The Split

Conscious-kind was not always forced to eek out survival on this peninsula. Caught between an endless void and the strange beasts to the north. No. Once we were proud with an empire spanning plains and mountains. The legends speak of geographic wonders such as seas, bodies of water so vast that one cannot see the other side. They speak of cities so spaced out it would take weeks to go between. They speak of bountiful harvests of vegetables, exquisite meats, and rare fruit not tasted in centuries. All this we had until the Split, when the entirety of the Cedalian Empire fell overnight. Not in a metaphorical sense, but physically into the Lost. Now the tendrils of the past ever reach, jealous of our survival - aching for what was lost. - Yarali Softtouch in Warning I

The Split, an event so profound that the survivors mark time with it. Not the first of such world ending events, if the fractured history of this age is to be believed. Yet, the split is the most prominent in the Ristarcan imagination. Before the split, to the east of the Ristarcan peninsula lay plains, mountains, deserts, and larger bodies of water. Here, conscious-kind had reached towards glory with the Cedalian Empire. Perhaps not yet capable of the mechanical and arcane miracles that continue to be found in shattered ruins throughout the continent, but a seat of glory nonetheless. Overnight this empire vanished into the Lost as the land it lay on crumbled away.
There are many speculations of the cause. Those who follow Elizamism  in the Loqean tradition, such as The Order of the East Wind, claim it was a failure of conscious-kind to remain vigilant against the Lost. In their telling the Split truly begins with the appointment of the last emperor of Cedale, Chrysaphius Bardane (he/him) in 32 PS. They say he reached out into the Lost and tried to expand Cedale's influence and power. Constructing vessels to explore the endless void and claim sovereignty over it. For this blasphemous behavior, the land itself rejected him and the empire, casting it off as corrupted by the evil presence of the Lost.
Others share the sentiments of the Loqean tradition but instead claim Chrysaphius provoked the Lost. That the Lost rose up in revenge and let loose its chaos to sweep up the empire and the land that held it. For those of The Order of the Earth’s Prayer it is said that the Cedalian empire strayed from faithful devotion of being/continent of Nénar and so it withered and parts rotted away. Others still reject all these claims and instead arguing nihilistically that the split was simply another calamity in the slow collapse of the continent. That it holds no special significance beyond the reminder of the futility of life in this age.
Whatever the cause, the impact of the Split was inarguable. Something radiated out from the center of the empire and as it did the land grew brittle, rocks splintered, plant life died, and unmoored the ground began to disintegrate into dust and flake into the Lost. The process took less than a day to sink the entirety of the empire, enough time that those on the fringes were able to run. With no direction but away, safety would be found in the lowlands of the Wall. Here, on what became the Ristarca peninsula, the disintegration was halted.
Ever since the Split, much of conscious-kinds imagination has been held by the events. A fear of the unknown and of looking over the edge. Rumors of the fate that awaits children who stray off the path and get lost. Fireside stories of tendrils from beyond, the eternal plunge, and other spine chilling terrors. Attempts have been made to cultivate protections against the Lost, and another split, through the use of The Spellweave and The Torne-Duile Plant. Yet as the centuries roll on this has begun to fade from the forefront of the descendants of the survivors. There is a confidence that whatever protected Ristarca during the Split, will ensure no other similar event occurs. So as the 5th century comes to a close only time will tell if this hope will hold true.

Type

Natural