The Consumption of Little Crel

On the planet of Naldu, Little Crel was a small, poor nation that was located on the coast of what is now known officially as Dragon Gulf, though at the time of the disaster that was only the local name for it. They believed that an evil dragon spirit named Gerthyon lived in the gulf and caused the storms which battered the small coastline villages.
One day a huge earthquake, the largest on record, caused the land Little Crel was located on to subside. It fell into the sea almost instantly, destroying the whole nation in a matter of moments. Only a few fragments of outlying villages survived, the actual survivors numbering less than two hundred.
In the wake of the disaster, the myth of Gerthyon spread from the survivors to the wider region, where the idea of a dragon spirit "eating" the land took root in the public imagination and remains a thrivng popular myth today. The disaster itself became known, among other similar names, as the Consumption of Little Crel, or simply "The Consumption".
In the wake of the disaster, much of the surrounding land had to be abandoned, as the now much bigger Dragon Gulf started pummelling it with significantly worse weather. The entire region of East Crel Onar became deserted, and as the empty cities were battered and flooded over and over again, they fell into ruin and were gradually washed away.

Manifestation

There was no warning; no signs of that day being like any other. The weather was even good; warm and humid. Everyone was going about their business as usual.
Then it just ... happened. So quietly you thought you must have been seeing things. The ground didn't even seem to shake that much. No more than I've felt in past years when the rock spirits were restless.
I was out in the fields, I looked up, and for a moment I thought the buidings were sinking into the ground. I'd seen that once before during a particularly bad winter; the marsh spread and swallowed several buildings whole. But it was so much faster, and I realised I couldn't see the east hills anymore. I completely froze. I didn't understand what was happening. I couldn't hear anyone cry for help. I couldn't do anything. Before I knew it, all I could see beyond the barn was water. And everything, everyone, was gone.

Localization

Nothing like the Consumption has been known on Naldu before or since. Many scientists since have attempted to determine the exact geological conditions which caused the mass land collapse, but drawn conflicting conclusions. The widely accepted explanation, even among much of the modern scientific community, is that Gerthyon the dragon spirit, for whatever reason, inflicted his appetite on the land as a punishment from the Other Side.