Collapse

The Collapse is the name given to a span of time in the Age of Legends, after the Bore was made. The drilling of the Bore was a scientific experiment headed by Mierin and Beidomon in an attempt to access a power that both men and women could use. The power turned out to be the True Power, the essence of the Dark One seeping through a thinness in the Pattern.
During this period there was a slow degeneration of society, attributed to the Dark One's ability to influence hearts and emotions. Brutal sports and treacherous politics became more and more common as the Collapse wore on, and the art of war was rediscovered through these often fatal confrontations. This slow corrupting influence lasted a little more than a hundred years; slowly persons of power and prestige converted to the Shadow, either publicly or in secret.
Once a sufficient segment of society had fallen under the Dark One's sway, the War of Power began in earnest with a concerted attempt to unleash him fully upon the world.
==Parallels==
The Collapse has parallels with the Christian concept of the Fall. In both cases humankind lived an existence of relative bliss and innocence. A woman (Lanfear in the Age of Legends and Eve in the Garden of Eden) partook of something that was forbidden and introduced evil into the world.
es:Colapso
Category:Second Age