The Exodus Ritual

The Breaking of Magic

The Exodus Ritual was the most ambitious arcane undertaking in Vericia’s history, designed by the Pan-Magocracy to sever mortals from divine influence and relocate them to a new realm within the Rift. However, divine intervention led to its catastrophic failure, resulting in the Great Flood, the Spreading of Krét’s Hair, and the permanent decline of magic.

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The Purpose of the Exodus Ritual

The End of the Divine Order

By the end of the Antediluvian Age, the Pan-Magocracy had declared that humanity no longer needed gods. They viewed divine influence as an obstacle to mortal progress, one that could be overcome through sheer magical mastery. Especially since the gods had proven their intention of meddling in mortal kind's affairs time and time again. Their goal was simple but audacious—to leave Vericia behind and forge their own destiny beyond the reach of the gods.

This was not a mere experiment but a spell of perfect design, built with absolute precision. The Exodus Ritual was engineered to be a flawless transition, pulling every human soul from Vericia and transporting them into a newly created realm within the Rift.

The Mechanism: A Planetary Spell Matrix

The ritual functioned by repurposing Leylines into a planetary-scale Spell Matrix. This grand enchantment was designed to channel Potentia directly into the transition spell, weaving itself into the fabric of Vericia and tethering itself to every human soul to ensure that no one would be left behind. Power sources included:

• Leyline convergence points acting as magical conduits.
• Arcane institutions and entire cities transformed into energy tethers.
• High-tier spell matrices sustaining the immense power required for global translocation.

This was not simply a teleportation spell—it was a severance, an engineered exodus of an entire species from the world.

Divine Resistance & Krét’s Intervention

A Threat to the Gods

The gods quickly realized the full implications of the Exodus. Mortals were not just leaving; they were taking with them fragments of Mán’s divine essence, woven into every human soul. If all of humanity departed, a massive portion of existence itself would be removed, breaking the balance that kept the Abyss contained.

This was not just a crisis of faith—it was an existential threat to reality itself.

The Weaving of Krét’s Hair

Rather than destroying the spell outright, the gods chose a subtler method of intervention. Krét, the goddess of separation and barriers, took action. She plucked strands from her divine hair and wove them into an immense veil that enveloped Vericia, sealing it off from full access to the Rift.

Krét’s Hair disrupted the flow of Potentia, cutting off the Leylines from their source. The Exodus Ritual, deprived of the energy it required, collapsed mid-casting.

The Catastrophic Failure: The Great Flood

The sudden collapse of the spell resulted in an uncontrolled discharge of Potentia, creating thousands of portals across Vericia’s sky. However, rather than transporting humanity to a new world, these unstable portals connected to the Elemental Plane of Water.

A planetary deluge followed. The flood was not a natural disaster but an invasion of an alien ocean, sweeping away entire civilizations in an instant. Coastal settlements were erased, inland cities drowned, and even underground enclaves were not spared as the water seeped into every crevice of the world.

The Aftermath: The Breaking of Magic

The Decline of Leylines & the Rise of Vis

With Krét’s Hair blocking Potentia’s full flow, the once-thriving Leyline network began to wither. Without their direct connection to the Rift, Leylines stagnated, and Potentia solidified into crystallized deposits known as Vis.

Vis veins became the last remnants of structured Potentia, now a finite and highly sought-after resource. Magic, once an abundant and natural force, was now something that had to be mined, refined, and controlled.

The Gods Trapped Beyond the Veil

Krét’s barrier did not merely sever mortals from divine control—it severed the gods from Vericia itself. The Aspects of the Younger Gods, unable to receive divine sustenance, twisted into the entities now known as Devils. Portals to the divine realms and elemental planes became inaccessible.

The gods did not abandon mortals—Krét made it so they could no longer act freely.

The Legacy of the Exodus Ritual

• Witton Academy was founded to regulate magic and prevent another Exodus from being attempted.
• Fragments of the research and development that went into the Exodus ritual can still be found. parts of the ritual exist and has been circulating amongst scholars and criminals both.
• Modern magic is in decline, bound by the limitations imposed by Krét’s Hair.

Final Consequences

• The world of limitless magic was destroyed.
• Divine intervention in mortal affairs became almost impossible.
• The Abyss, no longer contained by the same balance, slowly began to encroach upon reality.
• Magic became a finite resource, setting the stage for centuries of conflict over Vis and the remnants of Leyline power.

The Exodus Ritual was not just a failed spell—it was the breaking point of an entire era. What was meant to be the liberation of mortals became their greatest limitation, forever shaping the destiny of Vericia.