The Great Collapse

The Great Collapse was the short period of time that followed The Incident that occurred in Northern Luxterra that affected all parts of the world.

The End of the Great Northern War and the Incident

As the Great Northern War seemed to finally be coming to an end with a Zanic victory in sight, the remaining mages and leaders of the Northern Empire were trying to find anything they could use against the invading Zanic Armies now at their shores. Will the fall of two of their capitals and the Zani surrounding their final capital, Petramonis, the last remaining Archmage of the Northern Empire, Theolosius the Mad, retreated to his secret chambers deep below the castle. There, he met with his subordinates and attendants to offer a final solution. Having read tomes dating back to before the Age of Wonder, he learned of Four Gods that were sealed away back into their Divine Wells. Gods powerful enough to grant him the strength to defeat the Zani.

Influenced by the subtle whispers of Melodias, Theolosius and his attendants sacrificed themselves to use their mana to open the Divine Well located below the capital, releasing her from captivity causing an explosion that destroyed the entire Northern Island as well as vaporizing all living things on the nearby Southern Island.

Effects

The explosion itself as well as the release of Melodias had huge ramifications for Omniluxia. Its effects were felt until around the 700s LC.

The continent of Greater Luxterra split into Morrigon and Luxterra, with the continents continuing to move slowly until roughly 698 LC.

The climate changed drastically for the next couple of years, causing harvest failures, colder temperatures, and overall disrupting plant growth across the planet. Most importantly, the Yaga Trees of the Eldritch Forests were greatly affected, and as their mana output weakened the forests became less hostile to non-elves, allowing widespread raids of the World's Lung's, Western World's Lungs and the Southern World's Lungs Forests. While their mana output recovered following the war, they never fully returned to their Pre-Incident levels.

The explosion also caused various tsunamis, hurricanes, typhoons, and other storms that hit the coasts of Luxterra and Eptelon. Most notably, the storms reach both the Ular-Pria Empire of Austropetolia and the Sea Elves of the Central Omniluxian Isles, destroying both civilizations almost completely.

Melodias' release also allowed her to use her power to influence Omniluxia to a much greater extent. The Goblins, now reinvigorated by Melodias' power, invaded much of both Luxterra and Morrigon, causing chaos across both continents for around 17 years. The Drow were also reawakened, coming out of their caverns and invading or raiding parts of North Luxterra.

Religions and cults such as Helluvianism were bolstered by the event, as many assumed it was the end of days. Wars such as the High Elven Civil War ended as both sides called an unofficial truce to deal with the fallout. Finally, the Northern Empire completely collapsed, with the few survivors fleeing to Polaria, forgetting the accomplishments of their once-great civilization within a few generations.