Dichotome

In the fantasy series, "Den and the Wolves", the Dichotome is an era in history commonly associated with ancient times. It is the first recorded era in time in the Arlain world, when a balance existed between all things: life and death, gods and humans, fire and ice, darkness and light. The first humans (Ancients) emerged during this era, and believed that all things occurred in matching pairs (dichotomy). This ying-yang style of philosophy shaped the Ancients' belief system about the structure of the world, both physical and spiritual.

The Dichotome is described as being a period of time five to six thousand battre (years ago). If taking the start of the Empiritome (birth of Cantera) as year 0 AD, this places the Dichotome in approximately 6000-5000 BCE.

Inhabitants of the Dichotome
Ancients

The first inhabitants of Arlok, described as Ancients or Ancient Arlains, were primitive hunter-gatherer people, who lived in nomadic tribes. Many of these tribes emerged in the northern highlands of modern-day Win Wenada (then called the Dia-Dia). Universally, it is believed that humans emerged into the world via a portal, called the Toh Batt Dair (aka: the Great Hollow). This pre-world is also believed to be the place of birth of the gods, such as the Norsak.