Almost five centuries ago, the world was barren and dark. An unknown amount of time before that, the world exploded. The event, known now as the Cataclysm or the Great Cataclysm, is a source of heavy debate among scholars and commoners alike, and some say we may never know the true circumstances behind it.
The Facts
Due to the fifteen years of darkness that followed the Cataclysm and the strange phenomena surrounding
Tel Padria, the only known proof of the event, very few solid facts are known about it.
The Cataclysm, based on evidence that
has been recovered, was a colossal explosion towards the west of the
Querian Empire. The explosion's source is unknown, but it carved a crater with a circumference of approximately 2000km
2 and burned away much of the surrounding rainforest. The fallout from this explosion, extremely rich in
Éla, has poisoned the earth around it and spread worldwide, causing many new technologies to be unusable without including Éla in their function.
Limited documentation recovered in
Orralia dating to
The Endless Night details a grand, blinding light to the west that brought "overwhelming night, as if the sun itself exploded and left us", thus confirming the Cataclysm to be the source of the Night.
Popular Theories
Lack of solid information surrounding the Cataclysm has led to a variety of theories surrounding its cause. Most commonly held beliefs span from a natural disaster to divine intervention.
The Old Magi
Legends of
The Old Magi, deciphered from scraps of historical documentation and art that still remains after the Cataclysm, tell of a group of five powerful
Magi who presided over all knowledge and research regarding Éla and its origins.
According to these people, the Great Cataclysm was caused by the death of these Magi, in a climactic battle between them and a corrupted sixth Magi who wished harm upon the world. The clashing of their powers caused shockwaves which scattered their power across the world, and the sun was supposedly blacked out by the sixth Magi's corrupted power hanging in the air.
Though the ruins of towers and scraps of information exist to suggest the existence of five Magi scholars, no evidence has yet been discovered of the sixth, nor of this battle. Regardless, this is a widely accepted tale in many places and cultures, especially
Jade and some parts of the
Querian Empire.
The Myriad
Followers of
The Myriad believe
Tel Padria, and thus the Cataclysm itself, to be the origin of their Gods' arrival in this world. According to Myriad texts, the First Era was a time of despair and ignorance, and the Cataclysm was a cleansing fire to herald in a healing period in which the Gods positioned themselves to rebuild and enlighten the world.
Natural Phenomena
Many people, especially those further afield from the Empire such as some
Avvar-Kunrud and
Hjala in the far east, believe the Cataclysm to have been the result of a volcanic eruption, and the Endless Night to have been either the result of extreme levels of fallout remaining in the air, or simply a metaphorical period in which society had to rebuild.
While there are mountains surrounding Tel Padria, suggesting it too was once the site of mountains, it is uncertain if the mountains were once volcanic or not. Ancient texts suggest the mountains were indeed the source of unusual activity, however, describing "plumes of smoke" and other such mysterious phenomena from the area.
