A surge of magical energy across Astrodia that corrupted and nearly destroyed everything in its path, about 150 years ago (see Timeline Note).
(Revealed in Session 12: it was caused by mortals opening a portal to another world. See below.)
Session 6 — The Map of Magic
Simone’s enchanted magic-map (see Types of Magic) revealed that the newly discovered fourth magic (green sand) traces the exact path of the cataclysm: from the northwest of the Endymion Empire, southeast through the Purodetapo Forest, down to the Prana Mountains. This fourth magic now secretly powers every major civilization in Astrodia — yet no one in power is talking about it. Why the cataclysm’s path and this unknown magic coincide, and why the magic also appears in hotspots off that path, remain open mysteries.
Session 7 — The Magistus
The party recalled that the Cataclysm was stopped by the Magistus — a group of spellcasters (three by some accounts, four by others, with only three returning). Only one is known to still live: Emperor Endymion of the Endymion Empire. That the green fourth magic runs along the very line the Magistus supposedly stopped — and now powers the Empire and the anomalous town of Pentamarone (founded by another Magistus) — has made The Fallen deeply suspicious of the official history. (Revealed in Session 12: the Magistus sealed the rift the Cataclysm came through — see below.)
Session 12 — It Was a Door (September 23, 2026)
In a private audience, Madame Verre told Leif something she asked him not to share. He shared it with The Fallen behind a closed door, and it is kept within the party at Verre’s request. Verre warned it could “really impact some people” if it got out.
The Great Cataclysm was caused by a group of people opening a portal to another world.
- The rift let magic that isn’t of this world into Astrodia: The Fourth Magic, which runs along the Cataclysm’s path because it leaked in through the rift. To Verre’s knowledge it is still present across Astrodia.
- Other things came through with it. Leif’s patron, Sorath, is probably one of them.
- Who opened the portal is lost to time.
At the fireworks festival Leif asked the follow-ups:
- Origin: the northern mountain range of what is now the Endymion Empire, from where it traveled southeast across Astrodia, matching the green line on Simone’s map.
- Was the rift sealed? “Oh, yes, the Magistus did what they had to do to seal the rift.” She pursed her lips: “Ooh. I don’t think I was supposed to say that.”
At the Temple of Venus, Drolta asked her patron Nephthys about a portal to another world and beings coming through it. After a silence:
“I cannot speak of this freely.”
”…But continue on your path.”
Party speculation (unconfirmed): that Dogmatika’s new god and saints, which the temple priest guessed were founded about a century or a bit more ago, might also have come through the rift.
Still unknown: who opened the portal, exactly where, and whether the seal holds.
Timeline Note
The Cataclysm was about 150 years ago, and the Severance about a millennium ago (Tommy, at the table in Session 12). Earlier lore posts and notes said “almost 100 years”; the ~150 figure supersedes them.
Related
- The Fourth Magic — the otherworldly magic that leaked through the rift
- Magistus — stopped the Cataclysm and sealed the rift
- Sorath — probably came through it
- Endymion Empire — where it began
- Severance — the much older turning point
- Session 12 Recap — Something from Nothing