The Rift of 1920

The Rift of 1920 is an event from 1920 to 1922 in which the magical atmosphere of Nideon changed drastically, causing human interaction with magic to alter in unpredictable ways.

History

My magic works with cloth--I've made the cloaks in this town for years. So imagine my surprise when one morning, my newest project burns the instant I touch it.

The rift began in Saas, near the port town of Prisonkeep and spread south to the major continent, and the rest of Nideon. The first noticeable effects occurred in 1920 with people of in-born magic talents struggling to perform simple magical tasks. At other times, neighbors would find their magic abilities switched. As the year continued, this effect spread to other countries as, in Saas, people lost their magical abilities altogether. This pattern continued for the better part of the next two years, and by 1922, most people on the planet had lost their ability to manipulate magic, while in Saas, much more disastrous symptoms had developed.
Throughout Saas, as well as in northern Nefrale and Huef saw much greater deterioration than that of magical gifts. Sometimes, when symptoms started, they appeared as signs of a more traditional illness, such as vomiting or fever. This generally progressed into insomnia. Those who were less badly affected would develop odd behaviors, such as spontaneously breaking out into dance or uncontrollable fits of laughter. But many people lost their humanity altogether, attacking friends and family like rabid animals with no apparent knowledge of who they were or what they were doing.

Kip Pem

In Saas, the worst of those affected were called the Kip Pem, after an Imk phrase meaning "consumed by hunger." These people attacked those closest to them, sometimes consuming the bodies, and sometimes leaving them. They were known to gather in packs, but they would also attack each other. Though in most cities, such as Prisonkeep, they were driven out of towns, they were known to lurk in the wilderness, and citizens had to travel with one another, ready to defend themselves and others from the monsters. Sometimes, when a person developed insomnia, they asked loved ones to kill them before they progressed into kip pem. Those who were not killed during the rift returned to their senses after it was over with little to no memory of what they had done or become.

Causes

Though this is not the only known rift in Nideon's history, it was the worst. Scientists remain unclear what causes such events to happen. Myths among dragons in both Saas and Diamondheart say that rifts are caused by the Calistian gods fighting amongst themselves, causing the magical atmosphere to misalign. Though most humans remain skeptical of such myths, people do believe the cause is somehow related to a change in the magical atmosphere of the world. Some people believe it was caused by the recent industrial boom which created a lack of balance between the development of new technology and more traditional magical forces.

Ending

If you're going to say I stopped the rift, you could just as easily say I started it.

— Simon Farrow, Farrow Industries

Just a no one is sure what caused the rift, no one is sure how it ended. The dragon myths state that someone settled the feud among the gods, and the magic of the world returned to normal. Some people say that celebrities such as Melissa Hyatte, Piper Penn , and Simon Farrow were involved. Though Farrow is from Prisonkeep, and there is evidence that Penn and Hyatte were in the area at the time, it is likely that this theory sprang up due to Hyattes, Penns, and Farrows contributions to rebuilding areas that were heavily hit by the disaster. In fact, some argue that Farrow Industries was the greatest single factor in rebuilding Saas's economy. Another common theory is that the rift was ended by the mythological, which was put into place to keep the magical balance in control. Again, there is no significant evidence that the Wish Cycle actually exists outside of stories.

by Andrew Neel

They're not even animals. Animals kill to eat or defend themselves. The kip pem kill for the sake of killing