect men—they seek and find their own ruin. They eat from me, and live from me, I am the Earth. Never again shall I be called Ardentinem." She bowed to Eru, descended to Ardenlanig, and there, her majestic body fused forever with the Earth. The beautiful Ardentinem lived on only in spirit—in every rock and every plant, on every mountain and every valley. 

"Arden!" wept Atragtinem. "Beautiful Arden... If you go, I go with you." The god of fire knelt before Eru and spoke his last words: "I trust in your infinite wisdom, in all that happens by your will. Now I go to honor the greatest of your creations. I shall live forever in spirit, giving life to the earth, accompanying Mother Earth." 

And so, Atragtinem descended to Ardenlanig and merged with the earth and the air. The world became living and breathing and its core burned with his fire. 

Erukönnem was pleased, looked at the remaining Tinei, and said: "What are you waiting for?" 

Erglütinem smiled and said: "Unlike my sister, I love the Mannen dearly. They are not dead, so they will remember my blue and joyful face. They will always know that they are your children. For me, it is an honor." He descended to the world and became one with the sea. He lived in rivers, lakes, rain, and atop the highest mountains, where eternal snows met his beloved Etreietinem, goddess of the stars, air, and cold. 

Sonnatinem and Maintinem did the same with great enthusiasm: "One body or another... but the essence remains the same." 

Only Igrudtinem and Iridtinem remained before Erukönnem. 

"Let death be a mystery to men. Let their fate be an enigma. We shall dwell in a palace forgotten by memory, and our existence shall become myth. The souls of men will swim in the river of oblivion, and their lives carved on an unfinished image." They returned to their domains in the abysal depths of the oceans. 

Thus began the Fourth Era: The Age of Men. 

In caves on high mountains and in boats they built themselves, a few men had survived. Scattered across Ardenlanig, new civilizations began from the mud. 

The story was passed down from generation to generation, and it is astonishing how, two eras later, the legend is still remembered among the sea people. You, Ardennen, remember only since then, with some vague memories of the third era. But us, Mannen, are an ancient people, and we remember everything... from the beginning of time.