Karmic Collapse of 1744

The Karmic Collapse of 1744 is a series of events that occurred primarily in Lac Glacei and among the ruins of Ashinthael. It refers to the collapse of magical power and mythical flora and fauna across both countries, leading to the complete extirpation of magic within the Grand Duchy and the utter collapse of Ashinthael.

Background

Prior to the collapse, the northeastern quarter of Apollonia had a long history of magic and magic users dating back hundreds of years to the first age of Menelmacar. This tradition was carried on and embellished during the height of Gralus' power, whose trained wizards and magic users were renowned across the globe. Scholars attribute this to a series of strong key lines transecting this area of Apollonia; but the reality is that the fickle nature of magic has made studying these phenomena scientifically very difficult. Others attribute the strong presence of magic to the early Infernal invasion that preceded the rise of Menelmacar and widespread magic use. Whatever the case may be, magic became a dominant force in the northeast for many long years.

The presence of magic remained strong until the arrival of Buntings in the mid-1730s in Ashinthael. These errant creations of magic soon inundated the landscape and brought about the rapid collapse of the Ashinthaler dynasty. While Lac Glacei and others were able to eventually bring this population under control and eradicate the invasive species, the event appeared to trigger a series of magical collapse that became widespread across Lac Glacei. Students at the famed St. Nova Academy of Magic soon began to experience a diminishing and eventual loss of powers. Spells, incantations and magical brews lost their potency. And the famed dragons of Ashinthael began to disappear from the land.

Progression of this loss was incremental. It was not akin to the flipping of a switch. Reports from the Green in Ashinthael were the first to reach Monte Glacei. Sorcerers were losing their vision, a blackness overcoming their third eye. And so they fled north into Lac Glacei, seeking the wisdom of seers at St. Nova. But the darkness followed like a blight, spreading across the land, its tendrils reaching from the greatest city to the smallest village. Within a few years magic had collapsed across all of the Grand Duchy.