Scholars mark the emergence of simple life forms as the end of the First Era and the beginning of the Second Era. The Second Era is divided into two Epochs covering the development of plant life and animal life.
Third Epoch: Plant Life
Scholars believe that the first life to emerge on Adnati were primitive forms of plant life. The Third Epoch, which is the first epoch of the Second Era, is marked by when this form of life first began. The first forms of plant life were green algae, seaweeds, and other plant life in the seas. Eventually land-based plant life began to emerge, including grasses, flowers, shrubs, and trees — though many of those didn’t emerge until the Fourth Epoch, after animal life began to develop.
Fourth Epoch: Animal Life
Scholars mark the emergence of animal life as the beginning of the Fourth Epoch, the second of the two epochs in the Second Era. This Epoch is subdivided into multiple Ages, each denoting the emergence of the first types of creatures for that age. It should be noted that additional creatures of each type continue to emerge through subsequent ages and even into the present. Each Age described here is meant to note the first of those forms of life, not the last.
Unlike the Ages in the Third Era, the Era of Hominids, the six Ages of the Fourth Epoch are named rather than enumerated. Those Ages include:
- The Age of Insects
- The Age of Sea Creatures
- The Age of Worms
- The Age of Reptiles
- The Age of Megalife
- The Age of Mammals
The emergence of intelligent hominid life – humans, elves, orcs, and the like – mark the end of the Fourth Epoch and Second Era, and the beginning of the Third Era.