Void Century

The Void Century (空白の100年), also referred to as the Blank Century (100-Year Void in the Viz manga), was hinted at during the Skypiea arc; the dates were seen in Robin's flashback.

It is a century-long gap in recorded and archaeological history, the study of which is forbidden by the World Government. These events occurred 800 to 900 years before the current storyline.

About
This period became known as the Void Century because there is nothing left to acknowledge anything that happened in it, aside from the poneglyphs which are written in a language that few know how to read.

However, it causes a problem with the known histories of the world as nothing ties up because of that missing period. Though many seem to know there is a gap in the historical record, virtually everyone is unaware that filling in this gap is possible. For example, Nefertari Cobra, after being told by Nico Robin about this missing period, was completely shocked that a way to "tie the threads of history together" existed. The fact that filling the gap is possible was proven when "Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh revealed that the Roger Pirates discovered the true history.

The Great War
The most important event during the Void century seems to be the Great War. It ended around 722 AOS with the fall of Shandora.

Moon
In Enel's cover story, there is an ancient city on the moon with another bunch of identical Spaceys. There is a painting on the wall that shows a Skypiean with Spaceys following him on the left while a Shandorian and Bilkan work on the right. After resources on the moon ran out, the three races departed for the "Blue Star".

One of the three races, the Shandorians, ended up on the isle of Jaya where they built the city of Shandora one thousand years ago. The great city of Shandora collapsed during this war, the Shandorians defended the city against "those who seek the stone". The city collapsed, but the Shandians, who are the descendants of the Shandorians, kept on defending the city for over eight hundred years afterwards.

All three races are noted to have wings on their backs (though each has a slightly different shape) and may have even once been the same race.

The connection between the sky island of Skypiea and the Void Century is the poneglyph left there for the Shandians and the Shandorians before them to protect.

Ancient Kingdom
The Ancient Kingdom was a giant and powerful kingdom that was destroyed by the Twenty Kingdoms, which later would evolve into the World Government. The kingdom was so powerful that its existence could pose a great threat against the world, and is why studying the poneglyphs is outlawed.

Birth of the World Government
800 years ago, at the end of the Void Century, the World Government was born and took political control of the entire world, uniting all countries and forming the Council of Kings. For the World Government, the events of the Void Century were better left unknown as information linked to it is considered far too dangerous.

When the research of the ponegylphs was outlawed, hundreds of scholars across the world were killed. Since then, a ban on any research related to the void century has been put in place.

How the World Government was founded is known. However, how they managed to cover up 100 missing years, and how the World Government came to be what it is now, remains a secret.

Poneglyphs
Poneglyphs are mysterious stone blocks with history inscribed onto them, and these blocks are scattered all over the Grand Line. The Government has forbidden anyone to research or study these blocks. They have been said to be unbreakable by Professor Clover.

Ancient Weapons
Only two weapons, Pluton and Poseidon have been revealed by name. Each weapon is capable of mass destruction, however they are not limited to objects but living beings as well. Pluton appears to be an ancient ship capable of massive damage and destruction. The blueprints to recreate Pluton were held by the fishman carpenter, Tom, of Tom's Workers.

Poseidon was first mentioned when Nico Robin read the poneglyph on Skypiea, but details were not delved into until she reached Fishman Island. Poseidon was a Mermaid Princess who lived in the Void Century that had the power to talk to Sea Kings. Princess Shirahoshi also has this power, and as stated in a conversation between Neptune and Robin, she has now inherited the title "Poseidon".

The Ancient Weapons are the argument used by the World Government to forbid the research of the missing years. And at least this seems to be true, as Shiki said that Gold Roger knew the whereabouts of at least one of the Ancient Weapons.

Trivia

 * Gol D. Roger's crew appears to have followed the poneglyphs all the way and figured out exactly what the missing history is. When queried by Nico Robin on the blank history and the Will of the D., Silvers Rayleigh replied to her that he would tell her the history if she wanted to know. At the same time, he appeared reluctant to even speak about it. He warned her if she found out now about the history, in her current condition, she would not be able to do a thing about it. In his closing statement, he explained that he believed his crew and the scholars of Ohara had been too hasty. At the same time, he encouraged her to seek it out for herself on the grounds that she might come to a different conclusion than the one his crew had.
 * Whitebeard also knew about the truth behind the blank century and the Will of the D., as Roger told him before he died. He tells Blackbeard that he is not the one Roger was waiting for, and that just as Roger's will was inherited by others, so will Ace's be too. Even though their bloodline is dead, their flames will never die and there will be a man who will find the truth and carry the burden of the centuries upon his back to challenge the world. He further states that the people in the World Government are living in fear of the day when that happens and a great battle will be fought. It is unknown whether he shared this information with any of his crew.

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