The Great Awakening

The Great Awakening is the long transformation through which much of Vitaea’s wildlife became sapient and took on humanoid form. It is one of the defining historical events of the Recovery Timeline, and the starting point for most of the peoples who now call Vitaea home.

Origins

After the Reconstruction, the reborn Sylvari of Vitaea had to learn their world anew. Through their shared dreams they sensed sapience rising among the Haku of Aradaea, and they feared that a Vitaea left without thinking peoples of its own would tip the twin worlds out of balance. Acting as stewards of the land, they set the Awakening in motion.

Course of Events

The change was gradual rather than sudden, unfolding over several thousand years of the Regrowth Era. Creatures of many unrelated lineages gained awareness and rose into beastfolk. Because they shared no common ancestry, the newly awakened peoples competed fiercely for territory and survival: some flourished, while others were driven to extinction. The era closes as the Haku and the Awakened Vitaeans begin to build settlements and farm the land.

Legacy

Many of the Vitaean heritages trace their divergence directly to the Great Awakening, and the Sylvari are still remembered as its guides. The history of Vitaea is shaped throughout by the rivalries it left behind. The event is honored each year on Vitaean Heritage Day, one of the holidays observed across Geminaea.