The Ashen Ruin

The Ashen Ruin (known to the Deep Dwarves as the Great Collapse) was a natural disaster that devastated much of northern Imera. The event itself took place around a century after the fall of the Ithyrian Empire, and also coincided with the fall of the old Dwarven Empire beneath within the Dark Hollows, when the volcano known as Ashpeak suddenly erupted.

The Elves of Saenziath, still recovering from the succession war that marked the end of the Ithyrian Empire, were the first to be affected by the Ashen Ruin, and bore the worst of its devastation, as their small kingdom had been established close to the site of Ashpeak. When the mountain erupted, their capital of Thaolenor, as well as much of the surrounding lands, was showered in molten rock and ash, utterly destroying the city, and forcing the Elves of  to seek refuge in the caves leading into the Dark Hollows. It was there, away from the ash and soot on the surface, that the newly christened "Ash Elves" chose to rebuild, and with the aid of their Dwarf neighbours, they would eventually become the Dark Elves of the current age.

Within the Dark Hollows itself, the caves below the mountain were struck with their own calamity, as the force of the eruption caused tunnels to cave in, chunks of cave ceilings to break off and fall to the floor below, and small floods of magma in the areas closest to the volcano. This had a devastating impact on the denizens of this area of the Dark Hollows, particularly the Deep Dwarves, who suffered terrible damage to their cities and loss of life as a result of falling debris. This would not be the end of their troubles though, as the Goblins (who were forcibly subjugated by the Dwarves at the height of their power) took their now weakened state following the disaster as the perfect opportunity to reclaim their freedom, resulting in a brutal war that saw the Dwarves lose more territory within the Dark Hollows, and the creation of the Goblin Territories.

The rest of the surrounding lands weren't spared from the effects of this disaster, either. When Ashpeak erupted, it launched such a massive cloud of ash into the air as to dim the light of the sun for miles around, covering most of northern Imera. For the Dwarves of the western Frostridge Mountains to the east, the Orcs of Ordan to the west, the Frost Elves to the north, and the Humans of northern Ulfgard to the south, it was the coldest winter they'd ever known, though thankfully one they would not see again in the centuries since.

Manifestation

When Ashpeak erupted, it launched flaming debris all around it, and created a massive cloud of ash above that covered most of northern Imera. Within the regions of the Dark Hollows below the mountain, the force of the eruption caused cave ins and chunks of the cave ceilings to fall.

Localization

The Ashen Ruin was largely confined to northwestern Imera, as well as the section of the Dark Hollows beneath it.

Type

Natural