The Worldspine

"It was the Hawk Kin, the wisest of their kind, who first felt the encroaching dark. The wind whispered to them as it passed through their feathers, grounding even the most fearless warrior. None would step foot from the ground, for fear that this omen had been sent by the First and that to ignore it would cost them their gift of flight.
A group of elders, their hearts heavy with dread, embarked on a pilgrimage to the heart of the Worldspine. They journeyed for days, scaling massive roots that pierced the clouds and traversing branches thick as mountain ridges.
Upon reaching the tree’s heart, a swirling vortex of magical energy, they found a single leaf, larger than any they had ever seen, its surface inscribed with intricate patterns of silver veins that pulsed with an inner light. As they knelt in reverence, the leaf stirred, its veins glowing brightly, and a voice, as ancient and vast as the tree itself, spoke through their minds.
"The darkness is born from fear," the voice whispered. “It seeks to consume the light, to unravel the delicate threads of life that bind all things. But even within the heart of darkness, a seed of hope remains."
The voice instructed the elders to gather seeds from the Worldspine and send every living Kin on a one-way pilgrimage. They would carry these seeds far and wide, planting them in the hopes that a new tree would one day grow.
Empowered by the Worldspine’s wisdom, the elders returned to their clan. It is said that every man, woman, and child left that day never to return. When the darkness came, only the tree remained. What became of the tree and the Hawk Kin no one knows. Perhaps they found some distant, hidden land and planted their seeds, and now live in peace and prosperity. Perhaps the darkness took them as well. Perhaps they never existed at all, just a bedtime story or tall tale. What is known is that no trace of the Hawk Kin or their great tree has ever been uncovered." - A Gathered History of the Kin, Vol 3, Ezra Dawnstrider

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"My Lord Emperor:
The Worldspine is an essential part of the foundational myth of the Kin. There are no written records for when this myth first emerged, and there are countless variations, though the basic structure of the story remains the same. It is said that the Worldspine existed before the creation of Yrdde, in some stories still a massive tree, in others a great stone structure containing the souls of all life that would one day inhabit the world.
The gods, named the Great Spirits by the Kin, emerged from this vessel as Yrdde was created. There is some confusion here, as it's not explicitly stated in any story who or what first created the world. Regardless, the stories deviate from here, degenerating into local stories that are too varied and numerous to recount.
The most interesting part, and the part I assume you were most interested in, is how every story ends. Some great calamity, named the darkness, the devourer, or just the fear, emerges from the depths of the far-sky and consumes the Worldspine, along with the Hawk Kin. Personally I believe that this is all an overwrought metaphor for some war fought between the clans, one that ended with the Hawk Kin being wiped out, but I am just a humble scholar.
As requested, all information we have gathered thus far has been placed within the restricted library for your perusal. I hope what we have uncovered will satisfy your curiosity, my Lord." - Master Explorer Trueheart