The date of the death of Cho Bei was marked by the Heavens as the day that the first foreigners made their way through the reefs and landed on Rosuto-Shima's shores. The lords knew that war could not continue, and as each looked at his depleted resources and the possibility of a threat from foreign waters, they agreed that an end to the war would be the best protection for all.
But peace did not come quickly. For wizards, able to manipulate the elements and unafraid of the wrath of the lords, began to build an army of men, using elements of the new technologies* brought to the island by the foreigners. These sinister men harvested the souls of the dead, preventing these soldiers and honorable warriors from making their journey to the eternal banquet. Enslaving Keshou craftsmen, something that had been outlawed in the time of Han Kodora, the wizards endowed mechanical creations with the souls of men, creating an army that could do nothing but obey.
In an era when so many men had trained as soldiers, it was not difficult to gather together an army to face this threat. As the wizards and their mechanical creatures faced off against the army of brave soldiers, several of the best troops, using the battlefront as a diversion, slipped behind enemy lines and slew the dark wizards. The mechanical creatures fell to the ground in defeat, and Rosuto-Shima was safe from these monsters. And yet, the Heavens mandated that the souls of the brave warriors, denied their rightful rest, might live on, earning a second chance at life through the dark creations of the wizards, becoming Clockwork Ronin. What Heaven planned for these lost souls is as yet unknown, but no new army has risen against Rosuto-Shima.
And so Cradle of the World was divided up into provinces, each governed by its own rule and held accountable to no one. All times of prosperity must break into conflict; all times of conflict must return to prosperity. Though divided, the coming of peace opened new doors to Rosuto-Shima, and the land began the process of rebuilding. The people hoped that a new Golden Age might be ushered in, and that the Heavens might declare the era blessed. But the Heavens are mysterious, and if their intent was a new Golden Age, such has not been revealed.
* Editor's Note: For further discussion on technology, see appendix I: "A Discussion of Technology and the Realm of the Spirits."
