The First Cataclysm

The Seeds of Discord

As the First Age progressed, the gods began to develop their own distinct personalities and desires. What had once been a harmonious collaboration became increasingly fractured as each deity pursued their own vision for Aethoria's future.

Drakthar, the God of War, grew restless with the peaceful nature of the world. He believed that true strength could only be forged through conflict and challenge. Meanwhile, Cernun, the God of Nature, became concerned that the rapid expansion of mortal civilizations was threatening the natural balance of the world.

The elemental gods—Aqua, Ignis, Terra, and Aeris—found themselves caught between these opposing forces, their own domains becoming battlegrounds for divine ideologies.

The Divine Schism

The breaking point came when Drakthar proposed a great contest—a war that would test the strength and resolve of all beings in Aethoria. He argued that only through such a trial could the world's true potential be realized.

Lumina, the Goddess of Light and Wisdom, opposed this idea vehemently. She believed that knowledge and understanding were the true paths to greatness, not conflict. Umbra, the God of Shadows, saw an opportunity in the chaos and secretly supported Drakthar's proposal, hoping to gain power from the resulting disorder.

The Cataclysm Unfolds

The divine conflict raged for what seemed like an eternity. The gods' power was so immense that their battle began to tear apart the very fabric of Aethoria itself. Mountains were leveled, oceans boiled, and the sky itself was rent asunder.

The mortal races, caught in the crossfire, suffered unimaginable losses. Entire civilizations were wiped out in moments, their great cities reduced to rubble and their knowledge lost to the ages. The world that had been a paradise became a wasteland of destruction and despair.

The elemental gods, unable to maintain the natural balance, withdrew their influence from the world. This caused catastrophic environmental changes—deserts where forests once stood, frozen wastes where warm seas had been, and regions where the very laws of nature seemed to break down entirely.

The Primordial One's Intervention

As the destruction reached its peak, the Primordial One, who had been observing from beyond the veil of reality, finally intervened. The entity's power was so vast that it could not be resisted, and the warring gods were forced to cease their conflict.

The Primordial One's judgment was swift and final. The gods were banished from the mortal realm, forbidden to walk openly among their creations. They would still influence the world, but only through subtle means—dreams, omens, and the occasional miracle.

The world itself was reshaped by the Primordial One's power. What had been destroyed was not restored, but rather transformed into something new—a world scarred by the past but with the potential for a different kind of greatness.

The Aftermath

The First Cataclysm left Aethoria forever changed. The once-unified world was now divided into distinct regions, each bearing the scars of the divine conflict in different ways.

The Second Age Begins

With the gods banished and the world reshaped, a new age began—the Second Age of Aethoria. This would be an age of rebuilding and rediscovery, when mortals would have to rely on their own strength and wisdom to survive and thrive.

The survivors of the First Cataclysm, scattered and diminished, began the long process of rebuilding their civilizations. They carried with them the memories of the golden age that had been lost, but also the knowledge that they were now masters of their own destiny.