Devastation

The Devastation was an apocalyptic event 1000 years ago among the Younger Gods and also among the Men.

The Dark Warlocks of Ys used magic to defeat the Lord Sorcers of Atlantis but went out of control.

Continents burned, oceans boiled, and both nations sank beneath the waves while most of the rest of humanity perished. The scattered survivors had taken centuries to rebuild human civilization, even with the help of the subterranean Dwarves. Other races were hit even harder. Queen Iaenni used most of her powers to save her Faeries. The legendary Elves were hunted down and few of the magick-using Faeries had been seen.

Even the Younger Gods had not escaped unscathed. Khull-Khuum gathered power from the death of the gods's followers and created orbs. He betrayed his siblings. Some fought, or tried to escape, but they weren’t strong enough, and the Shadow King trapped their essences in mystic orbs. Thera did not waste her energy trying to flee or battle him but worked her own magick to change his spell. So when they were trapped, the orbs that held them flew from Khull-Khuum’s grip, and escaped into the heavens.

Since then, magick which had been the main force behind human civilization, had been rightly feared. Among the humans and Dwarves of Stonekeep, only a few elder Magickians retained any knowledge of the old ways. Their rune magicks were a closely guarded secret, passed to trusted disciples, to be used only for the safety of the Keep itself.