The story of how the world was Broken begins in the height of the world’s Golden Age, The Age of Order. Upon the mortal plane three thousand years had passed since the birth of M’urcen and M’urdar; the world had long recovered from the chaotic times before and while there were troubles they never seemed to amount to anything grand. The lands were prosperous, great strides were made by the civilizations of those ancient times. The only spot of trouble seemed to be that Murien, the Goddess of Balance, seemed to have disappeared. Yshirea said he was sure she had gone off in search of Berana, though he didn’t see the point of such himself. Into this time Navendia and Rioris had a child, the last of the Younger Gods. N’avrio, the God of Change. He was a small unassuming looking God, thin of frame and quiet. Though he was a God at the time none seemed to know exactly what he was to be the God of for he seemed to have no power, no abilities.
S’erris, X’isdia and A’naris, as half-sisters to the new God invited him to their gatherings and along with K’arest the new God learned about his fellows and they all tried and failed to figure out what he was supposed to be the God of. M’urcen quite liked N’avrio but M’urdar did not and would often be cruel to him. This was a problem for N’avrio because he could not tell them apart and it made him wary. B’erram would often corner N’avrio and attempt to coerce him to go with her, but one of the others always came in to save him. Y’shram, while he did want to spend time with N’avrio did not because Yshirea forbid it, the God of Order seeming to not care much for N’avrio. B’erysh was delighted to teach N’avrio how to handle himself while S’erien taught him how to find peace within himself. L’iaris was delighted to know N’avrio but her brother Z’olrun was cruel to him whenever L’iaris was not looking.
N’avrio had many adventures as the mortal plane turned on but never came closer to finding out what his purpose was. His mother wouldn’t comment on it and his father didn’t seem to know. In the end it was K’arest and A’naris who discovered his talent was that of Change. While he could not create anything himself he could alter what already existed. Several of the Elder Gods were happy for him, but Yshirea was not. In front of all he forbid N’avrio from ever using his power and would hear no argument against his decision. B’erram made comment wondering what he was hiding and it was enough to get several of the Younger Gods interested and snooping around. Eventually M’urdar discovered what Yshirea was hiding though she pretended to be her sister so she could get away.
Yshirea had imprisoned Berana in a perfectly static prison so that no chaos could escape. Murien had vanished so long ago because there was no longer any balance in the world. M’urdar took great pleasure in informing all the Younger Gods of this. X’isdia was happy that Berana had finally gotten what was coming to him, but S’erris was concerned. This wasn’t justice because the punishment was affecting everyone. The discussion went on for a time as they tried to figure out what to do…who they should tell if they should tell anyone. In the end no one noticed that N’avrio quietly slipped away. By the time it was noticed the Younger Gods and the Elder Gods both were realizing that something was happening. They could feel the pressure and the strain.
Karashiel was livid feeling her world was on the brink, demanding to know what was going on. The truth came out and Karashiel hit Yshirea knocking him down. The Elder Gods were incensed at Yshirea for without balance the world may not survive. Yshirea revealed where the prison was and they all went. They arrived too late to stop him. N’avrio was only an arm’s length away from the prison and the existence around them all was beginning to buckle. They tried but none of their power could reach him…could stop him. For every attempt he simply changed so it could not touch him. N’avrio laid a finger upon the surface of the static prison and he changed it. The prison cracked and Berana was freed in a great maelstrom of chaos that swept out over all of creation. But everything had spent too long steeped in the power of Yshirea…in order. So much concentrated chaos hit the world that it broke….not just the world but existence itself was cracked open.
When the prison broke open and chaos flooded out it eradicated the plane of the gods and cast them out into the mortal plane. It took some time for the Gods to unite and not all made it intact. The world had broken and the walls of existence had cracked open leaving trails of the Weaver’s thread whipping about, the merest touch from them enough to transform and shatter lesser beings into crystalline shards caught up in the chaos storm. And out in the great storm flew The Eater devouring both of Runalia’s moons. And anything else that came across its path. Karashiel was in pain for the world was broken and she was split along with it, manifesting as multiple versions of herself. Somehow she had lost her right arm from just above the elbow and that was the same in every version of her.
Dragons flew through the storm, helping and saving those they could. The gods themselves did much the same with their powers, except for Yshirea who Berana had chained down, and Berana himself who chose to hinder as often as he helped. N’avrio was also not helping for he too was chained and unconscious. Through the cracks in the walls of existence came flooding demons and fiends, angels and celestials and others now that the world was open to them. K’arest and A’naris called their ship to them and flew out into the storm, rescuing and saving people, bringing them back. Until they did not return. M’urdar seized the opportunity once away from everyone else to try and kill M’urcen at last, but misfortune caused her to fall off and be caught in the storm winds instead. M’urcen leapt after her so they could be together and help protect each other as they fell deeper and deeper into the storm. When N’avrio woke it was to find the world in shambles and him being blamed for it. Nothing he could say seemed to matter and former friends wished him harm now. Berana silenced all that saying that N’avrio was not in the wrong in setting him free, just perhaps in the method he chose. And for that he had to be punished. Before he was however, Navendia went to him and kissed him on the forehead. Then N’avrio was placed in a cage and cast out into the storm.
Eventually Berana bored of his storm and the Gods began to put the world back together, but so much damage had been done the world was only a shell of what it once was. Estarn stepped in to help Karashiel recover and maintain the world. Yet despite being together, the chaos was not over. Yshirea had held the world in his sway for six thousand years without Berana touching it. And Berana for as mad and chaotic as he is still knows that the world must have balance. Six thousand years of Order means there must be six thousand years of Chaos to balance the scales. And so began the Age of Breaking, a time of chaos when the youngest god broke the world and forever named it Ashiel, the world built from ashes.

Summary

This story is of the events which lead to the Breaking of the World.

In Art

As with the other great legends, this story is often presented in Tapestry form, the story being told with images and words woven into the fabric.