First Sundering The First Sundering ( sometimes simply The Sundering ) or Ever ' Sakkatien ( as called by the Tel - quessir ) , was a High Magic ritual cast by the greatest High Mage s of the Tel - quessir during the period of The First Flowering , around – 17600 DR . The ritual resulted in the creation of the Isle of Evermeet , but also resulted in widespread disaster which destroyed or altered much of Faerûn and may even be the cause of much of the non - uniformity of the Weave throughout the continent . Ever ' Sakkatien is somehow connected to the more recent Second Sundering , an event that takes place in the 1480s DR . History . Place of the Gathering . Hundreds of years before the ritual began , elves prepared the place for the casting of the magic . The place was surrounded by small villages , where the elves lived . The gathering place itself was at a special place in the heart of the continent Faerûn . They built there a tower of white granite which reflected the colors of the sky . It was higher than any tower built by elves before . A stair curved along the inner wall and on each step was a seat of stone with the name of the mage engraved , who would take place on it during the casting . When everything was ready and the time of the casting neared , the best high mages of the realms were sent there . Mages of all races , except the evil dark elves and the non - magical sea elves came to the tower . The Casting . Before sunrise , the mages took their seats and waited for the mage that functioned as the center of the ritual . It was a young wild elf , named Starleaf . Her place was in the middle of the tower and she began the magical song and the mages joined in . They unleashed the magic of the Weave and funneled it through their bodies and fueled it with their own life forces , ripping their very souls from their bodies . Result . Starleaf was the only one who survived the casting and she saw the others die . But she also felt the tremors of the earth as it was ripped apart to form an island in the Trackless Sea . The coast of Faerûn was destroyed by tremendous earthquakes and floods . Hundreds of elven settlements were destroyed , others changed forever . Another change was perhaps more dramatic as far as future generations are concerned . The city of Atorrnash was destroyed and with it much of the first Ilythiir empire . Many dark elves died , but most of them were worshipers of Vhaeraun and with that , Lolth became the dominant goddess for the survivors . The original goal was achieved . A place for the good elves of Faerûn was created and the island of Evermeet rose from the depths of the sea . When the casting was done , Starleaf awoke at Evermeet and met there the gods Corellon Larethian and Angharradh . Both revealed that the elves succeeded with their help . That also meant that the elves were not the only ones to be blamed for the destruction of Faerûn . Politics . Not all elves agreed with the ritual and its plan . With every passing year the tensions between the Ilythiir i of the south and the elves of the north grew . It was for that reason the northern elves chose to exclude the dark elves from the ritual and so this heightened the animosities between the races . The gold elves stood firm and wanted to create the promised land at all costs . In accordance with old prophecies the land should be named Evermeet , and it would be a safe haven for all children of Corellon Larethian . There was resistance from the side of scholars who studied the ancient texts . They warned against the casting because the ancient realm of Tintageer was also destroyed by a mighty high magical ritual . Their warnings were unheard and no one wanted to believe the old stories .