Eriids

The **Eriids** (pronounced AIR-ee-ids) were a meteor shower associated with the goddess Eris.

It was believed that their true origin lay somewhere in Discordia and the meteors were sent on a cross-dimensional course by Eris.

On 7E:59, the Eriids began bombarding Dragonhollow's atmosphere with a rain of fiery ruin, making travel to the planet extremely difficult. That same day, the Hegemon Retro used the faster-than-light communications relay Discord to provide people with a navigational course that could get them safely into the Hammerlands.

The meteor storm caused widespread communication disruptions that greatly affected the exchange of information including the Forum, leading some to question whether or not Dragonhollow had been damaged or destroyed by the phenomenon. Though Tox used back channels to keep in touch with some older veterans who had no access to the Discord network, such as Sleekit and Sprankles, there was nevertheless a noticeable decrease in active population while the Eriids impacted the world.

The meteor shower lasted until the world was engulfed by the Nyx apocalypse on 7E:120, meaning that those cut off from Dragonhollow never knew it still existed those last few months.

Scholars disagreed on the implications behind the meteor shower. Some believed the Eriids were punishment from Eris for so quickly forgetting and forsaking her after her departure from Dragonhollow, others felt they were simply a harsh reminder that even out on the edge of the universe she was still watching the affairs of her mortal subjects, while the historian Tox felt a more likely explanation was that they were entirely coincidental and their devastating effects on the planet were the result of the fickle, arbitrary, and aloof nature of Eris rather than anything intentionally malevolent.

# Behind the Scenes

*The following is out-of-universe information about the real world Dragonhollow.*

The Eriids meteor shower is an in-universe lore explanation for the unexpected expiration of Dragonhollow's domain name at dragonhollowmc.com on August 31, 2017.

Though Retro had bought Acey's share of Dragonhollow in May of 2017 and become co-owner of the server with HyperSilence in May of 2017, Acey retained ownership of the domain name used both for the official forums and as a hostname IP for the server itself. Therefore, when the domain expired, many were unable to find the forums or join the server until Retro posted the direct IP and alternate hostname on the official DH Discord. However, those who were not members of the Discord had no easy way of learning that information and server activity declined, owing in no small part due to the fact the online server listings directed newcomers to the non-working domain name.

On October 8, 2017, following the expiration of the grace period, a third-party domain squatter sniped the domain before Retro was able to gain control of it. After considering alternate domain names and a complete server rebranding and following consultation with Tox, Retro decided to shut down Dragonhollow.

Some players who were left in the dark by both the forum and the server IP changing probably never realized that Dragonhollow was still online for those final two months.