Believe it or not the human race actually existed for thousands of years before the advent of civilization. I believe it was during this time when prophecy was first formed, well before empires or corporations, well before the idea of hierarchy or forced rule. It was prophesied that a great evil would befall the land, this evil would trick Mankind into following it and after a time this evil would be destroyed. Little did we know... It was us.
The world already existed before civilization, but Mankind thought he could play god so he created his own world and called it civilization. Civilization, the rule of Man, has done nothing but spread famine, pestilence, fear, suffering and war. It was us.