The Cataclysm

"*I watched Emperor Seda Mazrin walk into Therenon's central square. His head pitched back, and what erupted from his chest was a Living Blight." - Yukiri Konine, Vesperi Spymaster, Leader of the Matakai, Oathsworn to Flux, the Beguiler Crown*

The Cataclysm was an event that happened roughly 1,000 years ago that marked the end of The Age of Legends. The exact cause of the Cataclysm is unknown, but it occurred at the peak of the Kandorian Empire's expansion, and caused its fall. Many place the blame for The Cataclysm on the Dragonborn. The Cataclysm, and the subsequent fall of the Kandorian Empire caused a brief Dark Age. Between political and military upheavals, historians do not have extensive or comprehensive records of the period following the Cataclysm. This Dark Age was brought to an end with the formation of new nations growing from the ashes of the Kandorian Empire.

## Causes of the Cataclysm

### **The Living Blight**

When Emperor Seda Mazrin conquered Vesper, he entered Therenon, the Capital City, with his armies. From his body erupted what many have referred to as The Living Blight. The Living Blight decimated the city of Therenon, and used the Gateways to reach other parts of the world, devastating them, too.

### **The Conjunction of the Planes**

Theorized as a side-effect of the Living Blight, many creatures and individuals native to Elemental and Outer Planes found themselves stranded on the Material Plane.

### **The Barrier**

The Barrier was erected as a response to The Living Blight by the four remaining Oathsworn of Vesper: Kaldani, Yukiri, Lucas, and Tazlesar. They sought to bind the Blight to prevent further destruction, but in doing so, cut off the Material Plane from the other Planes of Existence.

### **The Culling of the Dragonborn**

Blame for the Cataclysm was placed by some on the Dragonborn, which led many fractured remnants of civilization to hunt them down. Fearing extinction, the Dragonborn banded together under the Silver Dragonborn Tazlesar, who promised to lead them to a new home.

## Effects of the Cataclysm

The effects of the Cataclysm were far-reaching. The potent magical power that diffused The Age of Legends waned to a whisper of what it once was.

### **Magical Limitations**

Many magical abilities that were possible in The Age of Legends have become impossible in the modern day.

#### Long-Distance Teleportation

Many scholars believe that Long-Distance Teleportation was achieved in The Age of Legends by using other planes of existence as an intermediary step between source and destination.

#### Interplanar Travel and Communication

Lore from The Age of Legends reference powerful spellcasters traveling to other planes of existence. Such a feat has been unattainable since, but there are rumors of locations exist in an overlap between two planes, such as a Fey Crossing.

#### Direct Communication with the Divine

Devout followers of the gods no longer hear the direct word of the gods they worship. Communication is limited to imbuing the devout with divine power, and communicating in abstract ideas (weal, woe).

#### Elemental Summoning

Spellcasters are no longer able to summon creatures from other planes of existence. Some clerics and priests are able to summon manifestations of divine energy, but they are not truly creatures from other planes.

### Divine Resurrection

Some highly powerful Divine spellcasters are able to re-bind a soul just after the body has died, but should too much time pass, the soul is unrecoverable. Some believe that this is because a creature's soul passes to the plane of their chosen deity, and resurrection is impossible for much the same reason as Elemental Summoning is impossible. Others believe that souls are no longer able to travel to another plane, and are destroyed. Based on this belief, some peoples perform a ritual after someone dies in order to bind their plane to the Material Plane, preventing them from being destroyed.

### **Disappearance of the Dragonborn**

Under Tazlesar, the Dragonborn who survived the Cull disappeared from other societies. Many posit the existence of a Dragonborn homeland that is hidden away from those that would bring harm to the Dragonborn again.

### **Fall of the Kandorian Empire**

The Cataclysm occurred at the peak of the Kandorian Empire. It wiped out a vast majority of the Kandorian military, leaving the empire vulnerable. The Kandorian Dynasty ended when Emperor Seda Mazrin died in the Cataclysm.

### **Creation of The Shattered Lands**

Where the nation of Vesper stood, where the Living Blight's destruction was most thorough, became a land unnavigable by mundane means of wayfinding. Some believe the taint of the Living Blight is still strong here.