History Main / PrequelInTheLostAge

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
** ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi'' takes place in the very early history of the Republic, about 4,000 years before the films. The architecture and technology are far more primitive-looking, hyperspace lanes are still being mapped, and the Jedi Order is strong but with different codes and morals than the 'present day' (for instance, romance is not forbidden and Masters are seen taking several students).
** ''ComicBook/DawnOfTheJedi'' goes even ''earlier'' in the galaxy's history, before hyperspace travel was common. The organization that would eventually become the Jedi were gathered remotely by powerful alien beings. The Jedi aren't even called that yet (they're Jed'aii) and are as wary of "falling" to the ''light'' side of the Force as much as the dark.
[[/folder]]

* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' includes many novels and games set in the time of the Old Republic, usually thousands of years before the Battle of Yavin.
** Anything happening more than one thousand years before the movies (when the Republic was re-formed, and the Sith were thought by everyone to have been wiped out), in particular. Before this time, the Republic had a military and the Jedi were allowed to hold political offices, with a Jedi serving as Chancellor. This re-formation happened in part because the communications and travel infrastructure of the galaxy had been ruined by Sith warlords, and the Republic being on its last legs, before the Sith annihilated themselves. Besides the military being disbanded and the Sith in hiding, the difference between those eras and the films is one thousand years of corruption and decay. The lack of an enemy to fight caused several families that had served as officers for thousands of years to be disaffected (setting the stage for the Empire), and dissent caused by the corruption caused the Separatist crisis and ''WesternAnimation/TheCloneWars''. After the Reformation, the galaxy's ''economy'' bounced back as strong as ever if not more so, but the oversight and judiciary mechanisms for it stayed stagnant, to the point that people actually ''welcomed'' the Empire, at first.

* ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'''s 2004 and 2005 sagas took place a thousand years before the current story. Allegedly, they planned to have more flashback years, but the kids buying the toys found them too confusing.

* The ''Franchise/StarWars'' ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' games are set in the Old Republic-era, but unlike the prequels above, they take place nearly ''four thousand years'' into the past. The stories center mostly on the wars between the ancient Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic, the Mandalorians, and the Rakata precursors [[AbusivePrecursors who enslaved the galaxy several millennia ago.]]

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/TheEmpireNovels'': When Dr Asimov began publishing this series, he had already published several of his ''Literature/TheFoundationTrilogy'' stories in ''Magazine/AstoundingScienceFiction''. ''Foundation'' takes place during the [[VestigialEmpire fall]] of the Trantorian Empire, while ''Empire'' takes place during the [[RisingEmpire rise]] of said empire. They initially only had a few names in common with each other, but CanonWelding joined them into the same [[StandardSciFiHistory galactic storyline]].

* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline'' is set in the Second Era in the Elder Scrolls franchise history, a good millennium or so before the VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim, and even before the empire of Tiber Septim was established.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov wrote the ''Galactic Empire'' novels, one of which was set within the First Galactic Empire prior to the collapse depicted in the Literature/{{Foundation}} trilogy, as a bridge between his ''Robot'' series and that trilogy. The first one, ''Pebble in the Sky'', takes place at the height of the Galactic Empire and is in a bit of an odd situation when it comes to which is a prequel and which is a sequel (it was actually Asimov's ''first'' novel, but large parts of ''Foundation'' had already been serialized). The two other ''Empire'' novels were set further back, with one taking place during the rise of the empire that will ''become'' the First Galactic Empire, and the other being set before Trantor became a galaxy-wide concern.

* In the ''Literature/{{Dragaera}}'' series, the ''Literature/KhaavrenRomances'' are a [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis fictional in-universe]] series detailing what the in-universe author considers the "good old days", where nobles were brave and honorable and peasants knew their place. In contrast to the modern, FirstPersonSmartass style of the Vlad series in the "present", these are written in Antiquated Linguistics (although interestingly, they are written in-universe some time after Vlad).

* Amazon's [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium Lord of The Rings]] series is confirmed to take place during the Second Age of Middle-Earth, a period of history which is notoriously blank in Tolkien's Legendarium; this means that the producers can do pretty much anything they want as long as it doesn't affect the overall story of the conquests of Sauron and the fall of Numenor.

* The ''Arcane Age'' line of TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms products explored the days when Netheril and Myth Drannor were at the height of their power.

* VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline will be set in the Second Era in the Elder Scrolls franchise history, a good millenium or so before the VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim, and even before the empire of Tiber Septim was established.

* Some of the ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' prequel novels from [[Creator/HerbertPropertiesLLC Brian Herbert]] and Creator/KevinJAnderson cover the [[Literature/LegendsOfDune distant past where sentient machines ruled the universe]]. None of the novels cover (or even mention in any detail) the time period prior to the Time of the Titans... yet.

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Multiple Media ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''Literature/OldKingdom'': ''Clariel'' takes place 600 years before the birth of Sabriel, and 400 years before the events that threw the Kingdom into chaos.[[labelnote:pedantry]]Technically it's set 418 years before the beginning of the Interregnum.[[/note]] The short story "To Hold the Bridge" is also set in this time period, an unknown period of time before the events of the novel.

[[folder: Comic Books ]]
* ''ComicBook/TalesOfTheJedi'' takes place in the very early history of the Republic, about 4,000 years before the films. The architecture and technology are far more primitive-looking, hyperspace lanes are still being mapped, and the Jedi Order is strong but with different codes and morals than the 'present day' (for instance, romance is not forbidden and Masters are seen taking several students).
* ''ComicBook/DawnOfTheJedi'' goes even ''earlier'' in the galaxy's history, before hyperspace travel was common. The organization that would eventually become the Jedi were gathered remotely by powerful alien beings. The Jedi aren't even called that yet (they're Jed'aii) and are as wary of "falling" to the ''light'' side of the Force as much as the dark.

[[folder: Fan Fic ]]

[[folder: Film ]]
* The ''StarWars'' prequels are set before and during the Clone Wars and the downfall of the Old Republic, and feature the Jedi Order as it was before the Purge. The time difference is much smaller than usual, but the trope still applies.
* ''Film/EscapeFromThePlanetOfTheApes'' film qualifies, at least from apes' point of view, as it's set before the fall of humans' long-forgotten civilization (i.e. ours).

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The '''Literature/CoreanChronicles'' have a prequel trilogy set in the time of the Duarchy, starring [[spoiler: the ancestors of Alucius and of the Protector's line.]]
* The ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' includes many novels and games set in the time of the Old Republic, usually thousands of years before the Battle of Yavin.
** Anything happening more than one thousand years before the movies (when the Republic was re-formed, and the Sith were thought by everyone to have been wiped out), in particular. Before this time, the Republic had a military and the Jedi were allowed to hold political offices, with a Jedi serving as Chancellor. This re-formation happened in part because the communications and travel infrastructure of the galaxy had been ruined by Sith warlords, and the Republic being on its last legs, before the Sith annihilated themselves. Besides the military being disbanded and the Sith in hiding, the difference between those eras and the films is one thousand years of corruption and decay. The lack of an enemy to fight caused several families that had served as officers for thousands of years to be disaffected (setting the stage for the Empire), and dissent caused by the corruption caused the separatist crisis and ''WesternAnimation/TheCloneWars''. After the Reformation, the galaxy's ''economy'' bounced back as strong as ever if not more so, but the oversight and judiciary mechanisms for it stayed stagnant, to the point that people actually ''welcomed'' the Empire, at first.
* ''When The Tripods Came'' is a prequel to ''Literature/TheTripods''.

* In the Literature/{{Dragaera}} series, the Literature/KhaavrenRomances are a [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis fictional in-universe]] series detailing what the in-universe author considers the "good old days", where nobles were brave and honorable and peasants knew their place. In contrast to the modern, FirstPersonSmartass style of the Vlad series in the "present", these are written in Antiquated Linguistics (although interestingly, they are written in-universe some time after Vlad).
* Creator/IsaacAsimov wrote the ''Galactic Empire'' novels, one of which was set within the First Galactic Empire prior to the collapse depicted in the Literature/{{Foundation}} trilogy, as a bridge between his ''Robot'' series and that trilogy. The first one, ''Pebble in the Sky'', takes place at the height of the Galactic Empire and is in a bit of an odd situation when it comes to which is a prequel and which is a sequel (it was actually Asimov's ''first'' novel, but large parts of ''Foundation'' had already been serialized). The two other ''Empire'' novels were set further back, with one taking place during the rise of the empire that will ''become'' the First Galactic Empire, and the other being set before Trantor became a galaxy-wide concern.
* Creator/KatherineKurtz wrote the Camber trilogy and the Heirs of Camber trilogy to explain the state of affairs in Gwynedd during ''[[Literature/{{Deryni}} The Chronicles of the Deryni]]'' trilogy. Specifically, the Camber and Heirs of Camber books explain how a land that had humans and Deryni co-existing openly (including Healers as a regular feature of then practice of medicine) became a land where Deryni often had to conceal their abilities or face death.
* In the Literature/CoDominium series, ''Literature/FalkenbergsLegion'' is a prequel to ''Literature/TheMoteInGodsEye'' and ''Literature/KingDavidsSpaceship''. Set during the [=CoDominium era=], it focuses on a mercenary band's attempt to stablize off planet colonies before World War III devastates Earth.

* The Great Migration Duology books (''Crystal Soldier'' and ''Crystal Dragon'') in the Literature/LiadenUniverse.
* Creator/GregBear[='s=] ''Literature/TheForerunnerSaga'' is a trilogy of ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' novels set during the heyday of the Forerunners 100,000 years ago, when they were spread out throughout the Milky Way. All that's left of them now are various artifacts (and their AI caretakers) scattered throughout the galaxy, including a set of giant rings meant to wipe out all life in the galaxy.
* The ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' novel series has ''The Thran'', a novel about the time before the five colours of magic were discovered. It contains the StartOfDarkness moments for some of the series villains as well as explaining where several of the PlotCoupons used in the other books originated.
* Some of the ''Franchise/{{Dune}}'' prequel novels from [[Creator/HerbertPropertiesLLC Brian Herbert]] and Creator/KevinJAnderson cover the [[Literature/LegendsOfDune distant past where sentient machines ruled the universe]]. None of the novels cover (or even mention in any detail) the time period prior to the Time of the Titans... yet.
* ''Darkwing'' is a prequel to the ''Literature/{{Silverwing}}'' trilogy that takes place in the prehistoric era.
* The novel ''Literature/BioShockRapture'' mixes this with a slide into JustBeforeTheEnd. It basically links all the backstory we know about the first two games together into a single novel.
* Most of ''Literature/WizardAndGlass'' is set JustBeforeTheEnd of the time of the Gunslingers and tells of a time when Gunslingers still kept peace in the world, time and space were still somewhat dependable, and there seemed to be hope that even though the world had already somewhat "moved on," things maybe could still get better.
* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' is this to ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''.
* ''Literature/TalesOfTheBranionRealm'' is largely this, since each book is set a century or more before the previous book. Book 3, in particular, sets up the familial conflicts in Book 2, as brothers and sisters in the former make way for third cousins in the latter. It also mentions, in passing, an event that will lead to the main conflict in Book 1.
* The second Literature/{{Dragonlance}} trilogy, ''Dragonlance Legends'' featured the Cataclysm, which occurred 300 years prior to the events of most of the other Dragonlance materials.
** Though ''Legends'' isn't a straight example, as it involves characters from the present visiting that era via TimeTravel and therefore also continues the storyline of the original trilogy. However, there are numerous Dragonlance works set in Krynn's distant past that do play this completely straight, including the Elven Nations Trilogy, ''Literature/TheLegendOfHuma'', and the Literature/KingpriestTrilogy, which covers the events leading up to the Cataclysm in more detail and focusing solely on characters actually from that time period.

* ''Clariel'' takes place 600 years before the ''Literature/OldKingdom'' trilogy, and 400 years before the events that threw the Kingdom into chaos.
* The ''Literature/RevelationSpaceSeries'' largely takes place after the Melding Plague - an unknown alien technology that [[GreyGoo corrupts human nanotechnology]] - wrecked human civilization, decimating the technological base that made the Bella Epoque golden age possible in the Yellowstone System. ''Chasm City'', the prequel to the [[Literature/RevelationSpace first novel]], takes place only a few years after the Melding Plague hit the eponymous city, and shows the nightmarish environment where the [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas self-evolving skyscrapers]] became corrupt, growing and consuming anything in their path. ''Literature/ThePrefect'' takes place a few decades before the Melding Plague, showing the nigh-utopian pre-Plague Chasm City, and shows the vast 'Glitter Belt' of multi-cultural orbital habitats before they were reduced to the 'Rust Belt' after the Plague.
* ''Literature/TheKharkanasTrilogy'', a prequel to the ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', is set in the TheTimeOfMyths, when the Tiste still lived in the realm of Kurald Galain and the great Citadel of Kharkanas, before the civil war that made Mother Dark turn away, tore their realm apart and drove the Tiste out and into the world of the main series.
* ''Literature/{{The Gospel of Loki}}'' takes place before and during Ragnarok, in contrast to the main series (''Literature/{{Runemarks}}''), which is set five hundred years later.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'': The main events briefly alludes to Torna, a Tyrant/kingdom that existed 500 years prior to the game itself. The actual cutscenes related to this time period were cut, due to time and budget constraints, but became part of the expansion pass. However, the project took on a life of its own and eventually became massive enough to warrant a physical release as a standalone prequel called: ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M88O0_AWJtk Torna: The Golden Country]]''.

* In the Literature/CoDominium series, ''Literature/FalkenburgsLegion'' is a prequel to ''Literature/TheMoteInGodsEye'' and ''Literature/KingDavidsSpaceship''. Set during the [=CoDominium era=], it focuses on a mercenary band's attempt to stablize off planet colonies before World War III devastates Earth.

* In the Literature/CoDominium series, ''Falkenburg's Legion'' is a prequel to ''Literature/TheMoteInGodsEye'' and ''King David's Spaceship''. Set during the [=CoDominium era=], it focuses on a mercenary band's attempt to stablize off planet colonies before World War III devastates Earth.

* Sadly, there will never be a true prequel to the ''Literature/WheelOfTime'' series, due to the death of Robert Jordan, but we do have a brief "flashback" due to a past-viewing device in the fourth book. There Rand has a series of visions that work their way from the release of the SealedEvilInACan through the Breaking of the World, which ended the Age of Legends, and through several centuries of the aftermath. There's also a very short story ''[[http://library.tarvalon.net/?title=The_Strike_at_Shayol_Ghul The Strike at Shayol Ghul]]'' -- an in-universe preliminary report of a historian, who studied a damaged history book written less than a century after the Breaking.

** Anything happening more than one thousand years before the movies (when the Republic was re-formed, and the Sith were thought by everyone to have been wiped out), in particular. Before this time, the Republic had a military and the Jedi were allowed to hold political offices, with a Jedi serving as Chancellor. This re-formation happened in part because the communications and travel infrastructure of the galaxy had been ruined by Sith warlords, and the Republic being on its last legs, before the Sith annihilated themselves. Besides the military being disbanded and the Sith in hiding, the difference between those eras and the films is one thousand years of corruption and decay. The lack of an enemy to fight caused several families that had served as officers for thousands of years to be disaffected (setting the stage for the Empire), and dissent caused by the corruption caused the separatist crisis and TheCloneWars. After the Reformation, the galaxy's ''economy'' bounced back as strong as ever if not more so, but the oversight and judiciary mechanisms for it stayed stagnant, to the point that people actually ''welcomed'' the Empire, at first.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Earthdawn}}'' is a prequel to ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', set in the Fourth World. Shadowrun itself is set in the Sixth World. (As a point of comparison, we're currently living in the Fifth World.)
** Not much longer, the clock is running.

** Anything happening more than one thousand years before the movies (when the republic was re-formed, and the Sith were thought by everyone to have been wiped out), in particular. Before this time, the republic had a military and the Jedi were allowed to hold political offices, with a Jedi serving as Chancellor. This re-formation happened in part because the communications and travel infrastructure of the galaxy had been ruined by Sith warlords, and the Republic being on its last legs, before the Sith annihilated themselves. Besides the military being disbanded and the Sith in hiding, the difference between those eras and the films is one thousand years of corruption and decay. The lack of an enemy to fight caused several families that had served as officers for thousands of years to be disaffected (setting the stage for the empire), and dissent caused by the corruption caused the separatist crisis and TheCloneWars.

* The ''CoreanChronicles'' have a prequel trilogy set in the time of the Duarchy, starring [[spoiler: the ancestors of Alucius and of the Protector's line.]]
* The ''StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' includes many novels and games set in the time of the Old Republic, usually thousands of years before the Battle of Yavin.

* The ''Literature/TalesOfDunkAndEgg'' are an ongoing series of prequel novellas to ''ASongOfIceAndFire'' set about a hundred years or so before the start of that series, during the tail end of a prosperous period under the old regime. They are somewhat LighterAndSofter and generally end on at least a bittersweet note.

* The ''MagicTheGathering'' novel series has ''The Thran'', a novel about the time before the five colours of magic were discovered. It contains the StartOfDarkness moments for some of the series villains as well as explaining where several of the PlotCoupons used in the other books originated.

** And all of them take place before the first ''FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance''. The setting's "Real World" is actually Ivalice thousands of years in the other games' future after [[TheMagicGoesAway all the world's magic energy is used up]] and people have developed technology analogous to RealLife. The in-universe ''Final Fantasy'' games the children play and on which [[spoiler:Marche's fantasy world is based]] are works of historical fiction, like the ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' games are to us.

** ''Exalted'' used to be itself a prequel to OldWorldOfDarkness, with various types of Exalts being derived from WoD splats - Lunars are obviously werewolves, for instance.
* ''{{Earthdawn}}'' is a prequel to ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', set in the Fourth World. Shadowrun itself is set in the Sixth World. (As a point of comparison, we're currently living in the Fifth World.)

Most of the time, the prequel will prominently feature said worldshaking cataclysm as its climax; indeed, it's almost mandatory, so that viewers can see how the wondrous world of the Golden Age [[EndOfAnAge became the world of the original series]]. Normally, the Golden Age will be (at least superficially) a {{Utopia}} filled with either ScienceFiction trappings or {{Magitek}}; CrystalSpiresAndTogas are often shown. It's very probable that the setting will be a CrapsaccharineWorld under the surface, in which case it's also a SoiledCityOnAHill. PrequelInTheLostAge ''can'' overlap with JustBeforeTheEnd, but this is actually somewhat uncommon; normally, everything seems to be going smoothly right until the lights go out.

'''Warning: [[LateArrivalSpoiler Late Arrival Spoilers]] will be unmarked.'''

* Sagi's headache induced "Elsewhere" scenes in ''BatenKaitos Origins'' takes place before the War of Gods. It only becomes clear at the 3rd occurrence, where the group notices the land goes on endlessly, in contrast to the Floating Continents the series uses.

* The second {{Dragonlance}} trilogy, ''Dragonlance Legends'' featured the Cataclysm, which occurred 300 years prior to the events of most of the other Dragonlance materials.

* In the {{Dragaera}} series, the Paarfi Romances are a [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis fictional in-universe]] series detailing what the in-universe author considers the "good old days", where nobles were brave and honorable and peasants knew their place. In contrast to the modern, FirstPersonSmartass style of the Vlad series in the "present", these are written in Antiquated Linguistics (although interestingly, they are written in-universe some time after Vlad).