History can lay claim to some likelihoods, however. Intelligible records from ancient eras share various common elements.
Dreamkeepers in this time period proliferated far beyond the borders of Anduruna, and occupied city-states in far-flung, currently unexplored regions of the Dreamworld. Records of tributes and taxes indicate names of hundreds of cities, some dating back to 835 D.D. and beyond. These city-states had distinctive cultures, at least several of which appear to have converged and taken root in modern-day Anduruna. The causation of this geo-cultural oddity remains the subject of much speculation among scholars.
Warfare was a way of life for the ancients. Remnants of weapons dating to this period show a rudimentary grasp of metallurgy, but the weapon of choice would have been powers use for a culture lacking in technological advancements. Particularly potent individuals are memorialized in written and pictorial tablet form, and appear to occupy a place in civilization commensurate to royalty.

Many modern religions and celebrations originate within this era, including Sacrare, Anduruna’s mainstream polytheistic faith. Although its original practices focused on the acquisition of powers through worshipping spirits, that element of the faith has come to be viewed as largely symbolic in contemporary Anduruna’s cultural climate. Correspondingly, the Sacrare holy day Spirit’s Eve, once a coming-of-age powers ritual, is now a tame commercialized holiday. Other holidays were celebrated in ancient times as well, notably the seasonal Harvest Festival.

Beyond the few facts lies a rich tapestry of fantasy...considered fictional by modern Anduruna scholars, the myths of the nightmares have their origin in this long-lost period. Stories regarding these supernaturally evil creatures and other bizarre legends abound. Tales of nightmares that grew on the branches of dead trees, of a pilgrimage to the spirits resulting in a bestowment of greater power, the legend of path stretching over the sea, yarns of the earth swallowing villages, of magical talismans, of oceans filling the sky, of fiery mountains and armies of stone.

Rational minds in modern Anduruna do not allot plausibility to such stories. One sweeping trend does stake a spot in historic fact, however. Beginning in roughly 750 D.D., catastrophic change began to cascade across the face of the Dreamworld. Something initiated a widespread collapse of culture; legend attributes it to a tide of black death blanketing the landscape. Whatever the cause, panic-laced records of the time become increasingly sparse in the following decades, relating stories of mass population displacement and slaughter until, in 724 D.D., there is an utter blackout of recorded history. Not a single record, not a single page of parchment is left from this time. History is utterly silent for over 700 years.