The Rivening

The Dancers meet
The land shall die
Hallowed stonehalls fall to dust and ruin

part of Vomagh's Prophecy
from the Dwarven legends surrounding the lost land of Mezhgond.

...at a time when the K'Kezri knew the light of only a single Dancer would be all that illumined the lighted lands, they shook the lands and caused them to shatter. The Rivening lay waste to Taus Gaia, but the K'Kezri had freed themselves to spread their evil on the lands.

from the Vierkeiatra, the books of the Viekeill Quincunx

Gehenn, the Lord of Chaos and Khabel, the Lord of Evil conspired to throw off the shackles that bound them to Eyliss, the Lord of Law and Tyaner, the Lord of Good. Gehenn beckoned the Dancers to come ever closer and when Eyliss and Tyaner were entranced by their beauty, Gehenn and Khabel struck at them.

from the oral traditions of Etrach Oneshen, the Four who are One
...and Eutron heaved His bulk out of the confining waters of His Cradle and threw his sinuous body to the ground. It crushed the land and forged a great waterway as He crawled from His Cradle to the sea.

from the Birth Legend of Eutron, the Water Serpent God
B'khar, the Great Stone Giant saved his people from the attacks of the lowland tiny ones by throwing up a great wall to protect them...

graven on an ancient stone tablet found in the Ourokhell Mountains 
 

Over 1,800 years ago, the Dancers of the Night grew ever larger in the sky, slow Liycc was the largest ever seen in recent memory. Liycc drew Nawm and Thremm together. They gathered at one place in the sky.  A deep rumbling shudder began in the land and rose to a tumultuous crescendo as vast veils and curtains of Earthbone thrust forth from beneath the surface of the land. The Rivening then laid waste to the lands of Taus Gaia.

The events of the Rivening seem certain. The causes of the Rivening are many. They have worked their way into the myths and legends of virtually every culture in the land. In some, it was the punishment exacted by the gods for waging war. In others, a god acted simply to make a home for itself. It was an act of evil or chaotic gods, one act of many in their ages-long struggle against those of law and good. It was a just god protecting its people.

Whatever the cause, the result was annihilation. The cultures and peoples of that previous age, be they lofty and refined or base and cruel, were cast into ruin. Virtually all their works were lost as lands sank beneath the waves, were buried under ash and fire, or were thrown into the sky.  The remnants of pre-Rivening cultures are sometimes found by those brave souls who venture beneath the surface of the lands by accident or by intent, and seek the buried citadels, the ruins of cities, and the ancient treasures they bear.