Ainsley's Destruction

In the foothills of the northern moutains once stood a small village, like any other. It was a quiet village full of laughing children and honest, hardworking farmers. One day, a young girl there felt the stirrings of her magic just beginning to make itself known.
The intensity of the magic scared her, and she thought it must be a demon inside. She tried hard to hide her magic from her family and the rest of the village.
Now, this girl, like any other, enjoyed running in the sunlight, chasing her friends. But one day, when her mother called her in to help with chores, the child's anger let loose the demon. It stole the land from beneath the village and the entire village sank into a massive hole.
From the land it formed a massive rock, which it hurled into the sky to come crashing down atop the sunken village, obliterating everything in sight.
Over time, the rains filled the hole, hiding the damage, and now an unnatural, circular lake sits where a thriving village once stood. No one knows what happened to the girl and her demon. Some say she died in the incident. Others say she still roams the planet, causing earthquakes and sinkholes.

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Historical Significance

The story of Ainsley's Destruction began well before the last two major wars of Wennovi began. It voiced a fear of mages possessed by witches and nomas alike. The story grew in popularity as resentment grew toward the mages, who held the most socioeconomic power.
Some historians claim The Sparrow used this story to instigate a rising against mages and to facilitate the mage assassinations that sparked the Paltetia Revolution, which ultimately resulted in a mass exodus of nomas into the western half of Imbria and the creation of Great Divide, which permanently split the continent.

Mage magic is unnatural, attained only through a demonic pact. Most mages lack the ability to control this magic, and thereby have a tendency to wreak unconscionable havoc. This evil must be stopped at all costs.

— Reginald Augustus Emerson, founder of Arcanis Academy

Some stoked the fear of mages into a frenzy using this story along with other propaganda tactics.
Soon, the story became "proof" of the inherently evil nature of mages. which led to the Great Uprising and the subsequent extermination of mages by the Witches' Might Group.
This led to a restructuring of power and the creation of the nations present in Imbria today.

Historical Basis

Ainsley Lake possesses excessive latent energy, so much so that it made my skin itch and the crew jittery.

— Research expedition leader

Some claim the lake contains a vast reserve of magic energy and that this is proof that a magical outburst, one that could only be produced by a mage, created the crater lake.

by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Ruins have been found very close to the lake, and occasionally, ancient artifacts are also recovered both in the waters and throughout the surrounding hills. This supports the theory that a village once stood in the area.
Some people claim the ruins and the heightened energy levels are evidence enough that a mage created the crater. However, strange rocks and other minerals have also been found in the vicinity, which geologists point to as originating from a meteor.

Variations & Mutation

The type of magic that created the crater varies in the retellings. Most of the time, it is one of the elemental magics; sometimes it is fire, lightning, or even ice, but often, it is earth magic.
Occassionally, it is not a mage that decimated the village and created the crater lake but rather one of the gods, either during the Era of the Gods or sometime later as a visiting entity to Wennovi. This version is often turned into some moral lesson on angering the gods.

Date of Setting

~2000 years ago

Related Locations

• Ainsley Lake

Northwest Salaris

Relevant Timeline

Wars of Wennovi

Mages

Mages had incredible power, power that could level a small village in one tantrum.

— Historian

Mages are no longer present on Wennovi. They were eradicated by witches during and after the Great Uprising.
Essentially, mages possessed the ability to control massive amounts of magical power, but were very limited in the type of magic they could perform, much more so than witches are.
Because they had the potential to weild such great power, they were favored by the mage Emporer and held prominent titles and lands.

For more on the differences between mages and witches, please see:

Additional Reading