The Kalyugi
Portent of Darkness
Summary
The legendary fall of the Zamzian Empire. Roughly 300 years ago, the Empire was at the nadir of its power, in the middle of civil war and political unrest, when the earth itself ruptured and burst from beneath the Empire's own feet. Sinkholes suddenly appeared around Zamzara, which quickly morphed into pits, then gorges, then chasms. As this happened, all manner of beasts and monsters erupted from the caverns, spewing forth like a pulsating boil being popped.
Caught unaware by an enemy they had never known existed during the most tumultuous period in Zamzian history had grave results - civil war was averted, but only due to the eradication of the Zamzian military. The revered 100,000 Shot Volley, the greatest tactical and strategic achievement of military logistics and training in all of history, did nothing to cull the hordes of monsters that were wiping out commoner and nobleman alike. Soon, there was no one left to defend the Empire. Then the Zamzians came to a slow realization: there was no Empire left to defend.
As suddenly as they came blitzing out of the darkness, the monsters abandoned the ruined settlements of humanity, almost overnight, but they never returned to the depths of the Nashya from whence they came - instead, the beasts took to the wilderness, adapting quickly and establishing themselves at the top of the food chain in every regard. It wouldn't be for another 200 years that the humans of Zamzara would slowly begin to recover from this disaster...
Historical Basis
The Kalyugi was a real event, one that only the most skeptical and distrustful of humans doubt the veracity of - the evidence of its existence is as apparent as the tides of the oceans, or the actions of gravity. Around all of Zamzara, ruins of settlements, fortresses, compounds, dungeons, and infrastructure is a common sight, even for those who rarely leave town. Dealing with monsters is a near-daily fact of life for almost every human in the world, and interacting with even the weakened beasts of the present still gives one a glimpse of their destructive power and capabilities. A few people know nothing about the existence of the Nashya or its connections to The Kalyugi, but these are rare, often exceptionally uneducated types.
Spread
Its is a tale that is told by fearful parents to children at night, to instill the sense of danger and urgency that many people need to survive in this world of monsters. The Cult of the Emperor have been unable not to mention it in every text and sermon they've outputted for the past 300 years. It is at the back of the mind of every wanderer journeying through the wilderness in search of lost treasures and forgotten knowledge. Historians and scholars have rigorously debated its details ever since it happened. It is easily the most significant event to happen to the Zamzian Empire since its founding over 2000 years ago.
Variations & Mutation
The greatest mystery of the Kalyugi is why? What was the catalyst for that fateful night? Could it have been foreseen or avoided? Defended against? These answers are unlikely to ever see the light of day, but the senselessness has spawned dozens of stories and myths about the true cause of the Kalyugi. Some believe that a unified Empire could have staved off the invasion, if only it were not on the cusp of war with itself. A popular theory is that, somehow, the Nashya was tampered with, provoking retaliation. Many religious people think the Kalyugi was a divine message meant to teach humanity the virtues of humility and unity, an idea that is violently rejected by others. Some go so far as to espouse that the monsters are not native to the Nashya, but arrived from the twin moons of the heavens, beasts borne of another world entirely. Undoubtedly, more rumors, theories, and false claims will only muddy the waters of history as time moves onward.
Cultural Reception
No single event has been more culturally transformative than The Kalyugi. In the blink of an eye, civilization itself was upended and its weaknesses were shown to the world before it was annihilated. What was once a noble, martial populace turned into a scared gaggle of children afraid of shadows chasing their vision while being forced to hide from their betters. Despite this, the core identity of the "ideal Zamzian" is intact - dutiful, truthful, strong, and wise. The tenacity of the Cult of the Emperor helped to preserve many cultural traditions that would have otherwise been lost to the attacks, but the efforts of academics and commonfolk alike more than supplemented this tenacity - although the Zamzian Empire was no more, the Zamzian people would live on regardless of the obstacles, doing their best to honor the past while looking to the future.
Date of First Recording
2133 AC
Date of Setting
2133 AC
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Related Organizations
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