A.O.E.

A.O.E. stands for After Old Era, and N.E. (New Era) can be used instead. Year zero was the year that Tenorin slew the great saurok Optrus Maaj. The reason for this event separating the Old Era (O.E.) and the New Era is that prior to it, there was little that could be done to fight the larger sauroks. The appearance of a large saurok often meant that many people would die. Most civilizations were unable to prosper and grow. After Tenorin invented Draggor's Fire, humans finally had a good chance of being able to fight the larger sauroks, and civilization was able to flourish.

The Old Era lasted for 4,860 years. Before that there was another era, the Ancient Era (A.E.). The Ancient Era represents all of time up until the beginning of the Old Era. The Ancient Era ended when the first sauroks appeared about 7,500 years ago. Some people believe that there should another era made: the Pre-historic Era. The Pre-historic Era would be similar to the Ancient Era, except that it would stop at the Dawn of Civilization. The Ancient Ear would be only for the time period during which civilization existed and did not need to worry about the threat of sauroks. The problem is that no one can really say when the Dawn of Civilization was. It is spectulated to be between 10,500 and 12,000 years ago.

Here is how dates are written according to the era.

Ancient Era - 0 A.E. is the last year of the Ancient Era. The number goes up as you go backwards from the end of the era. 3200 A.E. would be 10,700 years ago.

Old Era - 4860 O.E. is the first year and 1 O.E. is the last. 2400 O.E. would be 5,040 years ago.

New Era - 0 N.E./A.O.E. is the first year and 2640 N.E. is the current year.

Not all nations use this system, but is the most common system. Some countries, like Asccar and Maloa, simply count the years from their founding.