| Zloid |
The theory that I used is…
Starfinder IS the Age of Glory.
Think about it, what do we know about Aroden, the prophecy and the events leading up to his Death.
Aroden was the god of humaninty, culture, innovation, and history. While the Starstone did elevate him to Divinity, he was already well-known and beloved by his people far before then. His holy symbol, the Eye of Aroden, an unblinking divine eye balanced between earth and the heavens, representing his guidance over humanity and his ceaseless watch against those who would do harm to his people.
Well what if ‘those’ who would do harm to his people… were his people.
Even before Aroden was a God, he was a part of a culture that was far more advanced than most for his time. After Earthfall he was able to stabilize the broken remains of those that survived and promised to push humankind forwards towards the future. And as a god, he very easily would have been able to do exactly that.
Aroden was so important to people because he was one of them. He was a human, a blacksmith, that became a God. Someone that believed in humanity enough to pull the Starstone from impossible depths, so he could give humanity the chance to prove to itself that if you try hard enough, there is not anything you can’t accomplish.
It’s probably that his love for humanity and his faith in its drive to keep moving forwards, might be the very reason he is gone.
If Aroden saw that his presence and influence lead to Absalom becoming the next Thassilon, the empire known for its culture and advances, but also its cruelty and total disregard for anyone they deemed below themselves, he's be horrified.
My guess is that he saw the ‘birth’ of Starfinder.
Absalom, high on its own magnificence and accomplishments in technological and magical advancements, create the Absalom Station. Harnessing the power of the Starstone, a dangerously unstable energy source, they set their sights for the stars. They ascend towards it’s glorious golden future, elevating humanity to new heights never before accomplished. And the Prophecy comes to fruition.
The resulting backlash inevitably caused by the unnatural use of the StarStone results in the destabilization of the last threads of magic holding Golarion together.The planet crumples in on itself and begins to literally tear itself apart. The result, the death of everyone left on the planet, the release of Rovagug and a fight that probably killed a lot of the Gods.
Unable to witness such horror and know it was caused by his beliefs, Aroden’s mind probably would have broken and caused him to tear out his own spark in a fit of mania and desperation to stop the Prophecy. Creating the Echo of Divinity and causing the calamities across Golarion as he rejects everything that he once stood for. Pharasma is the unfortunate bystander in all this. Though she knows what happened, it is not her place to say and instead keeps Arodens last sparn of life with her.
As for those aboard the Absalom Station, they end up cast aside and forsaken by the Gods, left to drift through space with the knowledge of what they’d done. Obviously, the information would be kept secret, and as the remaining survivors slowly repopulated, the Station continued to evolve, and new generations are born. Humanity would do what it does best. Move forward, and the truth would slowly be lost.
At some point or another, thousands of years into the future, the truth would have come out and the Gods would once again, probably need to step in. However, because there are so few of them left, and they would be considerably weaker. Their solution, the Gap.
So, when you ask the Gods, ‘Where is Golarion and it’s people?’
The response you get is about YOU. The last remaining part and people of Golarion is YOU. Even now, the Gods are trying to protect you. Don't believe me?
Re-read this.
“Absalom Station is a sprawling, densely inhabited space station filling a similar orbit that the forgotten planet Golarion once held around its sun. Its inhabitants include races native to, or descended from natives of, Golarion, making the station the last relic of the lost planet remaining in the Pact Worlds system.”