But this Golden Age could not continue indefinitely. After perhaps twelve centuries of elven dominance in Telandron, only eight elven generations, the most catastrophic event since the Godswar occurred; the Rise Of Chaos.
Its cause has never truly been ascertained, and the elves, the only race with reliable records dating from these times, refuse to even discuss the period. Perhaps the elves delved too far in their thirst for knowledge, and unleashed something on the world. Perhaps a being dating before the other races decided to rise. Perhaps it was Nagharos’ revenge on the Celestial Court for the defeat in the Godswar.
But whatever its cause, what happened was brutally clear. Overnight there was civil war amongst the races of Telandron. Brother rose against brother, cousin against cousin, father against son, even families not being free of the curse. There did not seem to be a goal of the malevolence that was the result of the chaos, other than wholesale destruction. Elves, dwarves, humans, halflings, gnomes, centaurs and many other races were suddenly embroiled in war.
Eventually a massive army formed of not only elves and the other races, but also orcs, goblins, trolls and their ilk, for in their thirst for blood they no longer shunned these races as they had before. The horde poured across what is modern-day Kaylon, destroying and burning as they went. It soon became clear that they could not be stopped by mundane means, as the armies of good held for periods and then fell back to avoid annihilation. Fully half of the One Continent was in the hands of Chaos before in desperation the loyal races turned to the elven spellweavers, long reputed to have unearthed secrets surpassing any other race.
Attempts were made to dispel the magic that had twisted and warped members of their race, but without success. Whatever had done it had done the work and disappeared, leaving a permanent mark that could not be removed. Therefore other theories and ideas were attempted, but also with no result. Desperation ensued, as the great horde advanced laying waste to the One Continent. Atrocities unimaginable were commited simply in the name of blood-lust, which some unsupported reports say sickened even battalions of orcs, well-known for their savagery and appetite for torture.
Then the higher spellweavers conceived of an idea; instead of concentrating their power onto the army itself, which had so far failed, might it not be possible to focus on other areas? Their plan was to break up the army by breaking up the land itself, and perhaps then the smaller components of the horde could be destroyed.
The idea was at first rejected by the Elven Council. Breaking up the continent meant breaking up the Great Forests! Surely the solution could be found elsewhere. But the spellweavers were adamant that this was the only way to save the world, and continued to push for the motion. It took four weeks, by which time the army was battering at the gates of Ydan Elerin, or “The Crystal City”, the last great elven city, for permission to be granted.
While the remains of the once-great elven army prepared themselves for the last embrace of Nagharos, whose name they will not even speak lest they draw his attention, the spellweavers drew up their spell. It took many days for the greatest magi that ever lived, and more than a few died in the process. Perhaps all would have, but for the first time ever spellcasters from other races were permitted to share in the spellcasting, and this might have tipped the scales in their favour. Purely elven magic would have been detected by the renegade elven magi, and dispelled, but because it was tainted by human, dwarven, gnomish and halfling endeavours it remained invisible. It is said that only three spellcasters survived to complete the spell; two elven spellweavers and the most powerful human magus of the age, and that all of them were consumed by the magical currents running through their veins in the exact moment that the final incantation was spoken.
The earth underneath the mighty horde shuddered, shuddered again. The orcs and goblins leapt to their feet, superstitious creatures to the last. Renegade elven and evil human spellcasters spun around, detecting magic at play but not its source, and wondering how it had surpassed their wards they had placed around the army. With a huge roar, the earth split open all around them, and for the first time the great horde was heard to cry out in surprise and fear, finally finding an enemy they could not utterly destroy. There was a great rumbling as Ydan Elerin fell into the huge abyss that had been created, but not one of the creatures that made up the great evil horde noticed.
The grinding of the earth went on for several hours, and afterwards the sea crashed into the newly-made gaps, filling them with water, creating new seas and oceans in the blink of an eye. Nothing that had fallen into the abysses survived. On the land only tattered remnants of the largest army ever known on Telandron survived.
