The Age of Storms

Black clouds above us,

The broken earth is sinking

Towards inky night.

— From an ancient text describing The Age of Storms

The Ruin of a World

They say that the coming of The Age of Storms was sudden, unexpected. That one moment all was right in the world and in the next the world was screaming like a wounded animal and the very elements themselves lashed out, scourging the world. The Age of Storms and the accompanying destruction was so widespread and so devastating that very few records survive from the period, and those that do are mainly oral histories or faint understandings burned into the very ancestral memories of the peoples who survived the event. What is agreed upon is this; one day without warning the planet began to emit a terrible noise followed by a flash of light that killed any who looked upon it. Afterwards devastating storms formed across the whole of the planet, ravaging the surface with pelting rain; floods, winds capable of uprooting boulders, and constant lightning. At the same time the earth itself began to crack and break as it was rent asunder by earthquakes so powerful that mountain ranges sank into the ground while others were formed from the shaking. Volcanoes long thought dormant roared back to life, scourging many communities with terrible eruptions that destroyed the mountains themselves. Magic rebelled completely against it's masters taking on new and horrible forms and destroying anyone who dared to try to use it.
This devastation lasted for many years, and the mortal races would have been destroyed had it not been for the intervention of the divine. Spirits and gods both worked together to save what lives they could, earning the faith and worship of those that they saved. Yet for all their efforts it is said that not even the divine beings themselves were immune to the dying of the world. Stories tell that Sapatu, Spirit of Storms, attempted to calm the raging skies only to have his power turn against him and destroy him and the people he sought to protect utterly.

The Storms End

Eventually it is said that The Age of Storms ended as suddenly as it began, the skies cleared, the earth quieted, and magic calmed. Mortals and divine beings both lifted their heads for the first time in ages and found themselves in a world changed. Lands that had once existed did not anymore, sunk beneath the waves in the terrible devastation. Elsewhere new islands had emerged from the sea, perhaps broken away from other lands during the earthquakes that had rocked the land.
Most shockingly, where once the continent of Sabas had stood, home to one of the greatest kingdoms of the former age there was now only a scattering of islands situated around a great burning hole in the world itself. Made from what appeared to be blue crystal and emitting a heat so great that the water that leaked in from the sea was turned to burning steam. This terrible wound in the world seemed to have no bottom, and was surrounded by a constant stormy sea. Those who came close to the maw claimed that they could hear the faint and terrible sound of a child's crying and so the place was named The Weeping Maw.
Eventually the mortal races began to rebuild what had once been destroyed. Once again civilization began to rise, under the careful supervision and guidance of both God and Spirit. Eventually years passed and the devastation of that time passed into whispered legend, tales used to warn children of the cost of any number of evils or disobediences.

The Modern Era

In the modern era The Age of Storms still features prominently in many myths and religions worldwide. The Ooan people of the Anedan Ocean, for example, attribute the very name of their people to this event, claiming that when the Goddess Ooa had saved them from the ravages of The Storm they had chosen to name themselves after her to honor her kindness. The people of The Sorcerer Kingdoms meanwhile often use The Age of Storms as a cautionary tale about the wild misuse of magic; claiming that disaster was caused by some ancient spell gone awry.
The actual cause of The Storm is a hotly debated topic among scholarly circles, evidence is naturally scarce due to the nature of the event but most tend to agree that it was not merely a natural event and must have had a trigger of some form. Some believe the planet was struck by another celestial body, others believe that some event deep beneath the planet must have been the cause, but no conclusive evidence favoring any argument has been found thus far. Many agree that if any is to be found at all it must be at the heart of The Weeping Maw, but the nature of the area makes expeditions difficult, and thus far none who have entered the Maw have returned.