The Cataclysm

Disaster / Destruction

In likely the most world-changing event in recorded history, The Elven Mage-Orders of the Sarik Isles created The Rift, a colossal device of immense power built to release true magic into the world, transforming the Elves into powerful wielders of magic. Upon activation, the Rift destroyed the Sarik Isles, killing a majority of the Elves on Many and releasing powerful magic into the world, heralding a new era in a changed world.

The Elven Mage-Orders of the Sarik Isles had made a discovery of epic proportions. The beautiful Tree of Sitherian, a monolithic tree that roots were said to reach to the core of Many, whose leaves scraped the clouds, stood in the center of the Sarik Isles and was a symbol of great worship for elves all across Many.   It was like no other tree. Its fruits bore great mystical power, those that consumed them would be given great power and blessing. For centuries, it was revered and appreciated, and to harm it was an unspeakable crime. But the rise of Queen Visilea in 14,600 changed everything. She hungered for more than the blessings it's fruits gave. She had a branch cut from it and was delighted to find that far more powerful magic flowed through it, in an infinitely complex circuit of metal veins.   Despite rebellions and the fear and outrage of the people, she began to dissect the tree that they had come to love over thousands of years. Centuries of study went into analyzing the circuits within. The tree was withered and dead by 15,000, but Visilea had everything she wanted. Using the vast knowledge harvested from the tree, a steel monolith of metal circuitry and runes that pierced the clouds was built. Though Visilea had died in 15,160, her heir, Lord Thasael, saw the completion of the Rift in 15,300.   At midnight, the procession of all elves in the Sarik Isles came to witness the opening of the Rift, which would draw magic from Ilinmar and bring it to the world of Many. As Thasael carried the Token Stone up the great stairway, at midnight, he said his final words of prayers- it is unknown what these words were.   It is said that the light filled the sky so that night was bright day and there was a sound so loud that it could be heard across the world, and there was silence. Great storms wracked the world for years, and fragments of the destroyed Rift and the Sarik Isles rained across the world.   Magic had been released into the world and it was forever changed.