Wheel of Ages

The Wheel Of Ages is a concept first introduced in Kindred of the East that describes a cyclic view of the history of the World of Darkness (old). The idea has been loosely adapted by Exalted.

The Wheel of Ages is a wheel with twelve segments, each of which is an era in world history. The First Age is a glorious utopian era, and the Sixth Age is Hell on Earth. As history progresses, the ages get shorter the closer to the Sixth Age we are, and longer the closer to the First Age. The Wheel continues perpetually. The Sixth Age is heralded by the arrival of the Demon Emperor who will rule the world in darkness and fear. Most Kuei-jin believe that the Demon Emperor will be one of the Yama Kings.

Ages have supernatural impact; Blood And Silk takes place near the end of the Fourth Age and the Kuei-jin of the era are both more powerful and more readily able to reach The Hundred Clouds as the ages progress, feeding becomes harder, chi becomes rarer and enlightnment takes longer. Ages do not change cleanly, although there is usually an event that marks the changing of the ages.

The concept of ages is used in Exalted, although there have been only two so far. The Age of Sorrows is also called the Second Age.