Much of the technologies the ancient elves developed have remained a mystery to time. None more so than the mysterious Ioria Portal, only a few living today are aware of its existence and the ramifications that its use caused. It was an experiment meant to transform the world into a better place but instead poisoned the Elven Plateau of Thysduin for thousands of years, and nearly erased an entire people from the face of Fyria.
Driven
The ancient elves of Thysduin were a race of obsessed with advancement, they had already grown their kingdom into a peaceful paradise of plenty. But the elves were never satisfied and constantly pushed at the boundaries of technology, magic, philosophy. Their capital, Elys Lenora, stood tall and proud, a place of discoveries and philosophy known across the land.
The elves were constantly pushing the boundaries of the known world, developing new magics and technologies both to better their world and to satiate their curious minds. Those that worked at Elys Lenora's College of Magicks constantly experimented with different ways to pull magic energies into their world, dangerous as it may be they were obsessed with discovering more efficient and more powerful ways to harness magic.
They knew magical energies came from another dimension, if not multiple dimensions, though it is lost to time how they could ever have figured that out. But what they did not know was how to access it directly, they only knew that by using special incantations and extreme force of will that they could convince these energies to slip into their world and hopefully do as they wished it to, though it was often volatile.
Conception and Breakthrough
Then one day, one of the mages of the college accidentally conjured a small window into a new dimension, a massive discovery as no one had ever been able to peer into a new realm of existence. But it was only for the briefest of moments and closed within a few minutes. But in those brief moments, they saw an endless ocean of energy, they knew that here was the vast wealth of energy they sought. And that prospect alone was enough to convince the elves that they needed to harness this dimension's energy no matter what it took. They became convinced that becoming able to easily access this wealth of power would help push their world into a new age of prosperity and technology.
For this purpose, the elves began to design the Ioria Portal, a large archway constructed of knotted wood and vine harvested from deep within the elven forests of Thysduin. These materials were infused with the deep magical energies of the elven people and the natural power of the plateau. For years they toiled, trying to get the archway to activate and open a physical portal to this realm of energy.
But the elves do not give up, and they continued to push their own boundaries until suddenly, a window, opening up into the realm of energy they had glimpsed years ago. And even though they could not walk through, it was sustained, and they could observe all of the wondrous lights and shows of energy the realm had to offer. The elves felt emboldened by their success and shortly after they made their first real breakthrough.
They had managed to open a small rift to this new realm, only for a short while but what came through was extraordinary. Whisps of pure magical energy, filtering into their world, they could feel a buzzing sensation as it rippled through the room before being cut off by the closure of the portal. The elves were ecstatic at their breakthrough, convinced now more than ever that this power would change the world. They only saw potential, it could power their entire nation, and even the world, brightening cities, heating homes, create means of instant travel. The possibilities were endless. But they didn't see the danger, and they didn't hear the oncoming sounds of destruction that the realm now known as the Cacophony would bring upon when being called on so carelessly.
Catastrophe and The End
The elves had worked so hard, for so long, and the day had finally arrived. The Ioria Portal was open, not just a window but a door, one they could reach into a pluck the forces they had sought for so long. But before they could realize their dreams, they heard it, for the first time they heard the Cacophony and its endless song of chaos. Before the elves could react, the Ioria Portal failed and the constraints the elves thought they had put in place were ripped asunder. And the full force of the Cacophony tore through into their realm, and in the few moments that it existed upon the lands of Fyria is caused Havok and destruction. Utterly destroying the College of Magicks and all those that worked within.
Somehow, the city of Elys Lenora survived this initial onslaught, but what was to follow would be the true horror that would erase nearly their entire culture. From a small gash, still left torn in our world, a dark miasma poured out. It carried with it a plague, one that would quickly spread through the Elys Lenora, chocking out and hundreds of thousands of people in mere hours. It would spread throughout the entirety of Thysduin, and within a few short days, it had reduced most of its inhabitants to lifeless husks and turned its once beautiful and serene landscape into a blighted and horrific land.
This catastrophe caused the downfall and near-complete annihilation of the elven people, decimating a once proud and noble people, destroyed by their own ambitions. Those that managed to outrun the plague, or were lucky enough to be near the borders of Thysduin fled their homeland into neighbouring countries. Only a few thousand elves from Thysduin would survive.
Where millions of elves used to live within the borders of Thysduin, none remain there now, the land once called Thysduin remains toxic and desolate and has become known as
The Ruined Plateau of Thysduin. Thousands of years and the effects of the Ioria Portal calamity can still be felt. The brief explosion of the Ioria Portal caused has created small micro-tears in the fabric of reality all across Fyria, invisible to most, but they continue to cause chaotic events at random intervals. And has even caused a strange sort of
madness for those that are able to peer into its realm of the Cacophony.
More solemnly, it has caused the end of the elven heritage, as the surviving elves of Fyria have never returned to reclaim their homeland and most have integrated so heavily with other cultures that they no longer seek their own histories. In fact, full-blooded elves as far as anyone is aware are extinct with the surviving thousands from Thysduin having interbred for hundreds of generations with other races. Colloquially these elves have become known as half-elves or somewhat rudely, near-elves. As most share a mixed heritage now, along with slight physical attributes of their once full-blooded elven ancestors.
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