: A- The Cycle Is Broken
Good evidence for this is that the Comet and Tharsis - the very cosmic nature of the universe - came fifty years late this Era. Not a good thing for congruity, I'm sure.
: B- The Cycle is not broken
Good evidence for this is that, while before only Bahl'al and later Balor knew how to make Undead, when Soulblighter learned he taught it to every lacky evil mage he could get his hands on, who taught it to their lackies, who sold it for a bottle of Surly Dwarf Ale... and now everybody and their uncle can buy the Do-it-Yourself Corpse Reanimation Kit from the corner pharmacy. Add to that that the Myrkridia are back, plus the Fetch, and other Bad THins™, and you've got some serious Dark potention.
And lets not forget...
C- The Cycle is inverted
If things went according to plan, this should have been a Balor-ushered Dark Age. It appears to be an Alric-ushered Light Age instead. Following this pattern back, the next era should be an BalorReborn-ushered Dark Age, then a ConnachtReborn-ushered Light Age, and finally an AlricReborn-ushered Dark Age, before things return to normal (if they do). Or, in chart form:
BD - First Era
AL - Age of Reason
AD - Wind Age
BL - Wolf Age
AL - Now
BD - 940 years from now
BL - Two millenia from now
AD - The end of the world
