Line #23 Main/DawnOfAnEra


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7	->''"It's a been a long road\
8	getting from there to here\
9	It's been a long time\
10	but my time is finally near!"''
11	-->-- "Faith of the Heart" (''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' theme song)
12
13	Dawn of an Era is when the story has a moment that will change the story world in a ''good way''.
14
15	For instance, someone, at great personal risk, not only successfully tests a practical and reliable way to [[FasterThanLightTravel travel to different solar systems]] as easily as sailing across the Atlantic, but aliens detect that trip and decide to pop by to say, "Welcome to the neighborhood!"
16
17	Suddenly, all realize that their lives, their world and their very view of the universe has changed forever with marvels, technology, magic, and astounding possibilities and challenges lying before them to persuade even the most [[KnightInSourArmor despairing soul]] to [[RousseauWasRight have faith of the heart]] for a [[HappyEnding glorious future]].
18
19	[[EarnYourHappyEnding Thanks to the heroes]], a brave new world has begun where the age of wonders is just beginning.
20
21	(Err, not the [[Literature/BraveNewWorld bad one]], we promise!)
22
23	For the [[EvilCounterpart villainous version]], see NewEraSpeech. For the complete opposite, see EndOfAnAge (though the two may overlap; the end of one era means the beginning of the next, after all). For related tropes, see TheMagicGoesAway and TheMagicComesBack.
24
25	----
26	!!Examples:
27
28	[[foldercontrol]]
29
30	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
31	* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': the ending to R2 is bittersweet for precisely this reason. On the one hand [[spoiler:Lelouch unites the entire world in hatred and fear of him, becoming the Demon Emperor, and has his best friend/hateful rival Suzaku take on the mantle of Zero and publicly assassinate him, leaving him bleeding out in Nunnally's arms,]] but on the other hand this paves the way for a brighter future, [[spoiler:with Empress Nunnally, Zero!Suzaku and Geassed!Schneizel taking advantage of the temporary peace in the wake of Lelouch's death]] to create a better world with less hatred, bitterness and division.
32	* This trope is how ''Manga/FrierenBeyondJourneysEnd'' begins. With the Demon King dead, the other races are living in peace, and an Era Meteor Shower happens right after. In a peaceful era, most of the adventuring tasks that are given to Frieren, Fern and Stark are of mundane nature like helping harvesting vegetables or de-rust statues. Even in arcs where things get intense, they are not dealing with portents of another conflict, rather those are remnants of that bygone time.
33	* The opening scenes to ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'' shows the very beginning of the Universal Century, which is meant to evoke this trope [[spoiler:Until it gets rudely interrupted by the space colony said scenes take place on being blown up]].
34	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
35	** [[GreaterScopeParagon The Pirate King, Gold Roger]], ignited the Golden Age of Piracy [[ThanatosGambit with his death]].
36	** This and the EndOfAnAge occurred at the same time at the tail end of [[spoiler:the Marineford Arc. Just when his death and a marine victory was poised to snuff out the Golden Age of Piracy, Whitebeard, with his dying breath, proclaimed, with the entire world watching, "ONE PIECE EXISTS!" This proclamation started an entirely new age of piracy, and the beginning of a new era. However, just minutes later, Blackbeard (the probable BigBad of the series) makes his own declaration: that the new era that's dawning is ''his'' era.]]
37	** Near the end of Punk Hazard, Trafalgar Law throws back Donquixote Doflamingo's previous NewEraSpeech claiming that by destroying the DiabolicalMastermind's operations, he and Luffy are creating a new era of their own, and that it'll be impossible to restore the previous status quo.
38	** The rulers of the Mink Tribe and the Kozuki Clan believe in a concept called "the Dawn of the World", which is strongly implied to involve the One Piece and what will happen when someone inevitably finds it.
39	*** They believe in it so fiercely that, after he was captured by the Big Mom Pirates, Pedro [[EyeScream ripped out his own eye]] and sacrificed most of his lifespan to convince Big Mom to let him go, as he wanted to ensure that if he had a role to play in the Dawn of the World he would be alive to see it through. Indeed, after he becomes convinced that the Straw Hats will lead the world to its dawn, he willingly [[spoiler:[[TakingYouWithMe blows himself up]]]] to stop Perospero from preventing their escape from Totto Land.
40	*** Whatever the Dawn of the World is, Kozuki Oden wrote about it in his journal, which ended in the hands of Yamato after his execution and the burning of his castle. Twenty years later, Yamato relinquishes the journal to Oden's son Momonosuke, telling him that he, too, is destined to guide the world towards its dawn. After reading his father's journal, Momonosuke comes to understand exactly why Wano Country closed its borders to the rest of the world and what it was that his father intended when he entrusted his vassals to open the borders once more. Yamato also states that Luffy coming to Wano must've been an act of fate since he is a D., strongly implying that the Dawn of the World is related to [[SecretLegacy the Will of D.]]
41	*** The relation is all but confirmed by none other than [[spoiler:Nefertari Cobra]], who reveals that [[spoiler:Nefertari Lili, the matriarch of the Nefertari Family at the end of the Void Century who refused to join the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise upon the founding of the World Government, also was a D. (and by extension so were the rest of her descendants); before her mysterious disappearance, a letter penned by her and passed down generations of Nefertari kings and queens cryptically stated that the Poneglyphs must be protected, and to "fly the flag that heralds the dawn of the world"]]. [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture In a final act of defiance]], [[spoiler:Cobra passes on the message written in the letter to Sabo and entrusts him to pass it on to his daughter Vivi and to Luffy, before [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing his own life]] to [[YouShallNotPass delay]] the [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Five Elders]] and [[ShadowDictator Imu]] while Sabo escapes]].
42	* A classical example is found in the final episodes of ''Anime/StellviaOfTheUniverse'': the EndOfAnAge of humanity living in fear of [[CataclysmBackstory another (almost-)extinction]] and the Dawn of an Era of deep space exploration and, quite possibly, [[spoiler:the more advanced aliens lending us hand]]. This new era was [[WhatCouldHaveBeen supposed to be covered]] in a SequelSeries but...
43	* The conclusion of ''Anime/TransformersCybertron''. The Autobot/Decepticon war is over, the universe is saved, Cybertron is healed, the lost colonies have been brought back into the fold, and Transformers and humanity work side-by-side to explore and connect the galaxy.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Comic Books]]
47	* In ''ComicBook/Earth2'', [[TimeSkip five years after]] the "Age of [[DifferentlyPoweredIndividual Wonders]]" [[EndOfAnAge ended]], new superheroes began to appear; creating a new "Age of Wonders".
48	* While there were earlier superheroes, the age of heroes in the Franchise/MarvelUniverse is generally considered to have begun with the appearance of the ComicBook/FantasticFour, with many of the other modern heroes emerging shortly afterwards.
49	** ''ComicBook/UntoldTalesOfSpiderMan'': A minor subplot in ''Amazing Fantasy'' is how a new era of superheroes are slowly making their presence known, with Peter Parker being one of them.
50	* The first public appearance of Franchise/{{Superman}} in Franchise/TheDCU. In most continuities, Superman is first introduced the world doing a dramatic save, giving the world something to hope for and kicking off the Age of Superheroes. (Or bringing back superheroes, if the GoldenAge heroes are in continuity).
51	** Likewise, his return in ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' is this for everyone but TheNarrator (who foresees that this will be a subversion instead). However, [[spoiler:TheNarrator talking down Supes]] in the end is the ''real'' dawn of an entirely new era.
52	* [[Comicbook/TheTransformersIDW "The Death of Optimus Prime"]] sees Cybertron becoming habitable again, a definitive Autobot victory over the Decepticons, the abdication of Optimus Prime after the emptying of the Matrix, the return of the rest of the Cybertronian race (whom many had long written off for dead), and a schism among the Autobots as Rodimus seeks the Knights of Cybertron among the stars, while Bumblebee attempts to build a stable society on Cybertron.
53	* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersRobotsInDisguise:''
54	** ''Optimus Prime'' issue 10 has Alpha Trion recount the beginning of the Age of Primes when the Thirteen began uniting their tribes under one banner. The earlier released but chronologically later ''Robots in Disguise'' issue 34 deals with the end of their era, and the beginning of Nova Prime's reign, showing the beginning of the CrapsackWorld Cybertron would become under his successors.
55	* The three-issue comic book ''Vimanarama'' has the epic of Ben Rama as real, with super-science instead of magic. After the evil Ul-Shatan is defeated, the world is transformed with access to ancient philosophical truths, [[FlyingCar flying vimanas]], vitamin laden air, prayer fueled refrigerators and other marvels. The series ends with the hero rescuing three young idiots who crash a two-man flying vimana into the bright face of the moon.
56	[[/folder]]
57
58	[[folder:Fan Works]]
59	* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' is set a couple of years after the Avengers formed and repeatedly suggests that while the triggered the beginning of the new era, the real explosion in heroes, technology and general wonder is just starting, with a ''[[ChekhovsArmoury lots]]'' of future heroes being name-dropped and a feeling that [[TheMagicComesBack the magic is starting to come back]] and with it the start of TheUnMasquedWorld, one in which humanity can hold its own. However, the dark side of this is amply explored, with repeated warnings that AStormIsComing, while Professor [=McGonagall=] observes that while the heroes are coming back, this isn't always a good thing. [[SuperHeroParadox After all, heroes need monsters to fight...]]
60	* ''Fanfic/CodePrime'': The end of R2 marks a LighterAndSofter version of Lelouch's plans from ''Anime/CodeGeass''. [[spoiler: Megatron's threat of [[AssimilationPlot Neo-Ragnarok]] united the world against him]], and in the FinalBattle, almost all major Decepticon players [[spoiler: were killed, turned coat or forced into hiding]]. The world is now being reorganized as a worldwide federation, and the monopoly on violence is being legislated out of existence thanks to [[spoiler: turning all military capacity over to the Black Knights with severe restrictions]]. With the collapse of their enemies, the Autobots now can begin demobilizing, and with [[spoiler: Cornelia bringing up a loss of usable resources thanks to the wars]], an expansion of the human race into space is on the verge of creation. And with the destruction of all [[spoiler: known Thought Elevators]], the capacity to exploit Geass has been seemingly lost forever.
61	* ''Fanfic/AnEmpireOfIceAndFire'': The War of the Four Kings, the Emperor's War and the Second War for the Dawn left deep shockwaves in Planetos, but it also opened the door to create a new era of unity and prosperity. With the return of dragons, the reestablishment of House Targaryen, the ascendency of House Stark, the destruction of the Slave Masters, and the reorganization of the old great houses, a new age of freedom, friendship, peace, and brotherhood under the new HegemonicEmpire OneWorldOrder is coming forth.
62	* In ''Fanfic/HeroesForEarth'', when the Planeteers finally combine their powers and unleash [[spoiler: an EldritchAbomination, their version of Captain Planet, they create a new continent in the Pacific Ocean.]] This causes a new wave of environmentalism and worldwide recognition of the Planeteers.
63	* ''Fanfic/TheLegendarySpiderMan'': This is what Julia Carpenter posits to Peter: that his awakening will be the start of a new era of heroes, and he'll be there to help lead them all through it.
64	* In ''Fanfic/{{A New World\|IcedFairy}}'', this is the ultimate result of Yukari Yakumo's centuries of manipulating humans, youkai and immortals alike: [[spoiler:a ''very'' wounded world, but one in which all fantastic creatures have returned to physical reality, no longer fearing the influence of mortal thought, and are working with mortals to restore Earth's glory.]]
65	* ''FanFic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell'': [[spoiler:The Nightmare claimed that an Age was coming to an end, believing Harmony's time was done. Its own defeat signals it to be this trope instead, and WordOfGod states that this new Age will be a mixture of Science and Magic.]]
66	* In ''Fanfic/MyHuntsmanAcademia'', Toshinori's rise to prominence shifted the way the world viewed Huntsmen and Huntresses, going from Grimm exterminators to protectors of the peace, acting more like specially-trained superheroes. Izuku also mentions that the invention of mecha-shift weaponry changed warfare forever and the time before it is referred to the pre-Mecha Weapon era.
67	* For better or for worse, ''Fanfic/QueensOfMewni'' who are established as Star Queens (those born just before sunrise) usher in new ages for Mewni: Estelaria starts the Age of Ascension, which saw the Butterfly Kingdom establish itself in the world, Asteria ushers in the Age of Heroes, in which the kingdom cements itself as a military power, Venus ushers in the Dark Age, which saw Mewni at its lowest points, Vesper begins the Renaissance, which saw Mewni and the Butterfly Kingdom regain the reputation it lost due to the Dark Age, and [[spoiler:Star]] ushers in the Dawn Age, a period of turmoil due to her rebellious actions. Thematically, the change from the Dark Age to the Renaissance plays this trope the straightest, while the transition from the Age of Heroes to the Dark Age averts this trope as much as it can without invoking the NewEraSpeech trope.
68	* In ''Fanfic/TheSuperStarrChronicles'''s fourth chapter, Clara Creed hints that alongside the X-Men, several new superheroes have also debuted (mainly the Marvel heroes of the Silver Age), implying a new age of heroes is rising.
69	* In ''Fanfic/AThingOfVikings'', Hiccup making friends with Toothless and helping tame and train dragons changes the course of history for the better, bringing about a renaissance of peace and learning. While the [[{{Epigraph}} chapter epigraphs]] make it clear that there will be growing pains and chaos in the short term, in the long term the future looks bright, with humans and dragons working together to make a better world.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Films — Animation]]
73	* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndThePea'': Sebastian, the TalkingAnimal court historian, says that he believes a new golden age will begin now that Daria passed the SecretTestOfCharacter and assumed her rightful place as the princess.
74	* ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' ends with the protagonists on a newly-created planet Bob as a new home for humans after Earth had been destroyed.
75	* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie'' ends with the Autobots in charge again and Rodimus Prime predicting an era of peace and prosperity for all Cybertronians.
76	-->'''Rodimus:''' Let this mark the end of the Cybertronian Wars as we march forward into a new era of peace and happiness! 'Til all are one!
77	[[/folder]]
78
79	[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
80	* ''Film/TwoThousandTenTheYearWeMakeContact'' ends as humanity is faced with incontrovertible proof that not only do SufficientlyAdvancedAliens exist, but they are aware of us and are capable of drastic action in the service of protecting life.[[note]]They crush Jupiter and turn it into a ''star''.[[/note]] In the film version, the closing narration makes it clear that this has motivated the nations of the world to end their conflicts.
81	* ''Film/CloseEncountersOfTheThirdKind'' has this with aliens bringing back humans abducted over several decades. It's been a while, but it's implied the aliens choose to stay and establish closer contact.
82	* ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'': The crew of the ''Enterprise'' foil the Borg back in time and help Zefram Cochrane make his famous test flight of The Phoenix, the first warp-capable Earth craft. As a result, an alien ship detects the ship and decides to initiate first contact. When they appear from their landing craft and reveal themselves to be [[spoiler:Vulcans]], you know that Earth's time of planet-bound turmoil and despair is over, and the planet's vibrant and hope-filled future as a space power has begun. Jerry Goldsmith's score complements it beautifully, too.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Literature]]
86	* The cycle of [[Myth/ArthurianLegend Arthurian mythology]] has this when Arthur draws the sword from the stone to become King, and the [[EndOfAnAge opposite trope]] when his power is broken at Camlann.
87	* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'' ends with the dawn of a new era, with Oberon's death clearing the way for one of his children to inherit the throne, and detente finally being reached between Amber and Chaos.
88	* In ''Literature/CourtshipRite'', the discovery and decryption of the ancient document, ''The Forge of War'', gives the Getans new insight into their history, and information about all sorts of useful LostTechnology.
89	* In ''Echoes of the Fourth Magic'', [[spoiler: nuclear war leads to an end of modern civilization. Angelic beings rescue some of the humans, however, and the world is born anew with magic and fantasy creatures.]]
90	* ''Literature/TheEmpiriumTrilogy'': The Fall of the Blood Queen stifled the empirium, rendering all elementals powerless and interrupting the hold any angels had on the human bodies they possessed. This would eventually usher in the reign of Corien the Undying Empire and his army of angels. [[spoiler: In the new timeline, elementals are still rendered powerless except for Rielle's daughter, a deliberate choice on her part since she knows her daughter may need them one day.]]
91	* ''Literature/TheExpanse'' just as humanity is reaching the limits of the solar system [[spoiler: the protomolecule turns up, upsetting everything known about biology, chemistry, and physics. And that's ''before'' it forms the Ring and opens up a thousand new star systems.]]
92	* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', [[spoiler:Voldemort's death]] spells the beginning of a new, more benign and just, era for the Wizarding World. Fittingly, the spoiled event takes place just before dawn breaks.
93	* ''Literature/HurrayForTheDorchester'': At the end of the book, as the Dorchester is [[GoToSleepEnding sleeping]] happily from successfully pulling two trains, it's stated that he "made a name for himself in history and brought the railway age to Canada", depicted by the Dorchester's dream being of a [=VIA=] Rail train.
94	* At the end of Creator/CliveBarker's ''Literature/{{Imajica}}'' comes [[spoiler:the Reconciliation, allowing beings to travel freely between [[TheMultiverse the five Dominions]]. People get used to this surprisingly fast.]]
95	* ''Literature/{{The Lord of the Rings}}'' depicts the End of the Third Age and the passing of many things both evil and good, but it is also the beginning of the Fourth Age of Mankind -- which need not be a Bad Thing.
96	* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'': ''Bramblestar's Storm'', Bramblestar adds a new rule to the warrior code: [[spoiler:in times of trouble, Clan cats must forget their rivalries and help each other. When the danger passes, then they can split apart again]]. This is triumphant concerning that for twenty-four books, the Clans had been learning to [[spoiler:work together]].
97	* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', this is combined with EndOfAnAge; while the current Age is coming to an end, a new one is beginning, new Talents of the Power are being discovered, and vast advances in technology are being made. One character even lampshades it while watching a demonstration of the world's first ever cannon: "The world just changed in a very big way." The point of the series, of course, is that [[ViciousCycle the Wheel never stops turning]].
98	* The ending of the ''Literature/TheTroySaga'' is combined with an EndOfAnAge. As prophesized by many seers and [[TheCassandra Kassandra]], the war between Troy and the Mykene has devastated both kingdoms and their respective allies with [[spoiler: the volcanic eruption at Thera]] laying waste what's left of many of the survivors. However the DistantEpilogue reveals refugees from the war end up making a new home at place called the [[AncientRome Seven Hills Settlement]], prophesized one day to become an eternal city.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
102	* ''Series/BabylonFive'' begins with Londo Mollari saying in voiceover, "I was there at the dawn of the Third Age." In the episode, "Into the Fire" where Capt. Sheridan leads a [[TheAlliance united force]] against both the Vorlons and the Shadows. Where at the beginning of the series, G'Kar notes the younger species of Humans, Narns etc. could no more interact with their predecessors than ants could with them, now Sheridan is able to tell two such [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens god-like species]] to [[DeusExitMachina vamoose]]. Both races decide to leave, and the Third Age has begun where the younger species now live on their own terms, free of such godlike interference. This example mixes in a bit of sadness, as the departing {{Precursors}} take a great deal of wonder with them as well.
103	* ''Series/TheDeuce'' is set in Times Square in 1971, depicting the dawn of the Golden Age of Pornography as courts start to throw out obscenity cases against porn and a new market is suddenly wide open.
104	* The premise of ''Series/EarthFinalConflict'' is that aliens have come and helped transform the world for the better, offering solutions to famine, disease, and other ills free of charge. Not only were they not here ToServeMan, and more amazingly, we ''didn't'' [[WeComeInPeaceShootToKill attack these peaceful aliens]]. However; something fishy was afoot, and you don't want to know what. Trust us, it's better if you [[FanonDiscontinuity ignore seasons 2+]].
105	* The series finale of ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' ends with Gordon looking up at the rooftops and recognizing that he and the good cops in the GCPD now have [[Franchise/{{Batman}} a new friend]] to keep the city safe.
106	* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': In [[Recap/SmallvilleS09E11E12AbsoluteJustice "Absolute Justice"]], Doctor Fate sees Clark as the herald of a new age of heroes:
107	-->'''Doctor Fate''': And when you show yourself to the world, it will be a different age than ours, Clark; a silver age of heroism that will start when they look up into the sky at you with hope for tomorrow. You will help everyone embrace it.
108	* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' is set in the mid-22nd century, almost a century after humanity developed warp flight and made first contact with the Vulcans as seen in ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''. At the time the series begins, Earth has developed the warp 5 engine, making interstellar exploration feasible for the first time in human history, and the ''Enterprise'' NX-01 is the first Earth starship of this type. With these innovations, Earth eventually grows into a major interstellar power, leading to the formation of the United Federation of Planets.
109	* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'': The finale ends on a new era for Starfleet, as the threat of the Borg has finally and permanently been ended. Captain Riker announces this new era in his log:
110	-->'''Riker''': Captain's Log, Stardate...shall we say One? The first of a new day for friends both old and young...
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
114	* [[Literature/TheBible According to Christian tradition]], the end of the Battle of Armageddon and the binding of {{Satan}} will bring about a thousand years of peace. Once those thousand years are up, however, the Devil will break free and go on a rampage. However, he'll quickly be subdued and then finally destroyed once and for all, at which point the new GoldenAge of humanity will ''really'' get started!
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
118	* The ''TabletopGame/RocketAge'' begins with Einstein, Tesla, and Goddard building the world's first functional Rocket Ship and travelling to Mars. This really is the beginning of a new golden age for humanity and it is widely acknowledged by everyone that humanity is the species that will shape the current Age.
119	* ''TabletopGame/{{Spirit of the Century}}'' treats the beginning 20th century this way (and, in its {{backstory}}, the dawn of each century, and millennia, for that matter).
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Video Games]]
123	* ''Videogame/DragonAgeInquisition'' features ''two''. One happens right at the beginning when most of the old power structures in the south of Thedas are unceremoniously blown up, and you and the Inquisition are left to pick up the pieces and save the world. The second comes at the end of the DLC ''Trespasser'' which is set a couple of years after ''Inquisition'' ends and TheMagicComesBack is set up as a very ominous future.
124	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
125	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' ends with a combination of this and [[spoiler:TheMagicGoesAway; Kefka is dead, and the ruined world is finally free to rebuild, but the power of magic is lost forever]].
126	%%** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' starts with an EndOfAnAge and ends with this.
127	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' covers the end of [[spoiler:Cocoon, where fal'Cie ruled humanity]] and the birth of a new human civilization [[spoiler:on Gran Pulse, free of fal'Cie (and particularly Lindzei's) rule]].
128	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': The vanilla campaign of the relaunched game, ''A Realm Reborn'', ends with the leaders of the Eorzean Alliance proclaiming the end of the Seventh Umbral Era, a five-year-long age of calamity since the original game's ColonyDrop, and the beginning of a more peaceful age, the Seventh Astral Era.
129	* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'': The end has this and an EndOfAnAge. The age of Greek Myth, with its gods and monsters all dead, is over and the world is on the brink of ruin. Even the Fates are gone. But in his final moments, Kratos released the power of Hope, a power great enough to kill gods, to humanity. The survivors will be able to rebuild civilization free of the gods' influence and as masters of their own destiny.
130	* ''Videogame/HeroesOfMightAndMagicIV'' has this as its CentralTheme. In the wake of the world of Enroth's destruction, those who managed to escape in time to the world of Axeoth must rebuild without repeating the mistakes of the past:
131	** In "The True Blade", Sir Lysander founds a small kingdom mostly made of refugees from Erathia but clings to the past out of honor by refusing to officially become king, insistent that only a true Gryphonheart can rule. This leads to problems when a usurper seeks to claim the throne wielding the supposed AncestralWeapon of the Gryphonhearts. [[spoiler:It ends with Lysander drawing the true blade, which reveals that ''he'' is a Gryphonheart. Thus begins the reign of King Lysander Gryphonheart.]]
132	** In "A Pirate's Daughter", Tawni Balfour's goal is to surpass her infamous pirate father and become the Pirate Queen of the Seas in the new world. [[spoiler:She succeeds and even reunites with her true father in the process.]]
133	** In "Elwin and Shaera", Elwin would like nothing better than to spend carefree days with his lover Shaera. However, a scheming and jealous rival who would do anything to have Shaera for himself stands in his way. [[spoiler:This eventually leads to Elwin becoming the new Elf King. When given the opportunity to execute his rival for his many crimes, Elwin instead shows mercy believing there's been enough death.]]
134	** In "Half-Dead", Gauldoth Half-Dead must find a balance between Life and Death if he is to survive in the new world as a half undead being. [[spoiler:After many trials and battles, he succeeds. He builds a kingdom where the dead and the living can exist side by side and whose subjects revere him as "Father Gauldoth". A kingdom which he plans to peacefully rule forever.]]
135	** In "Glory of Days Past", the Immortal Hero Tarnum and his adopted son Waerjak must unite the scattered remnants of their people and make them into a kingdom. All without repeating Tarnum's past mistakes as Barbarian King. [[spoiler:They succeed, with Waerjak proving himself to be a worthy ruler who is both strong and wise. Tarnum at long last earns his redemption and passage into the afterlife, only to decide that he would rather stay and spend more time among the people he's spent his entire life helping as the Immortal Hero.]]
136	** In "The Price of Peace", Emilia Nighthaven struggles to build a better life for those who chose to follow her. Standing in her way is Gavin Magnus, the immortal former ruler of Bracada who was so traumatized by the destruction of Enroth that he has hatched upon an insane scheme to ensure nothing like that ever happens again by erasing free will, and his loyal servant the legendary genie Solymr. [[spoiler:Solymr ultimately realizes that he cannot allow Gavin to erase free will and finds a loophole in his oath of loyalty to aid Emilia. They defeat the insane monarch, ensuring the prosperity and freedom of the new kingdom of Great Arcan.]]
137	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroDawnOfTheDragon'': In the after-credits scene, with Malefor defeated and the war brought to a close, [[spoiler:civilization can begin rebuilding in a ShatteredWorld, and the Chronicler says that it is time for a new era to begin, and, as such, wishes to pass the title of Chronicler over to Ignitus]].
138	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' has an opening crawl in which FirstContact between humanity and the many other species of the galaxy is said to be one of those -- yeah, it did start with a short and brutal war, but it was called off quickly, and thirty years later humans and turians are sort of VitriolicBestBuds. Then the Reapers came to ruin everything. The endings, particularly in the Extended Cut, can show another dawn on a much larger scale, if Shepard [[EarnYourHappyEnding really hauled ass]]. The krogan may have started their cultural renaissance, moving beyond brutishness. The quarians and geth may share Rannoch peacefully. [[spoiler: Depending on the ending, the Reapers might be part of it too.]]
139	* ''VideoGame/TotalWarAttila'': The campaign pack ''Age of Charlemagne'' sees the rise of the eponymous King Charlemagne at the very dawn of the medieval age.
140	* ''VideoGame/AVeryLongRopeToTheTopOfTheSky'': Making [[spoiler:Somnians]] equal with [[spoiler:Lydians]] at the end of the TimeSkip. [[spoiler:King Albus rejects the long-standing association of Balfur with the Church, and as a result (and, in fact, the primary goal) accepts Somnians into Balfur as humans, just like Lydians. So far, though, the only one who has taken advantage of this is Ivy.]]
141	* The setting of ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore3'' has humanity flee the surface, made unhabitable due to a terrible war, to live in an underground society where it has been ruled since times immemorial by an AI know as The Controller. In the ending, the player character destroy The Controller, who execute its final directive: it opens the shutters to the surface, letting humanity repopulate a healed Earth.
142	* ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' acts as this for its series on multiple levels. [[spoiler: At the end of the game, after spending much of the story [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructing]] the series' [[StatusQuoIsGod status quo,]] the story ends with Knuckles, Amy, and Tails all going off on their own individual journeys to grow in their own ways, beyond their bonds with Sonic. It also marks the beginning of a whole new storyline for the series as a whole, having dealt with the ancient evil (THE END) that caused the beginnings of the series by causing the Chaos Emeralds to end up on Sonic's world in the first place.]]
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Western Animation]]
146	* At the end of Book Two of ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', [[spoiler:Korra decides that BigBad Unalaq [[VillainHasAPoint had a point]]: Avatar Wan separating the SpiritWorld and the material world from each other was not necessarily a good thing. Declaring that the Avatar should no longer be the bridge between the two worlds, she keeps the portals open, allowing spirits and humans to cross freely between worlds.]]
147	** Then at the start of Book 3, Zaheer gives a slightly IronicEcho speech that somewhat mirrors Korra's speech at the end, saying that this era would be the end of the White Lotus and the end of the Avatar.
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:Real Life]]
151	* A darker example occurred on the 16th of July, 1945 (at 5:29 AM) with the successful test of the first nuclear bomb at Trinity. It would be followed shortly after by the UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki, and with them the Cold War and arms race as the threat of nuclear war suddenly entered the public consciousness worldwide. In an interview conducted for the 1965 documentary ''The Decision to Drop the Bomb'', UsefulNotes/RobertOppenheimer reflected on the events of that day by stating that "We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent," famously comparing it to a scene from the ''Literature/BhagavadGita'' where Krishna reveals his dominion over death and destruction.
152	-->"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." I suppose we all thought that, one way or another.
153	* Pretty much the case with a major extinction, while it is bad for the organisms undergoing extinction, good comes out of it and life radiates yet again.
154	** A few billion years ago certain bacteria pumped oxygen into the air, caused a lot of life to go extinct. However, the new ones flourished in the oxygenated air. About 250 million years ago, the Permian extinction, which was caused by severe volcanic eruptions in Siberia, led to almost all land life to die out, and led to the Dinosaurs flourishing for around 200 million years afterward. An asteroid wiped out the majority of them and mammals and birds (avian dinosaurs) took over in the past 64 million years.
155	* The invention of the printing press, the radio, the television and the Internet. All of which has lead into a new era of entertainment that changed forever.
156	* Likewise to the example of life above, the Universe has seen the dawn and dusk of several eras since the Big Bang, marked by among other things the separation of the four known fundamental forces, the appearance of matter --and antimatter, the formation of stars and galaxies, and finally the emergence of dark energy.
157	[[/folder]]
158
159	!!Subversions:
160
161	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
162	* In ''Manga/GalaxyExpress999'', the worlds of the Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies mostly see the [[TranshumanTreachery Machine Empire's rising transhumanist]] New Order this way. [[VillainWithGoodPublicity Unfortunately for them.]]
163	[[/folder]]
164
165	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
166	* Franchise/MonsterVerse:
167	** In ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'', the return of dozens of slumbering Titans to the world is made out to be inevitable with manmade nuclear radiation and environmentally-destructive practices drawing them out of their rest, and it's only a matter of ''when'' rather than ''if'' they return, and whether humanity will find ways to cohabit the planet with the creatures or we'll secure our own destruction by them. [[BigBad King Ghidorah]] -- aided in no small part by the military trying to field test their plan to kill all Titans in their sleep [[EpicFail with apocalyptic results]] -- forces all the known Titans around the world to wake up at once, and under his command they've destroyed cities around the world and killed millions before Godzilla manages to take back his kingship and pacify the awakened Titans. The CreativeClosingCredits clarify that the calmed Titans are still roaming the globe, and their presence has halted and reversed the effects of manmade {{global warming}} and has been an ecological boon for life on the planet, also granting humanity clean, green alternative resources on which to flourish. Meanwhile, Monarch is working towards being more transparent with the public after their previous secrecy fanned the flames of distrust and skepticism towards the idea of coexisting with Titans, and the scientific community are by all accounts working toward re-discovering and learning from our prehistoric ancestors' earlier cohabitation of the world with beneficial Titans, as well as working on exploring the HollowEarth after Monarch verified its existence during the film. In TheStinger, a Mexican fisherman comments it's "a brave new world" and refers to Godzilla's actions as "the rise of the King."
168	** Five years later in ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' and its novelization: all of the pacified Titans have slunk back into the dormancy that they sprung from, humanity has since been going back to their old ways of over-exploiting the environment, the positive outlook on Titans at the previous film's ending seems to reverse in response to Godzilla's Pensacola attack, and Monarch is being secretive once more and has covered up the proof of the Hollow Earth's existence.
169	[[/folder]]
170
171	[[folder:Theatre]]
172	* In ''Theatre/{{Pippin}}'', Pippin becoming King is presented as the dawn of a more peaceful era in the song "Morning Glow," but this impression turns out to be [[FullCircleRevolution mistaken]].
173	[[/folder]]
174
175	[[folder:Video Games]]
176	* The main quest of ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' is about the EndOfAnAge, namely the defeat of [[BigBad Dagoth Ur]] and the "casting down" of the "[[DeityOfHumanOrigin false gods]]" of the [[PhysicalGod Tribunal]], and the dawn of a new era for Morrowind and the Dunmeri people. Defeating Dagoth Ur frees Vvardenfell from the threat of his BodyHorror-causing [[MysticalPlague Corprus Disease]], his [[PsychicDreamsForEveryone nightmarish and maddening dreams]], as well as destroys the [[ReligionOfEvil Sixth House]] {{Cult}} which was disrupting Imperial affairs on the island (and was the ''official'' reason for the Emperor sending the Nerevarine in the first place). [[PlayerCharacter The Nerevarine]] successfully unites the three warring [[TheClan Great Houses]] of Vvardenfell as Hortator and the four Ashlander tribes as Nerevarine. The ''Tribunal'' expansion [[spoiler:brings about the deaths of two members of the Tribunal]], while the third, Vivec, disbands the [[CorruptChurch corrupt]] and [[ChurchMilitant militant]] ChurchPolice while promising to use his [[SemiDivine remaining divine power]] (allowed to him thanks [[GodNeedsPrayerBadly to the faith of his followers]]) to help those in need. All is well, right? [[BittersweetEnding Not so much]]... As revealed in later works in the series, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero the Nerevarine cutting off Vivec]] from [[CosmicKeystone the source of his power]] indirectly causes [[spoiler:[[TheAlcatraz the Ministry of Truth]] to resume [[ColonyDrop its fall]] with its original momentum. This causes [[ChekhovsVolcano Red Mountain]] to erupt, destroying most of Vvardenfell while rendering much of mainland Morrowind uninhabitable due to chocking ash. The [[LizardFolk Argonians]], a former SlaveRace to the Dunmer, then invade southern Morrowind [[TheDogBitesBack in revenge for centuries of slavery]], forcing the remaining Dunmer inhabitants to flee]]. Some 200 years later, the Dunmer are still FightingForAHomeland, with the bulk of their population now living in Skyrim as second class citizens to the native Nords or on the [[GrimUpNorth barren, frozen rock of Solstheim]]. It ''is'' a "new era" for the Dunmer people, but not one they would have wanted.
177	* The great conflict of '' VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'', over whether to restore the power of Alchemy to the world and risk it falling into the hands of evildoers or to let the world rot without Alchemy, is ultimately resolved in favor of restoring Alchemy by the heroes. ''The Lost Age'' ends on a relatively hopeful note: [[spoiler: the parents come back, Alex's plans to gain the power of the Golden Sun are thwarted]], and now the world can return to its former glory, right? '' VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' begins thirty years later and stars the SpinOffspring... fighting new evils powered by Alchemy and newly-restored ancient {{Magitek}}. [[spoiler: Oh, and [[TheChessmaster Alex]] is alive and well as a [[SemiDivine demi-god]].]]
178	* The ending of ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'' sees the end of Fate. Together with the surge of magical potential among the mortal races marks the beginning of the Age of Heroes. It's not all good news though. The Fae and their magic are also slowly fading from the world. The Great Cycle has been broken, rendering them mortal for all intents and purposes. Many of the Fae encountered in-game know all too well that their time has passed.
179	[[/folder]]
180

Context Main / DawnOfAnEra