: I think they're the same thing because there are both
: four ages, as seen from the flavor texts, and four
: eras, as seen in the Myth II epilogue.
There are the "Four Ages" mentioned in the Avatara flavor text, though we know of at least five different ages: the Axe Age, the Age of Reason, the Wolf Age, the Wind Age, and the Sword Age. So the "Four Ages" must refer to a specific set of four important or recent ages.
But as for Eras, there have been at least six so far, with Myth II in the seventh. There are four unnamed Levelers who were killed, *IN ADDITION TO* Tireces/Moagim (five) and Connacht/Balor (six), and now Alric reigning in the Seventh Era.
: But they didn't change his name to "Alric" in
: the finished version. Doesn't that mean he's supposed
: to be a different person now? And ou'Kahn, the Great
: King of the fir'Bolg at the time of the alliance, is
: never mentioned in text concerning the present.
Nothing much about the fir'Bolg is mentioned in Myth 1. As for Caliban being Alric, perhaps avatara hide their true names just like the Fallen do; Bahl'al is The Watcher's true name, and it's still left in the flavor text, even in Myth II. So, perhaps Alric is really named Caliban, but knowing his true name gives people some power over him (" ... rather like knowing [The Watcher's] true name, only better.")
: Inasmuch as the Wolf Age is an age, not an era, it has to
: come either before or after the Wind Age. If the
: Deceiver was born afterwards, it would conflict with
: the narrator's belief that he was over a thousand
: years old (although the narrator's knowledge about
: ancient history is obviously neither complete nor
: infallible). So I think Wolf came before Wind.
The narrator doesn't say that Myrdred is over a thousand years old. He says, reffering to his conflict with the Watcher, that "some of the Fallen are over a millenium old, and their rivalries go back just as far." So, yeah, he does imply that, but doesn't state it flat out.
: I should point out that if the ages are each one half of
: the great cycle, then at the time of the Great War
: you're in the Dark age immediately after the Light
: Wind Age. So if TFL takes place during the Sword Age,
: as you suggest, then the Wolf Age must have come
: before Connacht. There's no room for any ages in
: between.
Well, the Sword Age could be from the time Alric arose until the next Leveler comes, not from when Balor dies on. If so, then the Wind Age began as soon as Connacht started fighting the Myrkridia, not when Moagim died. I suspect this is the case.
