The Rupture

The Rupture was a massive breech of a major leyline. While leyline breaching is a common occurrence and happens in a minor way regularly, this breech was nearly cataclysmic in nature. Aether surged from the breech and spewed into the the sea. It leeched into groundwater and was responsible for the decimation of an entire coastline of cities, forests, and sealife. It is believed to also be responsible for the unusual life that tends to spawn near to the Aether Sea even to this day.

"No one really knows why it happened.. or even how it happened. Gods, before it happened, you wouldn't have found a Wizard alive that thought that it even could happen, but it did. I wasn't in Aetherport that day, but I'm told that is how the city got its name and I am inclined to believe that to be true. Humans do make very little effort in the naming of things." The massive gold dragon shifted his eyes to take in the object of his conversation in the distance. "No." He said after a few moments, sounding distant and lost in his thoughts. "I was in west ridge. Arrat had clutched and I was guarding her and Chavrar."

Galen didn't know who either of those people were, but he was going to assume they were dragons and he had no intention of asking more questions about them. If Zuldrinth wished to tell him, he was sure he was going to hear all about it. To say that the dragon was long winded was an understatement.

"Yes." The dragon continued after a long, rumbled exhale. "I may not have been in the city, but you could see the glow of the aether from here. It lit up the sky as it burned and destroyed everything in its path. The stars were hidden for a full month in the light of the aether. It flowed until it filled the sea as far as the eye could see. Perhaps it was by the grace of one of the gods, but Aetherport had narrowly escaped the explosion... but they did not escape the aftermath. No one did." Zuldrinth turned his massive eyes, each easily the size of Galen's whole being, so that his gaze rested once more upon the human.

"You speak of the madness." Galen spoke loudly even though he knew he didn't have to. The dragon's voice just rumbled so loudly that it was easy to forget that Zuldrinth could have heard him easily if he wished to whisper.

"So they do teach you things in that... academy... of yours." Amusement rippled through the dragon's tone. "Yes. I speak of the madness. For some, it was quick, but for most..." He trailed off again, growing quiet for a long moment. "For most, it took time for the aether to twist them."

Manifestation

"The Rupture" manifested itself in vibrant blue raw Aether that burst upwards into the sky for an entire calendar month. The light was so intense that looking at it for too long would cause blindness and looking at it at all would cause similar issues at a much younger age in that person's life. The aether settled inside the sea basin and spread through ground water causing corruption as well as vibrancy seemingly at a whim.

Localization

The Aether Sea

Type

Natural

Cause

It is unknown what might have caused this particular rupture to be so much worse than others. It is believed that overuse of the leyline in question caused more magical energy to flow to that point, eventually bursting at the seams, but that isn't proven or quantifiable. Other leylines leak into the material realm frequently enough and never have they ever been so massive.

Effects

The Aether Sea and the surrounding terrain were decimated. The city of Aetherport was uninhabited for over a hundred years before it was reclaimed by humans. To this day, humans in particular are unable to handle the intense magical essence of the Aether. There are stories and accountings of people going insane after falling off of the docks by mistake. New species of creatures also are regularly spotted near to where the breech occurred. Some of these creatures are harmless but the opposite can be said about most of them.