Cronos

Cronos was someone who, even in youth, could see more than those who were older and wiser than him. His mind was sharp and flexible, allowing him to perceive possibilities others could not. Despite his rise to power, he retained elements of his earlier self, as he never stopped being a brat. His thinking also showed pragmatism and realism, especially in his belief that if the First Seeker could be destroyed, the sybils would have destroyed it a long time ago, leading him to pursue a different approach.^[2]

He possessed a brilliant but peculiar mind, full of the past, the present, and the future, where things that had already happened could be a mystery to him, while things yet to happen felt like distant memories. His ideas were often outrageous, and what others considered impossible was merely a puzzle to him.^[5]

His Aspect granted him powers over the essence of the Great River over time, which allowed him to envision a path to salvation when the River People had lost their way after the fall of the sybils.^[2]

According to Ananke, he rose to prominence after the death of Dusk of Fallen Grace, when the sybils—who had once guided and protected the River People—were gone, leaving their people without direction. Unlike those older and wiser, Cronos possessed a sharp and flexible mind, and his Aspect granted him power over the essence of the Great River, specifically over time. With this, he envisioned a path to salvation. Before attaining Supremacy, he built the ship called the Time Slayer, a vessel capable of sailing the Great River free of the tyranny of time, allowing its passengers to traverse the currents like Outsiders. He then assembled a motley crew of powerful champions drawn from the last human settlements—those from Fallen Grace and other sybil-built cities, descendants of Outsiders brought by the Serpent King, and even members of the remaining River Nomad tribes. Ananke herself sailed on the Time Slayer for a time, as Cronos sought her out in Weave for her abilities as a Shaper.^[2]

As the Defilement spread like a plague from the distant reaches of the ancient past—Verge—bringing with it the growing power of the First Seeker and the increasing number of the Defiled, Cronos continued his efforts while human settlements faced imminent collapse, including Weave itself. Eventually, he attained Supremacy and became King Cronos, rallying the humans of the Tomb of Ariel alongside another Supreme, the Serpent King. Though allies, the two did not share the same vision: while the Serpent King sought to destroy the First Seeker, Cronos believed that if such a thing were possible, the sybils would have already done so. Instead, his plan was to outlast it. However, he faced a major obstacle in that the River People could not be united into a single army due to the vast distances between their cities, the dwindling number of Outsiders, and the limitations of even powerful wanderers and the Time Slayer itself, which could carry only a limited number of warriors. Faced with these constraints, Cronos ultimately chose a drastic course of action—he broke the Great River.^[2]

Faced with the problem of the River People being divided and unable to unite, Cronos took his shipmates and sailed past Verge into the Estuary, where he did something to break the cycle of the Great River and made it stop. By doing so, the River People were no longer chained to their cities and could choose to retreat or attack when facing the Defiled, eventually abandoning their homes and gathering in one place.^[5]

After becoming King Cronos, he sought to create an impregnable fortress that the Defiled would never be able to breach, described as a fortress of time, a safe haven, an ark to weather the endless storm, while the Serpent King pursued war against the First Seeker. Most of the River People chose to follow the Serpent King into battle, suffering devastating losses, which proved Cronos's belief that the First Seeker could not be destroyed. As their numbers dwindled and the Serpent King was eventually infected by Corruption, Cronos and Daeron reunited and devised a final plan. Cronos, unable to build his ark before, ultimately created it from the Serpent King's bones and from his Soul Sea, forming a miniature realm that could exist outside time, while Daeron sacrificed himself to shape its walls and Cronos sacrificed his remaining time. Inside this refuge, the River People hid and abandoned the Great River, leaving the Defiled without sustenance, causing them to starve, turn on the First Seeker, and eventually destroy both it and themselves, leaving only bones behind.^[5]