The Breaking

"The world shook when magic erupted for the first time. The gods had set their power loose upon an unsuspecting and unprepared world. The might of the heavens now in the hands of children. Their battles were multitude and their losses grand. As the stardust settled like falling ash the awakened people of Huld looked to the sky and saw, terrible and magnificent. The sea of the heavens, broken above them." 
Kandropov's final monologue. From the play: The God Forest.

Summary

Although the name differs from culture to culture across Huld, the story is similar enough to be condensed.

The gods battled each other and in their melee their power was dispersed across the world. This new found power could not be fully understood by mortals, therefore it was studied. Some sought guidance from the gods and learned the Divine magics, others studied the cause, effect and structure of the power and learned the Arcane magics. Some small number of wilderness sages already listened to the world around them. Now it spoke to them. They called this Primal magic.
In each culture, the names of the gods, what they were fighting about and when the battle took place are very different. The version that is most commonly accepted by The Arcanum follows, in condensed form:
The God Protva made weapons that were too powerful for his boon companion Joth. When Protva refused to make a weapon for Joth's brother Beltanor a battle ensued. Beltanor, tricked Protva into believing that his lover Ravan was false and secretly plotting to kill him. Beltanor tricked Protva into killing Ravan. This celestial murder caused a war in the heavens where gods chose sides and battled for an age. This war, which is believed to have lasted for thousands of cycles, concluded with the gods relinquishing their power. The war of the Breaking ended when the three magics were understood and first used by mortals on Huld. The gods, seeing that they were no longer the sole owners of the Magics, fled Huld.

Historical Basis

The myth of the breaking itself has been around for so long that many believe it exists as a justification and rationalization for the existence of magics in the world. Without clarification from the gods for practitioners of Divine magic, or exact historical details for those who study the Arcane arts a large amount of magic users believe that the myth of the breaking is exactly that, a myth.
However, some magical researchers and explorers have been able find examples of so called Prime Magic. A school of magic that supposedly belongs to none and all of the three schools of magic. If these artifacts are real, they provide some evidence that the breaking may actually have occurred.

Spread

The myth of the Breaking is prevalent in almost every culture of Huld that practices an oral tradition or written history. While it may not be called 'The Breaking' across the world many cultures have some version of the myth to helps describe their history with magics.

Variations & Mutation

In the Fa Empire the Breaking is referred to as 'The Grand Battle'. However, the scholars of the Imperial Court see it as myth. They choose instead to believe that Magic is a force to be controlled through study and religious discipline.
The The Arcanum was the first organization to popularize and name the event the Breaking when they helped to publish The War of the Breaking.  Their belief in the Breaking comes from an academic and historical point of view. They believed that the gods represented in the breaking were powerful magic users that engaged in a battle that may have caused large scale devastation.

In Literature

The most current and well respected recording of the collected myths surrounding the breaking are recorded in The War of the Breaking. Originally written by Aurelian Augustus, Fourth of Their Name it has been updated several times and republished by The Arcanum. It is now in its fifth edition.

In Art

In many cultures, the story of the Breaking has taken artistic form. One popular version of the battle amongst the gods is the play The God Forest written in the Emerald Empire.

Date of First Recording

3980 PF

Date of Setting

3004 AF