For one thing, the barrier was much smaller in it's circumference. We weren't even aware of the desert until later, and eventually the ocean took that over.

Those with abilities found that they were very suppressed. It's part of how the filial spirits were discovered in the first place, really. People were drawn to learning their power in absence of their own. Eventually that had changed as well.

The way the Malnosso deal with us - there weren't any missions, or drafts; we were pretty much only for experiments, and we've seen their leadership change hands several times.