The Great Disaster
The event some fourteen hundred years ago that caused the near destruction of world was wrought by powerful people. The world barely survived this breaking and the event has now become known as the Great Disaster.
It was caused by a power-mad civilisations, where magic and arcane power was used to build Kingdoms and Empires which were continually and violently opposed to each other. The world paid the price when magical research by those power-hungry individuals, organisations and even nations caused the unleashing of magical forces that should never have been used. Unable to properly control their power, the mightiest of mages brought destruction, almost to the ending of the world. During this time some of these mighty folk even challenged the power of the gods themselves.
It is said that the world has changed since those times; that the power known as 'magic' is greatly depleted. There are still some who can call upon its power, but the scars of the Disaster run deep among the free people of the world. For most folk the fear of magic lingers, and there remains a hatred of those who wield it. This had driven the users of magical power out of view. To be a wizard in modern Arthea is like being a member of a secret society. The peasantry still take a very simple view: wizards almost destroyed the world once and they must never be allowed to do so again. Modern wizards, however, are at a disadvantage compared to their predecessors. They must work harder than their pre-disaster counterparts if magic is less powerful, and the world itself could be unwilling to trust people with that power again.
In the long centuries since the Disaster, the attitudes of ordinary people have become more hardened against both magic and its wielders. Fear and hatred of wizards has become an ingrained part of the peasant culture. Other events since have also helped to galvanise the opinions of the majority of the population wars have been fought, some quite recently, in which magic was used. Mostly this has caused more fear that things will, once again, spiral out of control. Society has a long road ahead of it before wizardry can become fully integrated and play a wide role.
This view of the inherent 'evil' of magic is not wholly shared by the classes above the peasantry. In some towns and cities magical equipment is available, a busy trade takes place in items of ‘quality’ (as they are termed, at least when the serfs are present). The ruling classes are much more open to both the use of magic and the acceptance of those who wield it. Magic still has its place in human society, at least; and it is the world of humans that is dominant among the surface-dwellers in Arthea.
The effects of the disaster may well have been far worse. Had it not been for the efforts of one small group of wizards, the world may well have been destroyed. Even as the world was torn from beneath them, they worked to hold the land together. These few powerful wizards had seen the coming of the Disaster for months before it happened; they banded together to form a group to co-ordinate their powers and maybe salvage something of their world. The group became known as "The Pale Flame", and they still survive as an organisation to present day. They are one of the oldest organisations in the world, a feat that they are proud of.
Their founding fathers formed the group for the protection of the world; to preserve life and the lands. While their aims have not really changed, the scale of their operation these days is much less. After the disaster, many of their members worked to rebuild society, and repair the harm caused by their colleagues from other branches of the magical world. As time went on, however, they found the increasing hatred of wizards and their magic meant that they faced increasing persecution. The organisation slipped from the limelight; the peasants owed so much to the group without knowing it, yet they blamed all wizards for the hardships the world had suffered. Many believed the organisation had died, and the sect were keen to promote these rumours, and buried traces of their existence. While the peasantry are blissfully unaware of their existence, modern day wizards know of them; they are still a big influence in magical circles.
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CategoryHistory