The End of the Anthosian Era
The end began as a seemingly average and ordinary day in the realm of Anthos, but it was not to last. It was merely the calm that proceeds every storm.
First, the rain came.
It fell, and it never stopped falling. A force of nature known for its beneficial effects on the land, from the growth of crops to the drenching of tainted lands, quickly became a devasting and relentless might. The lands themselves shook greatly, and cracks tore through the ground while structures that had withstood decades of beating fell swiftly and quietly. The world was in discord.
In the middle of all this chaos, the menace that is the Scourge descended from the North towards the entrance to one of the last few refuges of the descendant races; The Fringe. Its armies sought out to bring forth their mysterious Thanhic Ore, a mineral native to the North that sucks away the heat from all it touches. With this ore in its possession, the Scourge could corrupt the Fringe as it did Anthos with the creation of new bloodshards. Needless to say, the mortals were prepared to prevent this at all costs.
In the land that was once the Cloud Temple Sanctuary of the Wilven Monks, a grand battle was fought between the many races of Anthos and the mighty Scourge. Brute force clashed with powerful magic, and the battleground quickly became scarred and unrecognizable. However, though the Scourge were great in number, they lacked the resilience and drive of the descendant races, and soon enough the mortals were on the verge of triumph. However, no one was prepared for what was to follow.
For reasons unknown, the world trembled as a great, massive wave of water arose from the mainland; an impossible occurrence that occurred nonetheless. Whether it was a natural disaster of great magnitude, a ploy enacted by the Scourge itself, or perhaps the vengeance of an angry deity, few stuck around to find out. Within minutes, the mountains themselves were flooding and breaking apart as the world was devastated. The mortals that survived were forced back until they stood before the Door of Eternity, the link between Anthos and the Fringe, with a decision to make.
With heavy hearts, the last survivors of Anthos cut ties to the broken land that had served as their home for half a century, and they closed the Door of Eternity forever.
