Humanity did not originate in the Broken Lands. Scholars of Icarium, Parivia, and Remnant City have found written fragments that confirm it. The old records talk of the great exodus by which people came to the Lands. None of the sources are clear on when or where this happens; some mention a gate of fire while others talk of a sea of stars. However, they all agree that when people came to the Lands, they found a paradise. No one has found even a single word written about where the first settlers came from.

Nobody knows why the Great Civilization fell. The Dwemer left hints, and the Broken Lands carry clues like scars, but the first demagogues and warlords subverted those clues to create apocryphal myths necessary to secure their power in the Broken Lands. People still speculate, when they have nothing better to do, but it’s hard digging through all those made-up legends and misconceptions. The great city-states can’t agree on when it happened, let alone why. According to the Icarium Calendar, the Great Civilization ended 890 cycles ago in Icarium 5,653. But according to the Yazdgerd God-King, the Great Civilization ended 850 cycles ago in the Year of World’s Fire (Icarium 5693). In truth, neither date is important to you or anyone else, and neither is why.

Everyone is Immortal, including you, but few are aware of it. Moreover, fewer will experience it. However, your Autogenes is not the reason for your possible longevity; it was the ancients who cracked the code on life and then cracked the code on death. As a person approaches the age of 40, their body stops aging and enters a state of continuous regeneration. This means that everyone can live indefinitely and never suffer old age. The cost for this immortality, however, is an increased metabolism as the body struggles to keep itself young. As one enters their 40s, the amount of food they need to survive almost doubles. In a place where food is scarce, people often start starving to death as they age. Called “the aging sickness” or “age decay,” the majority of people who make it into their 40s die emaciated, as their meager diet fails to keep up with their accelerating metabolism. Only the rich and the powerful can afford enough food to escape age decay. The fact that most Ishinari are well-fed and thus long lived is probably the reason for the false rumour of Battle Remnants granting their pilots immortality.