The Withering
The Withering was a massive calamity that completely destroyed the planet Earth. It began in the Vredefort Crater; where a large amount of Mana and other horrors escaped from the bottom of it after the Deepcore Foundation's mining efforts accidentally broke a seal. The full contents of the seal are unknown, however, what came out irreversibly changed the world; distorting the laws of physics and giving rise to various dangers and threats that now reside across the world.
Satellite image of Vredefort Crater by Lauren Dauphin
History
Prelude
For the past one hundred years up to the occurrence of The Withering, the entirety of Earth had been in a massive upheaval in regard to technology and magic. This era of time, spanning from November 6th, 1901 to the day of The Withering; was known as The Bloom. While it was a wonderful time, it was not without it's own issues and tragedies. Along with the Deepcore Foundation having begun a significant disruption in the enviroment due to their mining operations; there were several large-scale incidents that were catastrophic in nature, such as the Sunspots Incident, the Black Skies Incident, the June Species Riots, and the Southeast Asia Disaster; all of which had some basis in the existence of Mana, the supernatural, and the affects the Deepcore Foundation had upon the political sphere at the time.
After the Southeast Asia Disaster resulted in the destruction of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and around half of Myanmar in the timespan between May 23rd to June 26th, 2014; extensive investigations began by various supernatural research groups around the world; including FENRIR, Japanese Supernatural Investigation Front, Eden Advancement Organization and the Aqueous Research Corporation. From all around the world, there were 29 organizations involved; most of which were based in America, China, Japan and Russia.
It would be discovered by the smartest minds in the world that the existence of mana comes with a price. Around the world, mana has been steadily increasing in quantities; resulting in a type of entropic energy forming and building up within and around the planet. It's a type of energy that cannot be seen and cannot be felt by humans ordinarily. However; in large quantities, this entropic energy would feel to those near it that the entire universe is weighing down upon them. The Southeast Asia Disaster was speculated to be the beginnings of a metaphorical leakage; a canister with too much pressure on it beginning to tear itself apart from the sheer force within.
It became clear to the scientists that they were sitting on a timeline. Originally, they had estimated that they had fourty years before the planet would be overwhelmed with mana, bringing dramatic upheaval and destruction across it with landmasses all over changing or rising up into the air, oceans rising and falling, and various supernatural phenomena forming. However, around the time the disaster ended, the estimates dropped down to fifteen years after significant discoveries were made involving the Deepcore Foundation. Specifically, how their operations contribute to a major amount of mana being dilluted either into the ground or into the air. Alongside that, a seperate archealogical team that was residing in the town of Vredefort, near the Vredefort Crater; discovered various Artifacts within the crater. These documents showed that within the deepest part of the crater, lies a certain artifact that should never have been brought up. If it was dug up, it would have cataclysmic results.
Despite all efforts, the Deepcore Foundation kept mining in the Vredefort Crater, drastically reducing how much time humanity had left.
Destruction
Everything came to a head on Janurary 3rd, 2015. On that day, the Deepcore Foundation's mining operations were operating at full force; digging through a layer of rock that had been previously difficult to drill through. What happened after that point, however, remains difficult to discern; with further information being gathered from the few surviving witnesses, camera footage, computer information and such.
Ruins by Srdjan Popovic
What is known is that mana levels in the area had skyrocketed immensely, exposing several miners to the high amounts of mana within the crater. A few miners in heavy-duty protective gear were able to get down below the surface, where they came across a tomb. Lined across the walls were thousands of markings in not only the Alpha Tongue, but in other long dead and otherwise unknown languages. Found throughout the ruins are carved depictions of a trio of eyes that represent space, time and fate; presumably.
As they went in deeper, there were increasing signs; both auditorial and visual, warning the miners to go back and leave the tomb. Despite this, the lead miner within the Vredefort crater insisted and demanded that they keep going in. Eventually, they came across a massive door; and were ordered to open it.
When the door was opened, however, the camera feeds were distrupted. Cameras outside of the mine recorded a brilliant; bright light shining from within the ruins; before being decimated by an extreme force of energy. Eventually, the entire mineshaft was engulfed with light; then the entire crater. Before long, the light would shift between various colors, before settling onto a strong green glow of energy; of which blasted up thousands of miles into the air as a blue stream of Mana. The force exerted is comparable to a 200 megaton bomb going off, completely devastating and destroying everything around the Vredefort crater for miles around. It was only the beginning.
Aftermath
It wouldn't be long before the entire world would begin seeing a massive increase of Mana forming and pooling up in various places, creating the weather phenomena known as Mana Rain. This, combined with the devastating Earthquakes that ravaged the world; began to drastically shift the geography around the world; creating massive mountains and deep oceans. Some chunks of land would begin to rise up into the air, creating floating islands that are kept up by the sheer amount of mana and entropic force encompassing the world now.
Sentient beings that weren't immediately killed from the natural disasters or mana overexposure would begin to change and adapt quickly to the new world around them, some of them growing to immense sizes such as Harbinger Worms and Goliath Axolotls. Vampire, Werewolf, and Nymph populations quickly exploded in size, many humans being transmutated into them as a result of exposure to Mana. Not only that, but many humans began to transform into different, new types of magical beings, such as Mothians, Alraunes, Cambions, and Abrahamics; and much more resulting from surviving Mana Overexposure Disorder. Regardless, however, millions upon millions died. The entirety of the human race went from 11 Billion to 8 Billion overnight, with fatalities related to the event continuing onward for the next year; bringing the human race down to 5 Billion.
Many saw this as an opportunity to settle old conflicts, resulting in short-lived wars throughout the Americas and Asian continents, which included various conflicts between Middle-Eastern countries; both Koreas, and even widescale riots between various groups in North America. In the end, this is what contributed to the massive death toll; especially after there were small-scale exchanges of nuclear weapons between a few countries. The only saving grace is that a majority of the world's missile stockpiles were caught in the catastrophic devastation, making them unusuable.
by Miguel Del Costa
Many governments fell apart due to the catastrophic loss of life and infastructure; with many stepping up to the plate to reform and create new governments, such as the New America Association and Mexico Reborn governments in the west, and the Endless Empire Of China and the Eastern Unity governments in the east. All the while, the Deepcore Foundation, surviving the massive disaster; would begin to sink it's teeth into the world without missing a single beat, quickly establishing their own strongholds and locations for people to live in after the end.
Humanity survives to this day. However, there has been massive changes in society; with many people becoming Escapists or turning to religions such as Starism or Fleshism to make it through the days. Many Arcanists, those who call themselves magicians and wizards whom are well versed in the art of magic; began to sprout up throughout the world to help their homes and countries. Needless to say, thousands of support groups exist, with everyone having lost someone as a result.
Today, in 2020, Humanity is making a slow recovery. Although people are still living in secure cities that are heavily protected; the worldwide population has climbed back up to 6 billion. While crime is rather high throughout the world and there are thousands who do not wish to be apart of either the Deepcore Foundation or the new governments in the world; there hasn't been a global conflict or even regional conflict, unless one counts constant raids on Deepcore Foundation facilities as conflicts. Many old greviences between have stopped simply because there's not enough people anymore to partake in these fights, or because everyone is simply tired; unwilling to continue due to how devastated the world is now.
Despite humanity's survival, however, some are not entirely certain they'll survive for much longer. The entropic energy that had engulfed the world is still spreading throughout space; having reached the moon within a day after The Withering occured and causing significant change and destruction upon it. Jupiter is expected to be the next planet altered by the energy; with Mars, Venus, Mercury, and even the Sun being affected by it. The effects the energy has on spacetime is unknown, though some fear that with the energy seemingly unwilling to vanish; it'll eventually cause the end of the planet in one way or another.
And that's ignoring the supposed rumors relating to the ancient artifacts that remain that say something worse is coming, an entity known as The Holy. All information regarding this deity, however, is drastically limited.
Earth As It Is Now
The Colonies on the moon are safe, but they're disconnected from the rest of the world and communications have been rather sparse up there. Regardless, our best men on there are looking into the causes of what happened, and hope to figure it out for our safety.
BEGIN SHELTER IN PLACE PROCESS. DO NOT GO OUTSIDE UNTIL THE CALAMITY HAS PASSED. THE INCIDENT HAD BEGUN IN SOUTH AFRICA AND IS SPREADING QUICKLY ACROSS THE PLANET.
WE WILL SURVIVE, AS IS OUR WAY. DO NOT FEAR THE LIGHT, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, FOR WE WILL SURVIVE WORSE. THE STONE AND THE COLD SHALL PROTECT US.
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