The Day of Mourning

The Day of Mourning was the event in which the nation of Cyre was destroyed in a magical holocaust of unknown origins on 20 Olarune, 994 YK. This event marked the beginning of the end of the Last War. Over a million Cyrans perished, including Cyre's Queen Dannel ir'Wynarn, along with military personnel from Breland, Thrane, and Karrnath within the nation's borders.

The cause and origin of the Mourning is unknown. There are conflicting eyewitness accounts that include a blinding light on the Saerun Road, or mists originating from the capitol of Metrol. However, by the end of the day the mists had advanced to form a wall around what once was Cyre. The land was subsequently named the Mournland.

On what is now known as the Field of Ruins in southwestern Cyre, the combined forces of the Brelish military (led by Princess Borann), and Thrane armies (led by Bishop-Militant Grodan), were attacking a much smaller Cyran force. The Cyrans had just been reinforced, after having cleverly used tireless warforged units for days to convince their opponents that they possessed greater numbers, but were still outnumbered 3 to 1. Meanwhile, Karrn attackers were moving through Cyre to the north, in a retaliatory strike for the recent Cyran attack on Atur in Karrnath near the Ashen Spires.

However bad things might have looked for the Cyrans, no one could have imagined the devastation in store. And the invading armies were not spared. The skies are said to have burned so brightly that soldiers at Angwar Keep in Thrane were blinded. In the end, virtually everyone within the borders of what is now the Mournland perished. The only exceptions were those who could escape or survive via magical means, and those who were on the borders or outside of Cyre.