The Collision

In 2013 the two Earth planes, separated by ancient magic, came crashing back together. This brought the denizens of both worlds a mighty conflict. Humans threw everything they had at the invaders; global cooperation occurred on an unprecedented scale against forces the likes of which existed only in myth and legend. The magical beings from the other side of The Separation were equally displeased at the prospect of sharing their world with a planet of new species and fought back with vigour. The Fae, who had controlled much of the Magical Plane were not willing to submit to the Human race.
For five long years, both sides fought tooth and claw to prevail until eventually, at risk of total annihilation, the humans had to lay down arms and sign a heavily inequitable peace treaty. During this time the two planes settled back into one, with aspects from each overlapping and amalgamating into a strange hodge-podge of glass citadels, magic-laden forests, human cities, and all manner of habitat, all damaged in some way by the conflict.
The Earth, in terms of continents and oceans, was the same on each side of The Separation, but with millennia of evolution between them, magic on one side, and nature on the other, the two planes looked very different. With The Collision, the Earth had to readjust, earthquakes, sinkholes, tsunamis, mega-storms and more reshaped the planet into something neither side could truly recognise as Home.
This was exacerbated ten-fold by the violent collision of the inhabitants of these worlds. Each felt they were more right than the other and war raged on every continent until billions of lives had been lost on all sides.
With the Fae at the top of the food chain, they subdued all disquiet from the peoples of both Planes, declaring the New World Order as both the extension of their Reign and a new beginning for it. Many were discontented and broke from strained agreements with the Fae, however, some accords held fast. Many Dragons embraced the chaos of the New World Order and although they technically did not fight on any side, their long-established ties with the Fae remained unchanged. Some of the wilder creatures also remained close to the Fae. This wild and violent series of contracts meant that the Human race had no choice but to surrender and scrape what life they could in the wreckage, hunted by all manner of creatures, surrounded by flora and fauna that they had never known.

The Conflict

Prelude

On March 19th 2013, everything was normal, the humans woke up in their beds, went about their days in the usual fashion, children went to school, politicians argued, dogs were walked. On the Other Plane, most too, were oblivious to the oncoming catastrophic change. There had been changes in the feel of the magic for many decades, but only a very few of the most powerful, and most accomplished archivists knew what this might portend.  All were shocked and shaken when, at the height of the equinox the world quaked and rumbled and a huge shockwave encircled the earth, rendering all living things unconscious for a few moments. Many died in those first few minutes, cars, helicopters, low-flying planes, mages, flying creatures and more. All who survived awoke blaming the rest for their confusion and terror as the two worlds began their tumultuous blending. Peace was never even considered, talks were never had, in those first few hours. It was a free-for-all that precipitated the war to the end of the world as we knew it.

Deployment

The human governments gathered within the first day of the conflict and within another had reached several complicated accords. The whole human race would work together, a planetary defense system that would protect all in the interest of eradicating the influx of monsters from under the bed.  The beings from the Other Plane were somewhat less organised, but no less cohesive in their movements on smaller scales. The Fae already had warring and peace accords with many creatures, and the ones it did not, had to join them or fight their own corner as best they could.  They had magic, the humans had bombs. It was essentially one planet vs another, expect they'd all been unwittingly sharing the same planet all along.

Battlefield

Everything became a battlefield. There was not a corner of the planet that did not run red with the blood of warriors. The seas saw global mobilisation of submarines and war ships and kelpies, merfolk and many others. All continents had been inhabited on both sides of the divide, so all inhabitants were fighting for their piece of the world.

Conditions

For the first three years, martial law was held by the humans, and many underground bunkers were used as safehouse and bases of operation. there was structure and somewhere relatively safe and clean for many of the survivors to hide away.  The surface of the planet was not a nice place to be, and increasingly less recognisable to either side. 
In the final two years, the human side began to crumble. Safe places became overrun or destroyed, governments fell and munitions ran out.  There were no longer global communications, running water or factories, laboratories, or power plants.  Everywhere was destruction and death.

Outcome

The Fae have control over the continents and the seas through various accords with other magical species.  This is in many cases a strained and volatile alliance that the Fae oversee with an iron fist.  The humans that survive do so in small, underground communities, some stand alone and scavange what they need to survive, others form larger trade webs with nearby communities.

Aftermath

Unknown.  Twenty years for the Fae, and many other magical beings, is a very short time.  The world is still settling from the violent physical changes brought by The Collision, as well as the immense scale of destruction wrought by the war.  Leadership, community, survival are all still mostly decided on a very small scale.

Historical Significance

In Literature

Significantly, the Fae archivists retrieved and kept as much human literature as they could manage. All manner of fiction and non-fiction texts were hoarded and hidden away for study.  They also have a dedicated team of scribes whose purpose is solely to transcribe the history of the world as it happens.  They have been very busy in recent years collecting stories from all manner of beings and chronicling the new histories.

Technological Advancement

Human technology was essentially destroyed. Satellites, medicine, vehicles, weapons, etc were largely destroyed, as were the means to make more.  Much magical knowledge was also lost, as whole ancient communities were destroyed.  Many books and scolls from both sides of the conflict were salvaged by Fae archivists, who treasure knowledge above all else. 
The time for human innovation was begun anew.

by J May

  (A Peaceful Moment After The Collision. J May, Artbreeder)

Battlefield Type

Planetary

Start Date

Wednesday 20th March 2013 - Spring Solstice.

Ending Date

Friday 21th December 2018 - Winter Solstice and the official start of the new calendar. Official Day One of the New World Order.

Conflict Result

The start of a new Era - New World Order (NWO). The subjugation of the Human race. Bloody and violent victory for the Fae.