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Age of Budding
October 23, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Added regional shrine and collectible guide navigation
The Age of Budding, subtitled The Birth of Civilization, is the fourth and final period Elliot and Faie visit on their backward journey through the four ages. It is the furthest point back in time in Philabieldia's history that the story reaches. Here, at the dawn of civilization, humans use weapons of their own making to keep the beast tribes at bay. There is no magic infrastructure, no established nation: only a small settlement of people trying to survive.
The earliest confirmed human settlement in Philabieldia is called Hitoyori. Its people are young as a civilization, their defenses built from handmade tools and physical courage rather than any protective spell. Outside the settlement, in the snow field, lives a group that Hitoyori's people regard with deep uncertainty: the Myū tribe.
The Myū are set apart from the beast tribes in a crucial way: they can speak the human language and wield powerful magic. Whether they represent a hope or a threat to humanity is the central drama of the Age of Budding. The settlement's young chief, Kai, sees the Myū as simply another beast tribe, their magic a danger to be feared. Hirk, a Hitoyori woman who has spent years struggling to use magic herself, believes the Myū are the key to Hitoyori's future and seeks to establish relations with them so that the village's children might have a chance to grow to adulthood. How that question plays out is not covered on this page, which avoids story spoilers.
Character | Role | Stance on the Myū |
|---|---|---|
Kai | Chief of Hitoyori | Views the Myū as another beast tribe; a threat to be repelled |
Hirk | Hitoyori magic-seeker | Believes the Myū and their magic are Hitoyori's best hope; seeks to learn from them |
Lyudmila | A woman of the Myū | Lives in the snow field; through a certain course of events, comes to teach magic to the humans |
The Age of Budding is described as the moment when humanity faces its greatest turning point in the history of Philabieldia. Whether that turning point is defined by the relationship with the Myū, by the first encounters with beast tribes, or by something else entirely is left for the story to answer and is not covered on this page. What is confirmed is that the decisions made in this earliest age eventually shape everything Elliot has witnessed in the later eras. How that chain of cause and consequence unfolds is part of what the journey backward through time is meant to reveal.
Route | Where to continue |
|---|---|
Life shrines | This age has six. Shrines of Life lists their approaches and challenges. |
Mystic shrines | Powers found in this age: Copy. Faie's Fairy Magic gives their shrine approaches and uses. |
Chests | Chest Locations lists rewards and dungeon routes for this age. |
Cats | Cat Locations and Rewards includes listed routes and collection rewards. |
Side quests | Side Quests gives quest starts, rewards and timing. |
The Age of Budding sits at the far end of the time-travel arc, coming after the Age of Magic and before the story begins its return. It is the end of the backward journey, but also the beginning of Philabieldia's story as a whole. For the full roster of confirmed characters across every era, see the Characters page.