The “Dark Civilizations” started around the year 2296, each of them at different moments within a range of 10 to 20 years around that mark, and have been around only for a bit more than a century.
THE SETTLEMENTS
Regular survivors trying to approach the gates, after a short talk, were immediately executed; this was witnessed by friends and families.
Fearful of the dangerous area, the first survivors from outside the wall, which where but around tens of thousands that we know of, started to get away to remote locations where the founded their own villages and settlements.
THE CITY
We do not know how The City is inside, especially since the last testimonies before the wall was built date back to the 2330s. All we know is that they have “The Undying Light” within the walls, as one can see from a safe distance any given night in the present.