From Exalted - Unofficial Wiki
The First age was a Utopia, At least in the beginning. There was no slavery, next to no hardships, everyone was content. Everyone in creation had a purpose, had food on the table, and clothes on their back. While there were "poor" areas, their idea of poor was still fairly well off compared to the age of sorrows. But as the solars gained in power and decidance, they lost favor with the Unconcured Sun. When the sun turned his back on his chosen, they began to fall from their ways. The Sidereals, the trusted advisors to the solars, saw their leaders falling. Instead of catching the falling sun-blessed, they turned the tables and incited the Urserpation.
The Urserpation was not over in one foul swoop. While the highest ranking solars were ambushed at the first dinner, all the other solars went down with much more "fire and glory." The Urserpation didn't go exactly how the Sidereals thought it would. It instead turned into a long standing all out War between Solars with their Lunar mates, and the Sidereals with their Dragon-blooded armies. Eventually the Sidereals won, and the solars went "dormant" as they tought.
Durring the War that was the Userpation, there were some Solars who wanted to presurve the Utopia that was the first age and made a hurried attempt to conceal and save away all that was dear to them. One great example is the Empty City. A solar in particular was a Zenith Caste university professor, Storm on the Horizon. He took some of his most talented students and prepared them for elite training. But before he had a chance to, fate called him away and he was forced to hide his favored students away in his manse deep in the East.
