- You may be looking for the Dark Ages in European history or the Time of Chaos, a term not always synonymous with Dark Times.
The Dark Times, (PROSE: The Five Doctors [+]Terrance Dicks, adapted from The Five Doctors (Terrance Dicks), Target novelisations (Target Books, 1983)., The Pit [+]Neil Penswick, adapted from Hostage, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1993).; TV: The Runaway Bride [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2006 (BBC One, 2006)., The Infinite Quest [+]Alan Barnes, CBBC (2007).) Dark Days, (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who 20th Anniversary Special (Public Broadcasting Service, 1983).) Dark Ages, (AUDIO: Call Me Ishmael [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) or simply the Dark Time, (PROSE: The Eight Doctors [+]Terrance Dicks, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1997)., Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible [+]Marc Platt, adapted from Cat's Cradle (Marc Platt), Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1992).; TV: The Infinite Quest [+]Alan Barnes, CBBC (2007).) also poetically referred to as the time before time (PROSE: Cobweb and Ivory [+]Nate Bumber, The Book of the Enemy (Faction Paradox, 2018).) or "'time before this", (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet [+]Lawrence Miles, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1996).) described as eldritch times by H. P. Lovecraft, (AUDIO: Guardian At The Gate [+]Chris McAuley, P.R.O.B.E.: (BBV Productions, 2023).) and termed literal "'Pre-History" by The Book of the War, (PROSE: The Book of the War [+]Lawrence Miles, et al., Faction Paradox novels (Mad Norwegian Press, 2002).) were a time of chaos and monsters that predated the Doctor's reality, (TV: The Infinite Quest [+]Alan Barnes, CBBC (2007).) The universe during this period was sometimes known as the Protoverse (PROSE: Contributors [+]Burning with Optimism's Flames (Faction Paradox, 2013).) or the early universe. (PROSE: The Book of the War [+]Lawrence Miles, et al., Faction Paradox novels (Mad Norwegian Press, 2002)., Dalek Combat Training Manual [+]Richard Atkinson and Mike Tucker, BBC Books (2021).)
Remembered by the Tenth Doctor as "the millennia that came creeping out of the endless night as the first stars switched on in the universe", (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Steve Cole, Time Lord Victorious (BBC Books, 2020).) they were a time of chaos which not only predated Time Lord history, but was also "before there was any such thing as history", and where the laws of time and reality of the later universe did not apply. (AUDIO: The Enemy of My Enemy [+]Tracy Ann Baines, Time Lord Victorious (Big Finish Productions, 2020).) The terminology was fluid across accounts, however, and some equated the "Time before this" with the "Old Time" but not the "Dark Times". (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet [+]Lawrence Miles, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1996)., The Quantum Archangel [+]Craig Hinton, BBC Past Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2001)., Weapons Grade Snake Oil [+]Blair Bidmead, Faction Paradox (Obverse Books, 2017).) Some accounts defined "the Dark Time" as being an era localized to Gallifrey in which darkness grew in Gallifreyan society, but as having occurred within "the Old Time", specifically towards its tail end. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible [+]Marc Platt, adapted from Cat's Cradle (Marc Platt), Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1992).) Other sources still indicated the Dark and Old Times were distinct eras of Gallifreyan history. (PROSE: A Brief History of Time Lords [+]Steve Tribe, BBC Books (2017).)
In terms of universal history, the Dark Times were billions of years before the 21st century (TV: The Runaway Bride [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2006 (BBC One, 2006).) and in part aeons before the rise of Gallifreyan civilisation. (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Steve Cole, Time Lord Victorious (BBC Books, 2020).) The Dark Times were a prehistoric period in Gallifreyan history. (PROSE: Introduction [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) Rassilon created the Time scoop in the Dark Times, (PROSE: The Five Doctors [+]Terrance Dicks, adapted from The Five Doctors (Terrance Dicks), Target novelisations (Target Books, 1983)., The Eight Doctors [+]Terrance Dicks, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1997).) and his rise to power and foundation of Time Lord civilisation ended the Dark Times. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible [+]Marc Platt, adapted from Cat's Cradle (Marc Platt), Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1992)., A Brief History of Time Lords [+]Steve Tribe, BBC Books (2017).)
The anchoring of the thread and Time Wars eradicated the monstrous creatures of the era and created the Web of Time, (PROSE: The Infinity Doctors [+]Lance Parkin, BBC Books (1998)., So Vile a Sin [+]Ben Aaronovitch and Kate Orman, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1997)., et al, TV: Once, Upon Time [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 13 (BBC One, 2021).) with the Dark Times being locked off from time travel through its temporal exclusion zone. (PROSE: Dalek Combat Training Manual [+]Richard Atkinson and Mike Tucker, BBC Books (2021).) After this, it was believed Time Lords were unable to time travel to the Dark Times, (PROSE: No Future [+]Paul Cornell, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994)., Goth Opera [+]Paul Cornell, Virgin Missing Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994).) but multiple incarnations of the Doctor would do just that. (COMIC: Old Girl [+]Nick Abadzis, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor (Titan Comics, 2016).; PROSE: The Guide to the Dark Times [+]Paul Lang, Doctor Who The Official Annual 2021 (Doctor Who annual, Penguin Group, 2020).)
Nature
Before the Time Lords created the Web of Time, the universe obeyed no laws of physics, and magic was a powerful force. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet [+]Lawrence Miles, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1996).) The temporal exclusion zone blocked off the Dark Times and the post-Dark Times universe. (PROSE: Dalek Combat Training Manual [+]Richard Atkinson and Mike Tucker, BBC Books (2021).)
According to the Eighth Doctor, "time was but a tributary" by Mount Perdition during the time of Pythia's Curse. The Stranger worked to turn it into a stream. (AUDIO: Patience [+]Tim Foley, Stranded 3 (The Eighth Doctor Adventures: Stranded, Big Finish Productions, 2021).) Before the creation of the planet Time, the force of time still ran wild. (TV: Once, Upon Time [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 13 (BBC One, 2021).)
River Song noted a theory that the SporeShips were leftover weapons from the war that wiped out the previous universe. (AUDIO: Signs [+]James Goss, The Diary of River Song: Series One (The Diary of River Song, Big Finish Productions, 2015).)
Because the universe during the Dark Times was radically different in a fundamental sense from what it later became, it was sometimes confused for a totally separate universe which had preceded the Big Bang. The Sixth Doctor learned about "the universe before [his own] was created" from the Matrix during his time as Lord President, and he described it to Anne Travers as "a totally different universe, with alien physical laws. The heavens were green, and the stars looked like... giant doughnuts, to be brutally frank. Very, very different. And, as in this universe, there were people who discovered the deeper mysteries of time and space". (PROSE: Millennial Rites [+]Craig Hinton, Virgin Missing Adventures (Virgin Books, 1995).) Likewise, noticing that the Ancient Lights seemed to conform to the rules of astrology despite them contradicting conventional physics, Luke Smith guessed that they originated in "the universe before this one" where astrology and magic were real. (TV: Secrets of the Stars [+]Gareth Roberts, The Sarah Jane Adventures series 2 (CBBC, 2008).)
Alternatively, the Seventh Doctor heard from the Carnival Queen that the Time Lords misinterpreted their knowledge of what had come before, and that the universe of irrationality was simply the state of reality before the Time Lords created the Web of Time (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet [+]Lawrence Miles, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1996).) during the anchoring of the thread. (PROSE: The Book of the War [+]Lawrence Miles, et al., Faction Paradox novels (Mad Norwegian Press, 2002).) The Kaliyuga did not merely follow the Dvapara Yuga; it replaced it. (PROSE: Dharmayuddha [+]Aditya Bidikar, Burning with Optimism's Flames (Faction Paradox, 2013).)
History
First life-forms
After the First Proliferation, where life began (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Steve Cole, Time Lord Victorious (BBC Books, 2020).) as a result of Prometheus spreading the life spores across the universe, (COMIC: The Life Bringer! [+]Steve Moore, DWM Comics (Marvel Comics UK, 1981).) came the rise of "the Old Ones, the giants of the universe", a term used to refer to the earliest and most powerful species. (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Steve Cole, Time Lord Victorious (BBC Books, 2020).)
The Hond were speculated by the Tenth Doctor to be one of the first species, as "the primordial ooze" given sentience. He suggested they had been created in constant pain as a result of "the universe not quite knowing what life was like yet." (COMIC: Defender of the Daleks [+]Jody Houser, Time Lord Victorious release order (Titan Comics, 2020).) The Kamishi, also known as the First Race, were another one of the earliest known civilisations. (AUDIO: The Rulers of the Universe [+]Matt Fitton, The Diary of River Song: Series One (The Diary of River Song, Big Finish Productions, 2015).) The Tenth Doctor claimed the natives of Gallifrey were regarded as "the oldest and mightiest race in the universe". (TV: The Sound of Drums [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who series 3 (BBC One, 2007).)
Species that flourished in the Dark Times included the Dæmons, Eternals, the Gods of Ragnarok, (PROSE: No Future [+]Paul Cornell, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994).) Racnoss, (TV: The Runaway Bride [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2006 (BBC One, 2006).) Nestene, (TV: The Infinite Quest [+]Alan Barnes, CBBC (2007).) Qwerm, Narlok, (PROSE: River of Time [+]Andy Lane, The Legends of River Song (2016).) Osirans, (COMIC: Old Girl [+]Nick Abadzis, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor (Titan Comics, 2016).) Jagaroth, and Kastrians. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) The Mandragora Helix also originated from the Dark Times. (PROSE: Beautiful Chaos [+]Gary Russell, BBC New Series Adventures (BBC Books, 2008).)
At the "dawn of the universe", the Carrionites waged a war with the Hervoken. The Eternals were present during this time period, banishing both the Carrionites and the Hervoken to the Deep Darkness, although some of them escaped. (PROSE: Forever Autumn [+]Mark Morris, BBC New Series Adventures (BBC Books, 2007).)
During the Dark Times, there was a race known as the Hyffons, whose race became engulfed in a war on their home world. A Sontaran was apparently present at one battle in the war.
Hoping to put an end to the conflict, the race invented the Continuity Cap, a device which would allow the wearer to change events from their own personal history. Using this, the Hyffon's were able to change their planet's political history until the war no longer existed. However, the Cap fell into the wrong hands, and eventually, the planet's history was changed so much that the Hyffons "vanished in a puff of [their] own continuity." (COMIC: The Continuity Cap [+]Christopher Cooper, DWA comic stories (BBC Magazines, 2008).)
The Great Old Ones were present in the universe at this time. It was during this time period, too, that the legendary spaceship Infinite was created. (TV: The Infinite Quest [+]Alan Barnes, CBBC (2007).)
The elder books of the Dark Times, created by elder powers such as the Dæmons, Eternals, and the Gods of Ragnarok, had details on how to capture and harness a Chronovore. Part of the necessary ritual, according to the books, involved spheres from the Sisterhood of Karn and a pentancle drawn in the blood of five species who "had their genetic destinies changed by the Capitol": Minyans, Silurians, Daleks, Humans, and Mandrels. (PROSE: No Future [+]Paul Cornell, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994).)
Coming of the Kotturuh
It was popularly believed that among the first species in the universe were the Kotturuh, who laid low for "a millennium or two", according to River Song, and then set out to distribute mortality to the beings of the universe, (PROSE: The Guide to the Dark Times [+]Paul Lang, Doctor Who The Official Annual 2021 (Doctor Who annual, Penguin Group, 2020).) starting on the planet Birinji. (PROSE: The Dawn of the Kotturuh [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.)
However, the Kotturuh themselves believed they actually predated this universe and had been spreading what they saw as the "gift" of mortality in the prior universes; they expected they would do so again in subsequent universes. (PROSE: The Dawn of the Kotturuh [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) Inyit later stated their beliefs were wrong, stating that death would naturally develop in life-forms whether or not the Kotturuh were there to dispense it or not. (PROSE: All Flesh is Grass [+]Una McCormack, Time Lord Victorious release order (BBC Books, 2020).) The Kotturuh drew their power from a realm accessible via their homeplanet Mordeela. (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Steve Cole, Time Lord Victorious (BBC Books, 2020).) Their emergence began what was known as the Kotturuh crisis. (PROSE: The Guide to the Dark Times [+]Paul Lang, Doctor Who The Official Annual 2021 (Doctor Who annual, Penguin Group, 2020).)
As the Kotturuh spread, various races responded in different ways. The Eternals fled, losing the ability to live their own lives in the process. The Osiran Sutekh bargained with them and gained the gift of death for himself. The Dæmons tried to fight back, resulting in them eventually being driven to extinction. (PROSE: The Guide to the Dark Times [+]Paul Lang, Doctor Who The Official Annual 2021 (Doctor Who annual, Penguin Group, 2020).) After being banished to the Dark Times by the Time Lords following the mayhem he had caused during the Doctor's trial (TV: The Ultimate Foe [+]Robert Holmes and Pip & Jane Baker, Doctor Who season 23 (BBC1, 1986)., AUDIO: Lesser Evils [+]Simon Guerrier, Time Lord Victorious (Big Finish Productions, 2020).) the Tremas Master witnessed a Kotturuh woman at work on the planet Alexis and attempted to influence her decision. (AUDIO: Lesser Evils [+]Simon Guerrier, Time Lord Victorious (Big Finish Productions, 2020).)
Earth during the Dark Times
During the times before the anchoring, Earth was home to cities with buildings carved from mile-high arches of ivory, with streets made of cobweb and gardens tended by their stone men. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet [+]Lawrence Miles, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1996).) They were ruled by the mammoths, who in their original form were sapient beings of great power, led by Cernunnos. (PROSE: Cobweb and Ivory [+]Nate Bumber, The Book of the Enemy (Faction Paradox, 2018).)
Many humans had semi-divine powers: for instance, Arjuna had one thousand arms and was ardently skilled at compressing time, while Nakula and Sahadeva led armies of imaginary hybrid animals made of broken time. The Great Houses' plan for ending the Dvapara Yuga involved starting the Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and Kauravas. (PROSE: Dharmayuddha [+]Aditya Bidikar, Burning with Optimism's Flames (Faction Paradox, 2013).)
The Guardian of Might, Guardian of Magic and Champion of Neutrality were said to have existed in "the universe before and after this one" by one Time Lord account of their games. The two Guardians chose the mythical Earth as the battlefield of the games of their "proxies", King Arthur and Morgaine. (PROSE: Legends of Camelot [+]Jacqueline Rayner, Puffin Classics crossovers (BBC Children's Books, 2021).)
Gallifrey during the Dark Times
Missing crucial information from Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible [+]Marc Platt, adapted from Cat's Cradle (Marc Platt), Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1992)..
In the Dark Times, (COMIC: The Wishing Well Witch [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) Gallifreyans evolved under the influence of the Untempered Schism. (COMIC: Old Girl [+]Nick Abadzis, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor (Titan Comics, 2016).) The Tenth Doctor once encountered an amalgam of young Gallifreyans who had been thrown into the Schism during the Dark Times. (COMIC: The Wishing Well Witch [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) He and Cindy Wu later visited this era of Gallifrey, which was billions of years before the Doctor's native era and "before Rassilon and his Black Scrolls, before time travel was even invented". (COMIC: Old Girl [+]Nick Abadzis, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor (Titan Comics, 2016).)
Gallifreyans examining their own future wrote the Green Book of Gallifrey and the Black Book of Gallifrey, which foretold the Timewyrm devouring Rassilon at the end of the universe (PROSE: Timewyrm: Revelation [+]Paul Cornell, adapted from Total Eclipse, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1991).) and the Event. (PROSE: The Ancestor Cell [+]Peter Anghelides and Stephen Cole, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2000).) Another Gallifreyan prophecy from the Dark Times said that a Vampire would survive on "a world that will be called Ravolox". (PROSE: Goth Opera [+]Paul Cornell, Virgin Missing Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994).)
According to one account, the First Tecteun was one of the first explorers to leave Gallifrey. (TV: The Timeless Children [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 12 (BBC One, 2020).)
Under the rule of the Pythias, a line of female seers, Gallifrey built an interstellar empire. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible [+]Marc Platt, adapted from Cat's Cradle (Marc Platt), Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1992).)
The Kotturuh visited Gallifrey and, aware of the eventual rise of the Time Lords, judged its people as having much to offer. (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Steve Cole, Time Lord Victorious (BBC Books, 2020).) They imposed death, which the Gallifreyans called "the Ultimate". (COMIC: Monstrous Beauty [+]Scott Gray, DWM Comics (Panini Comics, 2020).)
Time Scoops were created in the Dark Times. (PROSE: The Eight Doctors [+]Terrance Dicks, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1997)., World Game [+]Terrance Dicks, BBC Past Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 2005).)
The Eternal War begins
- Main article: Eternal War
The people of Gallifrey caused the release of the Great Vampires into N-Space, (AUDIO: Project Twilight [+]Cavan Scott and Mark Wright, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2001).) which some accounts atttibuted to Rassilon's early experiments with black holes, (PROSE: The Pit [+]Neil Penswick, adapted from Hostage, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1993)., Interference - Book Two [+]Lawrence Miles, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1999).) whilst another account suggested their release came about as part of the anchoring of the thread. (PROSE: The Book of the War [+]Lawrence Miles, et al., Faction Paradox novels (Mad Norwegian Press, 2002).)
An old hermit taught the Doctor that the Great Vampires had come from nowhere and "swarmed and swarmed", with a single vampire being able to suck the life out of an entire planet. (TV: State of Decay [+]Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who season 18 (BBC1, 1980).) River Song believed the Vampires were forced to adopt a lifestyle of feeding on mortal beings as part of a deal with the Kotturuh to keep their immortality. (PROSE: The Guide to the Dark Times [+]Paul Lang, Doctor Who The Official Annual 2021 (Doctor Who annual, Penguin Group, 2020).) Lord Tepesh argued that the Vampires had been content to live in peace, however Rassilon's xenophobia led to Gallifrey waging war on them. (AUDIO: Zagreus [+]Alan Barnes and Gary Russell, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2003).)
At any rate, the Eternal War began between Gallifrey and the Great Vampires, with Gallifreyan commanders leading the fight including Kopyion Liall a Mahajetsu (PROSE: The Pit [+]Neil Penswick, adapted from Hostage, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1993).) and Rassilon. According to one account, at this time the Gallifreyans were known as the Space Lords. (COMIC: Monstrous Beauty [+]Scott Gray, DWM Comics (Panini Comics, 2020).)
The Kotturuh crisis escalates
- Main article: Kotturuh crisis
When his TARDIS realised he needed to learn a lesson after making a terrible mistake, she ensured Tenth Doctor travelled back into the Dark Times via the Time Fracture. She also ensured an Ood assassin named Brian would arrive in the Dark Times (PROSE: What the TARDIS thought of "Time Lord Victorious" [+]James Goss, Time Lord Victorious (2020).) to help the Doctor. Arriving on the planet Andalia, the Doctor witnessed a demonstration of Professor Hana Fallomax's lifeshroud technology on Estinee, which was disrupted by the intervention of Brian, who was contracted to test the technology's efficacy. The Kotturuh arrived on Andalia and judged the natives, to the Doctor's horror, and took Estinee with them back to Mordeela. The Doctor and Brian followed them and witnessed Estinee being rescued by Fallomax. Learning Fallomax was developing the lifeshrouds to resist the Kotturuh, the Doctor decided to help.
He spent days working in vain on the lifeshrouds, discovering they only appeared to work in demonstrations because of Estinee's natural immunity to the Kotturuh. As such, he only succeeded in making the Mordeela crystals they depended on last a couple of hours longer. The Doctor realised he had a physical sample from a Kotturuh who had made physical contact with him and used that, and data collected from Andalia, to reverse-engineer their power as necrotic virus to inflict a lifespan on them. Brian took control of mercenary forces as he worked, believing the Doctor was effectively going to war with the Kotturuh. The Kotturuh confronted the Doctor on Andalia, attempting to force Estinee into killing him until she chose to take her own life to stop them. Infuriated, the Doctor unleashed his virus on them and sentenced them to a lifespan of fifteen minutes. (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Steve Cole, Time Lord Victorious (BBC Books, 2020).)
The Doctor's actions in the Dark Times caused fluctuations in time, (PROSE: The Guide to the Dark Times [+]Paul Lang, Doctor Who The Official Annual 2021 (Doctor Who annual, Penguin Group, 2020).) rewriting the timelines of entire planets in the future including Atharna and Wrax (AUDIO: He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW., The Enemy of My Enemy [+]Tracy Ann Baines, Time Lord Victorious (Big Finish Productions, 2020).) and even affecting the Dalek timeline during the era of the Restoration Empire, which had yet to fight Last Great Time War. (COMIC: Defender of the Daleks [+]Jody Houser, Time Lord Victorious release order (Titan Comics, 2020).) Investigating the temporal anomalies in the future led to the Eighth Doctor and a Dalek Time Squad travelling back to the Dark Times to find the source, (AUDIO: The Enemy of My Enemy [+]Tracy Ann Baines, Time Lord Victorious (Big Finish Productions, 2020).) with the TARDIS allowing them access to the Dark Times after foreseeing his alliance with the Daleks would end horribly and that the Tenth Doctor would need help.
Also manipulated by the TARDIS to bring another incarnation into the fray to help the Tenth Doctor, (PROSE: What the TARDIS thought of "Time Lord Victorious" [+]James Goss, Time Lord Victorious (2020).) the Ninth Doctor and Rose Tyler also arrived in the Dark Times, landing in the midst of the Eternal War. After helping Vampire slaves liberate themselves from the Three Mad Sisters, the Doctor stayed with them aboard their coffin ship whilst Rose stayed on a moon to recover from briefly becoming a Vampire. (COMIC: Monstrous Beauty [+]Scott Gray, DWM Comics (Panini Comics, 2020).) The Time Squad's investigation into the source of the alterations and the Ninth Doctor feeling something was wrong with the Dark Times led both factions to Mordeela. (PROSE: All Flesh is Grass [+]Una McCormack, Time Lord Victorious release order (BBC Books, 2020).)
As the Kotturuh died, the Doctor led the mercenary forces to Mordeela, intending to seal off the Kotturuh's power source. His fleet was confronted by the arrival of a Dalek saucer, carrying the Eighth Doctor, and the coffin ship, commanded by the Ninth Doctor. Both of them pleaded with him to stop, but he dismissed them as tricks and ordered his fleet to open fire, (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Steve Cole, Time Lord Victorious (BBC Books, 2020).) destroying Mordeela. Whilst the younger Doctors were shocked, the Daleks and Vampires attacked, beginning the Battle of Mordeela. Despite the Doctors' efforts to rein their forces, the Battle escalated and resulted in the destruction of the Tenth Doctor's forces, save his flagship. The Tenth Doctor managed to use the ruins of Mordeela to seal the gateway to the Kotturuh power source as intended, using that to mask his ship's escape. (PROSE: All Flesh is Grass [+]Una McCormack, Time Lord Victorious release order (BBC Books, 2020).)
The Tenth Doctor continued wandering the Dark Times in the surviving mercenary ship, connecting his TARDIS to its damaged engines, accompanied by Brian. (AUDIO: The Minds of Magnox [+]Darren Jones, Audio Originals (BBC Worldwide, 2020).) The Tenth Doctor went to a desert planet alone and was feasted by ghosts, who fooled him into believing he had saved a species. He was found by Brian, who revealed the truth and destroyed the ghosts. (COMIC: Tales of the Dark Times [+]Comic Creator (Scary Beasties, 2020).) The Doctor took their ship to Magnox, where he sought to ask the Council of Minds if he had done the right thing taking on the Kotturuh, whilst Brian was embroiled in a plot to assassinate the Minds. A Kotturuh ship led by Avkhan arrived, demanding the Minds tell them how to survive the Doctor's judgement or they would wipe out the planet. Brian assassinated the Minds before he could met them, forcing the Doctor to organise a hasty evacuation of Magnox before the Kotturuh reduced it to ruins. The survivors of Magnox settled on Islos. (AUDIO: The Minds of Magnox [+]Darren Jones, Audio Originals (BBC Worldwide, 2020).)
The Dalek Time Squad, believing they had failed to correct history, began a back-up plan of harvesting lifeforms unique to the Dark Times to weaponise them. (PROSE: Mission to the Known [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) The Squad harvested the population of Velosia under the pretence of saving their best minds from the coming of the Kotturuh. (COMIC: Tales of the Dark Times [+]Comic Creator (Scary Beasties, 2020).) The Eighth Doctor found himself excluded from the Daleks' schemes, as they only needed him to ensure their eventual departure from the Dark Times, but was allowed to join their some of their explorations, (PROSE: All Flesh is Grass [+]Una McCormack, Time Lord Victorious release order (BBC Books, 2020).) including of an abandoned spaceship they discovered. The Doctor realised it had been left by a species wiped out by the Kotturuh as a reminder of their civilisation. The Daleks found a source of Huon energy aboard and attempted to absorb it, requiring assistance by the Doctor when it went wrong. (COMIC: Tales of the Dark Times [+]Comic Creator (Scary Beasties, 2020).)
The Ninth Doctor continued to help the Free Undead search for a planet to settle on, (PROSE: All Flesh is Grass [+]Una McCormack, Time Lord Victorious release order (BBC Books, 2020).) visiting Parvanna with Ikalla, where they were hunted by an invisible creature, which the Doctor held off by setting a sonic stake alight. (COMIC: Tales of the Dark Times [+]Comic Creator (Scary Beasties, 2020).) His coffin ship was targeted by the Daleks, seeking a Vampire for their experiments, but the Eighth Doctor forewarned the Vampires so they could evacuate and escaped with the Ninth Doctor in his TARDIS. (PROSE: All Flesh is Grass [+]Una McCormack, Time Lord Victorious release order (BBC Books, 2020).) After the Eighth Doctor left the Daleks, the Time Commander and Executioner received pre-recorded orders from the Emperor, ordering them to target Gallifrey to avert the creation of the Time Lords. (PROSE: Mission to the Known [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) Meanwhile, the Strategist and Scientist continued the experiments, seeking to create a more biologically efficient form of Dalek - the Symbiont. (PROSE: All Flesh is Grass [+]Una McCormack, Time Lord Victorious release order (BBC Books, 2020).)
Together, the Eighth and Ninth Doctors went in search of the Tenth Doctor, travelling to the planet Hoolan. They discovered a malfunctioning time machine bridging the future to the Dark Times, after its pilot had attempted to witness the Big Bang. They fixed her time machine and sent her back to her home time period. (COMIC: Tales of the Dark Times [+]Comic Creator (Scary Beasties, 2020).) The two Doctors eventually tracked their tenth incarnation to Entranxis, where he was meeting the Death Brokers to procure new weapons for his ship. They rescued Ikalla, who had been captured after the evacuation, from the Brokers, but the Daleks attacked, seeking to capture her. The Ninth Doctor escaped with her back to his TARDIS whilst the other two Doctors returned to the Tenth Doctor's ship. They reunited in orbit, but the Ninth Doctor was angered by his other selves' lack of concern for the dying Kotturuh and left with Ikalla to help them. Their target lost, the Daleks wiped out Entranxis by setting its atmosphere alight, horrifying the Eighth and Tenth Doctors, who resolved to stop them.
The Ninth Doctor and Ikalla's search led to them Birinji, where they met Inyit, now the last of the Kotturuh. Meanwhile, the Eighth and Tenth Doctors discovered a coffin ship the Daleks had attacked and convinced a surviving Bloodsman to help them and Brian infiltrate the Dalek saucer. There, the Tenth Doctor witnessed the creation of the Symbiont using Great Vampire DNA and the Eighth learned the Daleks had been killing off the Kotturuh, including dispatching a scout ship to Birinji, in preparation for attacking the "Ultimate End". A power drain caused by the experiments enabled them to escape, leaving Brian behind, and they had their ship destroy the scout ship attacking Birinji, where they reunited with the Ninth Doctor. Brian contacted them to reveal he had hidden in the saucer's engine room, having attached himself to an explosive to protect himself from the Daleks, and that their destination was Gallifrey.
The Doctors went to mount a defence of their homeworld, leaving Ikalla to look after Inyit, with the Tenth Doctor rescuing Brian on the way. His rescue caused the Strategist to realise the Doctors knew their plan, so it had the Drones enhanced with Symbiont DNA to counter their defences. Whilst the army of undead Daleks battled the Doctors' ship and the three coffin ships who'd answered Ikalla's summons, the original Symbiont was sent to kill Inyit. She issued the final judgement on it, wiping out it and all the Drones sharing its DNA. This threw the Daleks' assault into chaos, as they panicked that the judgement may spread to pure Dalek DNA, enabling the Eighth Doctor to board the saucer and trigger Brian's explosive, forcing the ship into the Time Vortex and out of the Dark Times.
The Ninth and Tenth Doctors returned to Birinji, where they witnessed Inyit's death. The Tenth Doctor finally conceded he had gone too far and reconciled with his ninth incarnation, agreeing to end his rewriting of history. As the free Vampires settled on Birinji, Brian decided to stay with them and the Tenth Doctor departed the Dark Times. (PROSE: All Flesh is Grass [+]Una McCormack, Time Lord Victorious release order (BBC Books, 2020).) The Ninth Doctor returned to Rose and, when she recovered, likewise left the Dark Times. (COMIC: Monstrous Beauty [+]Scott Gray, DWM Comics (Panini Comics, 2020).) Thirty years after the end of the Kotturuh crisis, the Eleventh Doctor visited the ruins of Magnox and recovered a data drive. He took it to Islos, where the survivors had started a new archive of knowledge. (AUDIO: The Minds of Magnox [+]Darren Jones, Audio Originals (BBC Worldwide, 2020).)
End of the Dark Times
Rise of the Time Lords
- Main article: Anchoring of the thread
The Dark Times were followed by the Old Time. (PROSE: A Brief History of Time Lords [+]Steve Tribe, BBC Books (2017).) All of the monstrous species of the Dark Times eventually died out. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) The temporal exclusion zone cut post-Dark Times individuals from time traveling back into the Dark Times. (PROSE: Dalek Combat Training Manual [+]Richard Atkinson and Mike Tucker, BBC Books (2021).)
The Dark Times ended with Rassilon's overthrow of the Pythia and the foundation of Time Lord civilisation on Gallifrey. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible [+]Marc Platt, adapted from Cat's Cradle (Marc Platt), Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1992)., A Brief History of Time Lords [+]Steve Tribe, BBC Books (2017).) The three main founders of the Time Lords were Rassilon, (TV: The Deadly Assassin [+]Robert Holmes, Doctor Who season 14 (BBC1, 1976).) Omega, (TV: The Three Doctors [+]Bob Baker and Dave Martin, Doctor Who season 10 (BBC1, 1972-1973).) and an other. (PROSE: Remembrance of the Daleks [+]Ben Aaronovitch, adapted from Remembrance of the Daleks (Ben Aaronovitch), Target novelisations (Target Books, 1990).) According to one account, Tecteun was a founder after she cracked the Timeless Child's genetic code and regenerated herself. In a new incarnation, Tecteun proposed sharing this gift among the new rulers of Gallifrey. (TV: The Timeless Children [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 12 (BBC One, 2020).)
The Time Lords continued time travel experiments. Omega became the first Gallifreyan to enter the Time Vortex, (PROSE: The Evil and the Deep Black Sky [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) and developed a stellar manipulator, the Hand of Omega. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks [+]Ben Aaronovitch, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988).) Omega and Rassilon together planned to turn a star, Qqaba, supernova to provide power for time travel. The experiment succeeded, however Omega was lost due to the interference of a Black Sun agent, Fenris, (COMIC: Star Death [+]Alan Moore, DWM backup comic stories (Marvel Comics, 1980).) or possibly sabotage by his assistant, Vandekirian. (AUDIO: Omega [+]Nev Fountain, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2003).) Omega was remembered as a hero, though unknown to the Time Lords he had actually survived and was trapped in an antimatter universe. (TV: The Three Doctors [+]Bob Baker and Dave Martin, Doctor Who season 10 (BBC1, 1972-1973).)
Rassilon decided to make the universe rational, (PROSE: So Vile a Sin [+]Ben Aaronovitch and Kate Orman, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1997).) resulting in the anchoring of the thread, (PROSE: The Book of the War [+]Lawrence Miles, et al., Faction Paradox novels (Mad Norwegian Press, 2002).) the creation of the Web of Time, (AUDIO: Neverland [+]Alan Barnes, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2002).) which was implemented through the Temple of Atropos and the Mouri on the artificial planet Time. (TV: War of the Sontarans [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 13 (BBC One and BBC America, 2021)., Once, Upon Time [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 13 (BBC One, 2021).) Rassilon brought the singularity of a black hole to Gallifrey, creating the Eye of Harmony which provided power to Gallifrey, (TV: The Deadly Assassin [+]Robert Holmes, Doctor Who season 14 (BBC1, 1976).) and acted as a hitching point for the Web of Time. (AUDIO: Neverland [+]Alan Barnes, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2002).)
Rassilon oversaw the development of TARDISes. (COMIC: The Lost Dimension [+]George Mann, et al., Titan summer events (Titan Comics, 2017).) The Archons claimed TARDISes were grown from seeds they had created, which the Time Lords stole after they declared war on the Archons, wiping them out save for seven survivors. (PROSE: The Nameless City [+]Michael Scott, Puffin eshort (Puffin Books, 2013).) After a failed test flight of a Type 1 by Theta Sigma, (COMIC: The Lost Dimension [+]George Mann, et al., Titan summer events (Titan Comics, 2017).) the first successful flight of a Prototype TARDIS took place on the planet Henlen. (AUDIO: Collision Course [+]Guy Adams, The Legacy of Time (Big Finish Productions, 2019).)
Iris Wildthyme knew that the Lord Temporal of the Clockworks originated from the previous universe but had crossed the rapids between cosmoses to tend their Tale Without Meaning to the exclusion of everything else. Their Wordships each began as single sounds carried over from the pre-universe, amplified and refined, until it became alive and was added to the Tale. (PROSE: First Meetings [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.)
To survive in the new universe, some supernatural entities survived by rooting themselves in fantasy and faith, becoming gods of different planets. In the Sol system, Gaia aligned with Earth, Ares with Mars, Aphrodite with Venus, Pan with El Mundo, and Hestia with Planet 5. (PROSE: The Rise and Fall of Señor 105 [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.)
The Founding Conflict saw the Ravagers attempt to overturn what the Time Lords had wrought on planet Time, banishing the six Mouri from the Temple of Atropos. The Division sent the Fugitive Doctor to capture them in a battle that became known as the Siege of Atropos, bringing an end to the Founding Conflict and restoring the Mouri. According to this account, it was this event that ended the Dark Times and saw the final actions of the anchoring of the thread, establishing linear time. (TV: Once, Upon Time [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 13 (BBC One, 2021).)
End of the Eternal War
Twelve War TARDISes were created by the Time Lords to fight the Vampires, (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Krikkitmen [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) and the Patrex Chapter developed N-Forms. (PROSE: Damaged Goods [+]Russell T Davies, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1996).)
After General Skellis designed the bowship which was capable of piercing Great Vampires, the Eternal War ended in the deaths of all the Great Vampires, save the King, (PROSE: The Multi-Faceted War [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) who escaped into E-Space. (TV: State of Decay [+]Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who season 18 (BBC1, 1980).) Rassilon took the credit for Skellis' designs and spent many years searching in vain for the King. (PROSE: The Multi-Faceted War [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) He eventually wrote the Record of Rassilon, outlining the history of the war and instructing any future Time Lord to kill the King should they ever find it. (TV: State of Decay [+]Terrance Dicks, Doctor Who season 18 (BBC1, 1980).)
In aftermath of the war, Kopyion Liall a Mahajetsu returned to Gallifrey and found religion had fallen from favour and Rassilon had risen to power. He left to guard the final opening to the Yssgaroth's universe. (PROSE: The Pit [+]Neil Penswick, adapted from Hostage, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1993).)
Extinctions of Dark Times powers
The Racnoss were wiped out by the Time Lords' Fledgling Empires in the Racnoss Wars, which the Fifth Doctor characterised as "a long and bloody affair". (AUDIO: Empire of the Racnoss [+]Scott Handcock, Classic Doctors and New Monsters: Volume Two (Classic Doctors, New Monsters, Big Finish Productions, 2017).) Two Webstars were known to have survived with their occupants in hibernation: those of the Empress and her children. The children's Webstar arrived in the Sol system and became the first rock in the formation of Earth. (TV: The Runaway Bride [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who Christmas Special 2006 (BBC One, 2006).)
The Jagaroth were among the last of this era's species to survive, but eventually they too went extinct when Scaroth hunted down Racnoss energy signals to Earth. (PROSE: City of Death [+]James Goss, adapted from City of Death (David Agnew (writer)), BBC Books novelisations (BBC Books, 2015).)
A herd of War TARDISes once suggested to Compassion that one monstrous force survived: the Rassilon Imprimatur. From the TARDISes' perspective, the Imprimatur lived in the blood of the Time Lords and controlled them, "dancing to the old agenda of the Dark Times." (PROSE: The Taking of Planet 5 [+]Simon Bucher-Jones and Mark Clapham, BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1999).)
During the creation of the Hand of Omega, Omega's body was muscular and wide-shouldered, leading some Gallifreyan it differed[statement unclear] from the regenerative norm because it was a "genetic memory" from the Dark Time. (PROSE: Remembrance of the Daleks [+]Ben Aaronovitch, adapted from Remembrance of the Daleks (Ben Aaronovitch), Target novelisations (Target Books, 1990).)
Artefacts of the Dark Times
The Black Scrolls of Rassilon were relics of the Dark Times. (PROSE: The Five Doctors [+]Terrance Dicks, adapted from The Five Doctors (Terrance Dicks), Target novelisations (Target Books, 1983)., Divided Loyalties [+]Gary Russell, BBC Past Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1999).)
The Valeyard claimed that the Doctor's Black Scrolls contained knowledge from the Dark Times that the Doctor used to extend their life and create the Valeyard. (AUDIO: Trial of the Valeyard [+]Alan Barnes and Mike Maddox, The Sixth Doctor Adventures (Big Finish Productions, 2013).)
According to legend, the Great Houses themselves preserved a small sliver of irrational reality, the 2nd Second, so that they could reverse the anchoring if it did not go as planned. (PROSE: Weapons Grade Snake Oil [+]Blair Bidmead, Faction Paradox (Obverse Books, 2017).) Indeed, a fragment of a pre-anchoring Earth city survived in an alter-time realm. (PROSE: Cobweb and Ivory [+]Nate Bumber, The Book of the Enemy (Faction Paradox, 2018).)
Travel to the Dark Times
During the Fifth Doctor's presidency over Gallifrey, a young Time Lord named Scandrius stole a TARDIS and accidentally sent it hurdling backwards in history, beyond even the Dark Time, where it created a paradox threatening the existence of Gallifrey. (AUDIO: Time in Office [+]Eddie Robson, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2017).)
The Timewyrm once tried to return to the Dark Times to see the composition of the Green and Black books of Gallifrey, but was blocked by "fierce security and powerful temporal baffles". (PROSE: Timewyrm: Revelation [+]Paul Cornell, adapted from Total Eclipse, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1991).)
Mortimus mentioned to Ace that the Dark Times were "where none can visit". (PROSE: No Future [+]Paul Cornell, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994).)
Ruath once attempted to force the Fifth Doctor to pilot his TARDIS to the Dark Times to meet Rassilon and save the Great Vampires, but the Doctor thought that was impossible. (PROSE: Goth Opera [+]Paul Cornell, Virgin Missing Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994).)
Brian the Ood ended up in the Dark Times (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Steve Cole, Time Lord Victorious (BBC Books, 2020).) after falling into the Time Vortex whilst trying to board the Eighth Doctor's TARDIS (AUDIO: He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) and being given "a little nudge" by the Tenth Doctor's TARDIS. (PROSE: What the TARDIS thought of "Time Lord Victorious" [+]James Goss, Time Lord Victorious (2020).)
The Daleks were unable to penetrate the barrier around the Dark Times. (PROSE: Mission to the Known [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.) However, the Eighth Doctor allowed the Dalek Time Squad to travel back to the Dark Times by linking his TARDIS to the Dalek timeship's engines. (AUDIO: The Enemy of My Enemy [+]Tracy Ann Baines, Time Lord Victorious (Big Finish Productions, 2020).)
A woman attempted to use a time machine to witness the Big Bang, but hit the temporal barriers protecting the Dark Times. This resulted in her time machine becoming stuck on the planet Hoolan, now bridging between her present and the Dark Times. This catastrophe was resolved by Eighth and Ninth Doctors. (COMIC: Tales of the Dark Times [+]Comic Creator (Scary Beasties, 2020).)
When the Tenth Doctor and Cindy Wu visited Dark Times Gallifrey, the Doctor speculated that the time lock did not apply to pre-Time Lord Gallifrey. (COMIC: Old Girl [+]Nick Abadzis, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor (Titan Comics, 2016).) The Tenth Doctor would later access the Dark Times again via a Time Fracture. (PROSE: The Knight, The Fool and The Dead [+]Steve Cole, Time Lord Victorious (BBC Books, 2020)., What the TARDIS thought of "Time Lord Victorious" [+]James Goss, Time Lord Victorious (2020).)
The Thirteenth Doctor was able to relive events from the Dark Times through her own personal time stream, during the Great Disruption on Time, when "time went wild". (TV: Once, Upon Time [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 13 (BBC One, 2021).)
Resurgence of Dark Times powers
Please help by adding some more information.
According to some accounts, the War in Heaven was a consequence of the resurgence of Cernunnos, leader of the original Mammoths, who wished to reverse the anchoring of the thread. (PROSE: Cobweb and Ivory [+]Nate Bumber, The Book of the Enemy (Faction Paradox, 2018).)
According to Jack Harkness, the Syriath had been trapped within the Rift since before time. (AUDIO: The House of the Dead [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.)
The two Ravagers were unleashed to act as a poison to time, whilst the Flux affected space, as part of a plan to destroy the universe, (TV: Once, Upon Time [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 13 (BBC One, 2021).) enacted by the Division. (TV: Survivors of the Flux [+]Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who series 13 (BBC One and BBC America, 2021).)
External links
- The Whoniverse - History of the Whoniverse: Event One onwards (A history from pre-universe to the creation of the Earth)
- RASSILON, OMEGA and that OTHER Guy - The Dark Time: Event Zero and Ancient Gallifrey (A history from pre-universe to the creation of the prototype Hand of Omega)
| ||||||||||||||