In an attempt to stop the rise of Taal Zodo in their own world, some would be heroes traveled back to the past and killed Taal while he was just an infant. This created a total change in the timeline, or perhaps a new timeline completely. In this new time line the Great Magic War never happens. Taal doesn't become Taal Zodo, and the nuclear holocaust doesn't take place.... at least yet. Instead Zodo remains trapped within his cracked prison orb, whispering into the ears of every man and seeking a weak soul that he might control.

In this setting, the First Era will continue a lot longer than in the Taal Zodo timeline. It is possible something might still trigger a different kind of great nuclear war, but it won't be on the same time schedule, and it won't be between Taal and Killian Xerxes. Magic is never fully awakened within people. It is a power that has always existed as long as Zodo has existed, but the Great Magic War freed Zodo making it more potent, and awakened the runic connections within all to a higher degree. Since that didn't happen now, magic remains elusive to most. Rune Stones and Runic Technology instead help the common people get in touch with magic.

Imagine, if you will, how life would be if computer AI had been developed and perfected decades ago, if computers could think, function, and learn with little to no human interaction needed. Also imagine a world where most of earth had come together as one government to combat a crippling depression, and that it was largely successful. Think just how your modern day life could look, and you would have a picture of how Nor'Ova looked during the later years of the First Era.