A (not so) Brief History of the Ancients | Rain World Downpour Lore 

*five pebbsi*

Ironically chances are the Slugcats and the Scavs are the next advanced civilisation. They already figured out art, crafting and cooking.

“touch some grass“ Instructions unclear, the grass has consumed me

I gotta mention that moon's rain siren sounds terrifying, like imagine its night time and your trying to sleep and then you hear THAT

15:00 Its very important to note that Moon says this after collapsing and losing most of her memory. Its not that iterators in general do not recognize it, its just that one with severe brain damage cannot.

The thing about Elite Scavengers' masks is that they have practically the same description as other Vulture masks, with only a remark on how they were altered (probably by scavengers) from their original form. Though I do think Vultures' masks themselves were designed by the Ancients to mimic their own, since Vultures without masks will get harassed to death by other Vultures.

Holy shit the prequel to "The Affairs of Passing Gods" just dropped y'all Seriously though this video was so good, I'm gonna have to rewatch it just to find all my favorite parts again but as a recent member of the fandom, this video did a phenomenal job of consolidating both lore and game files into an easy-to-follow timeline that neither pearls nor wiki pages could quite convey. Bravo my good sir!

I believe that the mixed number of digits on the ancients could have been cultural, where they take off digits and could even cut of the hands to be ‘prettier’ as all the iterators have 1 digit hands and you’d make your robot as pretty as you could

My theory on the Ancient's naming convention is that it is merely a translation quirk. Kind of like how I would be translated as _The Nobleman_ with _Grey Hair._ Also notice how the Ancient's names as from the pearls and their echoes have two pairs of phrases whilst the iterators have only one phrase. Their names sounded directly could be something as simple as Alexa.

21:20 I believe the purpose slug cats were meant to serve was originally cleaning pipes. The magenta Shoreline pearl reads: "It is the genome for a purposed organism. A small slug to clean the insides of pipes." At the end, Moon states: "So it's highly likely that you are the descendant of a purposed organism yourself!" I think the end note is to contextually clue the reader that your species started as a slug and later became a slug cat. (Due to them being very close in name, and you crawling through pipes throughout the game.) (P.S. I especially enjoyed the section about their anatomy and possible body modifications. The foot binding theory is a cool take.)

One thing that I came to notice after watching lore videos is how different Pebbles is from Moon to how he interacts with the Ancients. Putting aside their opinions or how pleasing or unpleasing the whole thing was, Pebbles seems to look at his creators like they were his parents, just as they do look at him as their "golden child", spoiling him to no end; Moon, on the other hand, as one of the earliest iterators built to "pamper" a flourishing civilization as they enter an era on incredible discoveries, looked at her creators as troublesome children, if often also interesting and even adorable.

19:54 A simple explanation. Placing void fluid into a vacuum (held there by magnetics? So it seem) purifies it. Pure void fluid works like the edge of a blackhole. You drop matter into it and that matter is violently ripped into its base elements and spit out with velocity. This process creates a lot of heat. Thus they created fission reactors that run on dirt.

"One Nissan Ultima, Fourteen Outstanding Tickets" LMAO

12:55 there's been theorized that there is a sixth sin which is *ADVANCED VIOLENCE* (the urge to help others ascend or ascend others) Downpour thingy Saint would most likely being guilty of that sin thus not ascending

Touching Rain World’s grass would be a very good way to make our lives quite finite.

The iterators: They all ascended. Lore videos: The ancients ascended. AUs: They all ascended. Any other fan: All ancients ascended. Me: *T h e y w e n t t o s p a c e*

This is wonderful, great job. Learned lots of things from it I previously hadn't been aware of. The story of the Ancients has so much to unpack. Their influence is felt in every corner of the game. Videocult did a fantastic job crafting it.

Incredible video! Your efforts are appreciated - the ancients can be quite confusing, but your video does an amazing job of putting everything that is known about them in a cohesive package that is really well presented!

One of my headcannons that i had before downpour was this: the ancients, either through recent discoveries or just boredom, indulged in interstellar travel and settled in other planets, likely building other iterators there (hence why the astral bodies visisble in game are green, resembling the lightning beneath the superstructure).

Awesome video, right up there with "Affairs of Passing Gods". This is my favorite game and its great to see the Ancients and their culture and flaws presented so accurately. I'm super happy that someone finally explained why what they did to their planet and the fate of the iterators was so awful. But I think I've got a kinda different take on Rain World's 'Great Cycle' than most of the community, which is that its not actually a time loop and dying doesn't mean you just wake back up again in the same body to do the day over. I know that's how the respawn system works in game, but I think that's more to highlight the frustration and futility of what it means to be 'trapped in the cycle of rebirth'. It's a metaphor. I think the actual cycle the iterators refer to (based on how closely the Ancient's religion is to actual Buddhism) is the cycle of getting reborn as an entirely different organism every time you die, with what you're reborn as being based on your karma. (There are a bunch of different types of 'beings' you can be reborn as in more traditional Buddhist beliefs and they're all based on karma and some of them are seriously fucked; this shit gets so wild.) Hence why to progress to different areas in game and get closer to ascension, you need certain 'levels' of karma to make the gates work. The Ancients were obviously still fanatically obsessed with ascension and destroyed themselves and almost everything else because of it, but I don't think they entirely lacked the ability to die. My opinion is that they just hated the idea of being reborn and having to live another life, because they made their own world such a crappy place to exist. That's just my opinion though. I don't think how the cycle works, whether via respawn/functional immortality or actual rebirth, is ever confirmed in canon, so take it with a grain of salt. And I'm a Buddhist so I'm probably just nitpicking based on what I want to see. Doesn't change how great the whole video was.

the fact that this video has less than a million views is beyond me, this video deserves all the recognition it gets and MORE, great video mate.

I loved every moment of this: the visuals and editing were astounding along with the incredible writing. This is an underated masterpiece. 10/10

21:07 it looks like the lizard is trying to eat that scav

Powerful stuff, and very insightful! I had never considered that ascension might have veeb mandatory, or even forced upon others. It really was a wild thing to consider.

Edit: Thank you all so much for 10k+ views and all of your comments!!! I really appreciate it ... Note: Rain world lore is extremely deep and complicated, especially when it comes to the ancients. Many things stated in this video aren’t necessarily wrong, but could have other interpretations. I tried my best to be as unbiased as possible, but (in general) I went with the most popular or accepted interpretations. Slight correction: at 54:12 I put "Rhinestones Above Shattered Glass" but it should actually be "Rhinestones Beneath Shattered Glass" The real pablo piccaso (thumbnail): www.tumblr.com/kociamieta Help support me: www.buymeacoffee.com/UraniumEater www.youtube.com/@UraniumEater

this video is great! a fantastic elaboration that really needed to be made

I think all the people who cover the rain world lore should get together and make one MASSIVE video covering all of it

you blew my mind, I hadn't even thought to consider that the ancients to the ancients might've constructed the depths. or that there were ancients who predate our ancients. i love the worldbuilding in this game so much. its genuinely a masterful work of art. thank you for such a top notch video. i hope you that when you move on to the next topic, whatever it may be, you keep this level of dedication to your craft. its beautiful dude.

I didn’t realize how unknown this video went until I looked at the comments. You deserve a lot more for this level of skill

long, detailed documentary on my favourite niche subject of an already niche game?? you're too kind

As a rain world music enjoyer, I must say noticing that the music for chapter 1 was ancient made me laugh a little more then it should have

on the topic of ancient naming conventions, i feel as though it might be similar to how real world names have meanings and translations - we’re just given the translation of ancient names though, rather than the original name

love this !!! its so well produced!! also to my friend jaga that thumbnail is amazing omgg

This was so incredibly amazing and useful!!! There are two things I love the most about Rain world, the gorgeous pixel environment and the lore. This was so helpful to really get to know everything about the ancients and when and how everything happened. Thank you so much for releasing an amazing video!!

This honestly my favorite Rain World lore video I've watched so far, it's criminal how underrated it is. I've had a good idea of the ancient's lore for quite some time, but this video placed the timeline neatly and helped me view things from a different angle. Thanks for making this video, I look forward to more!

OH MY GOD THE THUMBNAIL IS INCREDIBLE, IS THAT THE CRITIC? as the guy who put that in, it's amazing to see the artwork, it feels amazing to know my graffiti was used in this video too. Great vid as well. Also, it's called critic because the pose is from a discord emote of the nostalgia critic. I've seen people calling it pepehands, but the truth is much worse.

Great video! The attention to detail, love it! Only spottet one mistake: The slugcats where purpose beings to cleane the insides of pipes.

21:19 If I'm not wrong, slugcats were made by the ancients to clean pipes and tunnels, which explains why they are so slimy and oozy.

Fantastic video. There were only a very few minute details that i think were inexact, but for the overwhelming majority, this is a fantastic interpretation of what happened in the world of rain world. Beautiful editing. Good job

“Touch some grass” -UraniumEater, guy who made multiple hour long videos about a video game about slugs that can do backflips /j

The only thing I can say is that many of the creatures in rainworld as of when you are present in it are not all purposed organisms entirely anymore. Moon calls you a likely decendant from a purposed organism meaning that she knows that it has been enough time for the organisms the ancients designed to have evolved in the time they were gone. That would explain the existance of creatures that seemingly are useless to the ancients. Otherwise this has the best video I've seen beaking down the history of the ancients. Great job.

Never thought it is possible to make such a long video on this! Absolutely majestic

This video is so insanely good I wish it was longer.

this was an amazing in depth look at the ancients! thank you so much! i thought i knew all i could about rain world lore, and this type of video is the type i wish i could make myself. thanks for your effort!!

Holy shit this is so underrated How does this not even have 1k views? Seriously great job dude!

You got all very neatly covered, an hour long video, I really enjoyed every minute of it, great job man!!. But oh my god, every time i read the echoes dialogue I get very sentimental, Rain World truly is a very precious experience.

I really would like to see what's out there? More iterators? Maybe living ancients? A massive desert? A gigant tundra? A enormous jungle?? Maybe all of them or none of them Like the región concepts of dazombes

after having actually watched some of the video im here to leave an actual comment you did a great job making this video. You didnt just read the lore pearls to us or tell us the events/campaigns or whatever but went deeper, telling us about their biology and culture which i dont remember other videos really doing

Came back to the video after a day, so glad you’re getting the love you deserve

this is an actual masterpiece good job dude

This is one of if not the best rain world lore video I’ve ever seen! You tell all of the information in such an easy to understand way! Awesome video :)

Man, this video is so friggin great! I love it! It captures all that I love about this game so much!

48:45 I think this could be something about moon's gravity disruptiors failing or something. Because when we go see moon. When the cycle ends her gravity disruptiors dont turn back on.

This video was well explained. Rain world's lore is too deep and complicated but you and your team made it like a good detailed story that everyone can understand. I really appreciate the effort into the video, the editing, the information gathering and etc.

Congratulations!! This was a beautiful video to watch, enjoyed it all the way through! Thanks a lot for making it, i love watching rain world stuff like this, it's definitely one of the most interesting games to watch aside for the actual game since it's so mysterious and a lot to talk about. Great work and good luck in the future!

I have a small theory: the game videocult is developing, the one with the hover bikes where you play in the city, i think that's an ancient city, you play as an ancient, i am one karma symbol away from proving it.

GREAT video. surprised to see your number of subscribers and that it's your third ever!!

this video is absolutely incredible. you earned a subscriber 100x over! talk about some masterful analysis dude, wow

I have time to watch this

Bet you couldn’t eat some oganesson and live to tell the tale You’d starve after experiencing bankruptcy, of course

I realy love how the community can find so much in a game that leaves everything up to interpretation I've been thinking about this kind of stuff for months and this is amazing Personally, I imagined the Ancients being a little bigger with the slug cats being chihuahua sized bc my chihuahua has the size to get into tubes and narrow places when im not looking just like slugcat slides everywhere

>Ancients destroy the world, failing to destroy themselves >Ancients create life (Iterators), and damn it to their fate, but fail to destroy themselves. >Ancients destroy themselves, but leave behind magnitudes more destruction. >Ancients destroy those who do not want destruction I'm getting the idea that the true lesson is that ascension is to...lift the spirits. To find purpose and happiness in the long life you're given. Your life, after all, will not be suddenly ripped from you. There is no frail mortality. And think too: Every Scug (barring Saint) has an ending that isn't Ascending. Hunter...definitely should, Arti is happier that way (maybe?) and Saint But those who have community, brotherhood, and labour yet to wrought - those are where the happy endings are found.

excuse me for the second comment but ive just finished the whole video and ENJOYED EVERY SECOND OF IT. I am personally very obsessed with ancients and, MAN, you did as much research as I did, huh? haha! I had no problems with this video at all and i cannot think of anything you could fix, as it is perfect (say for some very specific details that were left out such as the possibility of very few ancients probably still being alive post-global ascension and the fact some ancients possesed pen names that went outside their naming convention. but I'm not disappointed as im already satisfied by the fucking fact youve mentioned the foot binding, naming convention, and other such small details when no other youtuber would!) this is seriously now one of my favorite yt videos of all time and i just cant help but appreciate every single detail in this video from the SPECTACULAR editing, overall structure, and THE FACT THAT ITS AN HOUR LONG RU-vid VIDEO ABOUT ANCIENTS HOLY SHIT I MUST BE DREAMING!! Youve worked so well on this, you deserve a long rest after this splendidly (but likely exhaustingly) long video. cheers, man! (btw ive subbed and secretly wish for more despite the pain it might cause for you to create another one of these)

This video is a gift to the rain world community. Seriously, this is very, very good. I consider myself well versed in the world of this game, but I still learnt a lot of small details I hadn't realized before this video. Great work! Looking forward to your next works.

IVE BEEN BLESSED BY THE GODS. A 1 HOUR VIDEO ABOUT RAIN WORLD ANCIENTS?! I AM TRULY THE LUCKIEST PERSON ON THIS PLANET, THANK YOU!! dawg, im going to watch the fuck out of this video.

This was so good!! Thank you!! : )

One hundred and eighty blenders, thirteen apples.

Welp Guess my "Ancient" name would be two dwarves one door....

I don't remember where I heard it or how reputable the source is, but I remember hearing online someone say that the purpose of the Slugcat was to clean pipes. This would explain how they seem to move through pipes with great ease. It would also explain why, despite the player ultimately being in control, the slugcat seems to immediately know what to do when confronted with the Void Fluid. One of their tasks (if this theory holds) was to clean the pipes used to transport Void Fluid. This would have them be in the same spot when the ancients jumped in. The presence of the fluid would also explain why Slugcats seem to be so rare. Personal side theory: The Scavengers were either inte intended for construction or as there name suggests, scavenging supplies. We do see them doing things that feel like construction with the tolls. The scavenging part would explain why they seem to hoard spears more beyond them being wepons. They would probably have less contact with Void Fluid, explaining why they're so much more common than Slugcats.

That was amazing! Really great video! One I'll probably not forget! 👍👍

Good things take time. Excellent work!

Astounding work!

touch some grass? nah bro farm arrays teached me to never touch grass

This video is incredibly well crafted

This a fantastic video. I can't wait to watch it a bazillion times.

I'm blown away! You've hit on pretty much every lore beat I can think of, plus a couple I hadn't yet put together! There's really only one point I can think of that I disagree with; and not outright, but more by omission. And to be clear, such a minor critique is hardly an embarrassment, indeed, that it's the only point, should be taken as high praise indeed! Anyway, the pearl projection in Metropolis -- which I hadn't noticed before either, or at least its background (and thus geographic context) -- I suspect it might've been more as either an attraction to _visit_ (a somewhat treacherous but worthwhile pilgrimage, given the surface conditions at the time), or indeed to experience, as in to take or exchange pearls to view and experience their contents -- it was something of a hallowed library, after all. A _reminder_ to place ones' pearls or other offerings there, certainly works too -- it just seems less likely to me. On a related note, it's interesting to think what Ancient life might've been like in the later days. The loneliness in public must've been palpable, even as populations dropped say from millions to 100k's; let alone to thousands or less. This would be only mildly offset by exploring that library -- why else to record ones' experience, collected thoughts and words, memories, and possessions, than for others to also experience them? (An egotistical conceit perfectly suited to the Ancients, especially those rich enough to have ascended earlier!) It seems to me, the dynamics of ascension might've been something like -- at least in some cities or subcultures, not necessarily Pebbles' -- take your time, experience the cycles (whatever that means, whether literal as in-game respawning, or any other time-traveling or metaphysically-interwoven loop; procreation might even be included ("progeny") -- though we don't of course know when Nineteen Spaces lived/ascended, aside from after Pebbles' construction), and when you are good and ready, having experienced everything your civilization had ever experienced -- to give up your attachments, whether by sheer force of will, or abject boredom, and finally ascend yourself. At least, that that would be one possible implementation of it, but it would seem in our particular case, the cultural mandate was _much_ stronger, that _everyone_ shall ascend, whether they privately wished to or not; and so we have echoes like Rhinestones. Perhaps shutting down the freight system was done not for efficiency (who was left to care?), but for coercion: without perishables at least, but perhaps without even more critical consumables like any food and drink (not just their preferred brands of Nectar (...or "Pebsi" :) )), the final stragglers had no choice but to ⦻ themselves out, whether they were (psychologically, spiritually) ready to do so or not. Thanks again for an excellent production!

This is truly amazing. Great job.

Have not watched this video yet, but for being the third video ever on this channel I'm very impressed by the ambition

so cool , thanks for this long video❤

Incredible video, great job

Great video man! You earned yourself a sub!

I hope the passing god that is the youtube algorithm picks this up soon, it is quite sad to see such a good work be left at only 15k views.

Great video. The slugcats yes, they are purposed organisms served to clean pipes! You can confirm this by taking the colored pearls from shoreline to Moon (I think it was the Pink one, the one that is above a tower) and she will say that the slugcat served to clean pipes

"Got touch some grass or something" I tried, but it just pulled me into the ground and ate me 😔

Wow. What a great storytelling you got there.

awesome! i know im a bit late to the party but this is a great video, well crafted, interesting and complete :D

This was great! I love Rain World content and this was an amazing almost documentary like experience about beings long gone without ever existing. Thank you and congratulations for this amazing work

Its a federal crime that this video isnt among the ranks of RU-vidrs like dazombes or the like. This video is amazing. A whole hour of documentation on the ancients? I couldn't have asked for anything better

the way my eyes expanded when i looked at the title and then the video length. I'm so excited

This video was amazing. Thank you.

I believe it was said somewhere that slugcats were used to clean pipes. 21:19

Honestly, the lesson of the ancients is one that a lot more people should learn.

HOT DAM THIS IS LIKE ONE OF THE GREATEST ESSAYS ON RAINWORLD LORE EXISTING?? Dude good job!!!! The message in the end was a good touch whaysuqhwa

Woagh!!! This was a really interesting video :)

That was top notch! Hats up!

holyyyy, that was amazing video

This is THE BEST and most exhaustive video on the matter. It really shines light on the thoughts put in the creation of the game's universe, which now makes the game's input ideas make MUCH more sense, compared to otherwise Aaand it makes it much easier to compare that universe to reality. Theory: The fact that ancients didnt purely use the thinking process for development but made biomachinery to decide instead of the ancients themselves really pushed them back and made them realize their collosal mistake, meaning void fluid doesnt actually ascend them, but really just puts them away for the next generation (and not doing what efforts would grant) to try better to ascend for a second time.

amazing video!!!!

OMG I just made the connection between the 5 virtues of the ancients that they have to embody in order to transcend and the 5 different slugcats in downpour! They each embody one of those as well as what they do in the story.

The theory about the ancients appearance being due to some kind of body modification rituals or genetic modification is cool. I sort of assumed that their art was religious and depicted them with some creative liberties taken to symbolize stuff from their religion. Sorta like Egyptian artwork showing people with animal parts even though we are pretty sure none of the ancient Egyptians looked like that haha