The Culling
The Culling, a nearly-mythical crime that occurred during a large drought, was a slew of crimes by a single individual or group of individuals that destabilized Alvana and caused mass panic. Multiple sources of water were tainted with contaminants that cause Soul Sickness. This caused a massive outbreak of disease in multiple cities, followed by large Fallen attacks, and with few other sources of water to turn to some had no choice but to drink the contaminated water. It disproportionately affected smaller city-states and was a major driver of the Treaty of Passaran. The perpetrator(s) were never discovered.
Summary
The Culling came amid a tumultuous time in Avani history. At that time, peace between kingdoms was rare. With limited supplies within their borders each nation fought hard to preserve their own resources and obtain more from their neighbors. Warfare was ever present. However, this cycle of violence couldn't have sustained itself for much longer. Later historians suggest that, had this constant warfare continued at its current pace, much of civilization would've collapsed about 65 cycles later. All of this was made worse by a multi-year drought in the region, substantially decreasing the available supply of water. These conditions left a few cities particularly vulnerable to what came next.
The first actual crime, marking the beginning of the spree that followed, is believed to have occurred on 19th of 3rd Lunas, 1 BT, in the Hindaros city of North Fortdur. An unknown individual contaminated the city's single main water supply at the time with an Apogees residue, instantly causing a severe outbreak of Soul Sickness. Large portions of the population began to suffer from incurable insomnia and personality shifts, while at least 23 avani were transformed into Fallen or killed by the outbreak. Since the city was so small, even these comparatively small losses had a significant impact on the economy.
At first this was dismissed as a tragedy (these things do occasionally happen), but it became clear that the attack was intentional when a similar event occurred two weeks later in the capital city of Arkos. Another contamination occurred in a nearby city days later, and as the unknown attacker moved north into Cyanni more strikes occurred in other cities. News spread that an unknown individual (or possibly a group of individuals) was intentionally spreading soul-sickness, and a panic ensued. Most cities closed their borders and stepped up patrols in an effort to protect themselves from the incursions, while their governments scrambled to find emergency sources of water to rely upon during the crisis.
This slew of insidious crimes abruptly ended near the end of the year, leaving a trail of chaos and more questions than answers. In total, some histories and accounts suggest that well over a thousand died as a direct result of this crime spree. The attacker, often called the Soul-Reaper, was never found.
Historical Basis
Though there are many things unclear about this spree of crimes, a few things are certain: this mass outbreak actually occurred, it was almost certainly an intentional attack, and at least a hundred Avani died as a direct result. The perpetrator(s) were never caught. It is possible that this was an insane individual or some type of cult's work, but it is notable that the attacks almost exclusively targeted smaller nations on the peripheries of the larger empires of the time period. A prevailing theory that has grown in influence suggests that the "criminals" may have been in fact hired saboteurs meant to weaken the affected cities in preparation for an invasion. Under this theory, the sabotage effort was ended once the attacks prompted the proposal of the Treaty of Passaran, a defensive pact that undermined the goal of making a strike easier.
Variations & Mutation
A number of alternate theories exist regarding who this criminal was. These range from rumors of a group of Dark Magic cultists, a wrathful spirit punishing the kingdoms for failing to unite, or even the belief that it may have been part of the conflict described in The Twelve Paragons. The number of deaths (or transformations) also varies depending on the telling, ranging from between a hundred and over 10,000.
by jmcninja
A Fallen Apogee, the tragic end result of soul-sickness
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