The Crushing Wind

The Crushing Wind refers to the natural disaster that befell Melra's dividing land bridge (referred to as The Merchant's Span) approximately fifteen years ago. Out of nowhere the wind picked up with such force that most everyone crossing the Span at the time was blown off and into the clouds below. The wind held its strength for three months, and in that time very very few traders from Gwandrin or Elura were permitted to cross the Span.


Attempts to combat the Crushing Wind:
Scholars did what they could during this time to study the wind in an attempt to combat its powerful pushing force and to safeguard against its return in the future.

The first attempt to block the wind was the use of magical barriers in the form of domes. At first these seemed to work ok, but after a few minutes the wind began to circle around the barrier and push down upon it instead of blowing against it, and the massive amount of force eventually shrank and crushed them.

The second attempt to combat the wind was the use of barriers as sheets, but the wind simply wrapped itself around these, causing them to essentially do nothing.


Eventually the wind was discovered to be of a natural magical nature, and as such Melterium proved effective at diminishing its effects. Rich noblemen and prolific traders were able to hire guards with shields dusted in Melterium to help them cross the Span while the wind was present, but the poor did not have this luxury and instead had to wait for the wind to dissipate on its own before they could traverse the Span again.

Manifestation

The Crushing Wind is for the most part invisible, however the air it is passing through occasionally shimmers as heat does in the air off of hot surfaces.

Localization

The only known occurrence of the Crushing Wind has been on the Merchant's Span fifteen years ago. Scholars have not been able to discover exactly why this natural disaster occurred there, but it's theorized that it may be something to do with Melra's strange shape.

Type

Natural