The Scourge of Acaesura
The Scourge of Acaesura is the name given to a magic ritual designed by Lady Mallory and enacted collaboratively by Palasar Tolthik, Inibis Valmeia and Taslyn Cordaer.
It was singularly responsible for ending The Demon War.
The Scourge
Dark Intentions
The ultimate goals of the ritual were to kill the demon lord Ozcymath and to destroy his entire invasion force in one fell swoop. The voltas were able to achieve both by manipulating and augmenting the deadly phenomenon called Ravelwinds, guiding them purposefully and methodically over the land of Acaesura.
A Nearly Pyrrhic Victory
Unfortunately, the success of the gambit came at an extreme cost. The subcontinent itself--along with its surviving native population and any left there to combat the horde--were simultaneously and similarly eradicated. The corrupted, archipelagic remains of Acaesura are today referred to as The Scourge in allusion to this event (as well as to their current inhabitability).
While tragic, these things are generally viewed as necessary and moral by Acaelicans at large. The Scourge of Acaesura can be credited not only with saving the Prime Material Plane from its invaders but also erasing the prospect of a living demoniac god.
Should Ozcymath have succeeded in locating the Divine Spark he had come to claim, it is all but certain that any alive to bear witness would find themselves preferring death as an alternative.
An Incomplete Picture
It is fair to say that the arcane powers involved in completing the ritual go beyond the understanding (and certainly beyond the reach) of most denizens of the Prime Material Plane. It is generally accepted that the spell's casting represents the most extensive manipulation of the Weave accomplished by any on the Prime since The Spellplague.
In fact, the spell that destroyed Acaesura had never been cast before and is unlikely ever to be cast again. Its success required the cooperation of the three most powerful mages alive and--by design--none of them remains capable of casting it on their own today.
Originally devised by Lady Mallory (though most suspect the involvement of a hidden cohort), the ritual's material components have never been documented. Moreover, not one of its three solitary casters was ever provided a complete picture of the spell, thereby preventing any from casting the spell without input from the others.
Although Lady Mallory has many times asserted that she lacks the power to cast the spell herself, there is sadly no choice for Acaelica but to take her at her word.
Manifestation
In effect, the spell emulated the mass migration of souls. The ritual completed by the voltas vampirically sapped a portion of life force from all those still alive in Acaesura. The combined strength of its casters would see the spell's range extended across the channel to Acaelica as well.
By amassing and systematically directing this energy, the spell itself invoked Ravelwinds on a scale never before seen on the Prime. The summoned winds could then be systematically directed mile by mile over the entirety of the subcontinent.
Aftermath
The spell was extremely successful and, within hours, Ozcymath was dead; his horde was eradicated; and The Demon War was over. Unfortunately, so too was life on Acaesura.
Flora, fauna and everything in between was rendered a massive patchwork of the grayscale husks that Ravelwinds are justly feared for leaving behind. Soon after, the land itself began to break apart and crumble into the sea beneath. What remains of Acaesura today is a colorless and hideous scattering of jagged islands, home to nothing but nightmares and dark memories.