Estreoth/Wasting

The Wasting was a catastrophic phenomenon involving the drought that occurred in Eidolus of 1628 in the Vehra Grassland. Initially believed to be a drought, the Wasting transformed a once fertile, lush grassland into a scarred and alien wasteland.

Early Signs

Studies by Eriditus Parsons show evidence of lowering precipitation levels for up to some ten years before the Wasting. These of course were minor at first; with no mention of any change in precipitation until about 1626, even then, the difference was low. Global sea levels were also noted as lowering slightly over the course of a decade. Also worth mentioning, several small tremors were reported throughout the years leading up to the Wasting. These were dismissed repeatedly.

The Famine

In Eidolus of 1628, the first wave of the Wasting began. Many of the trees used as wind brakes between farm fields began to die during the winter. To the surprise of many, the death of these plants was not caused by a lack of water, not the cold. However few paid the event any mind until the spring months, when the melt water from the Antelus Ridge would seasonally flood certain areas of the Vehra.

The seasonal melts came and went. However, despite the large amount of water the ground had absorbed, the grass of the Vehra remained brown and dead. The ground began to crack from the lack of water. Farmers and politicians began to worry, however Morith still had large stores of food, enough to hold the entire population of the city for a year. So, by the time the summer months had come and still nothing had grown, the population began to use said stores. Unfortunantly, by this point, the hundreds of small villages that dotted the Vehra had already used up their stores of food.

What followed was nothing short of a panic. When their request for aid was rejected, the population of the Vehran villages began to travel to the city of Morith itself. This created a massive problem as Morith simply didn't have the reserves to feed such a large population. The food stocks soon ran out, creating the largest famine in the history of Estreoth. While some half a million starving citizens began migrating westward, hundreds of thousands citizens began starving in Morith. In response, Anktolia, Rune, Hetrea, and the Kingdom of Adal quickly began sending aid to the starving citizens of Morith, but despite the aid hundreds of thousands died.

Death of the Vehra

By this point, the Vehra was already a dry, life less region. However, it would soon transform into an alien landscape. The now loose soil began to blow away, some of it over to the Jenam Valley, some to the north into the ocean; the rest remained as dust in the region. Earthquakes, large ones, began to tear through the Vehra. Everywhere bedrock cracked into pieces, creating deep ravines. In some places, large chunks were forced downwards, or upwards, creating large plateaus or sunken regions. After a decade of these mysterious occurrences, the Vehra no longer resembles the former lush grassland. It resembles nothing that anyone in Estreoth has seen before.

Aftermath

The Wasting was the killing blow for the Kingdom of Morith. While the kingdom was already slowly crumbling from the inside, as evident by their utter defeat in the Antelus Ridge Conflict, the sudden loss of all of their farmland sent the country into a quick, downward spiral. With the thousand year old nation gone, the balance of power quickly shifted to the western and southern nations of Estreoth. With the ancient kingdom now effectively gone, the new Republic of Rune became the largest producer of farm goods in the region.

Political Changes

• Most importantly, having lost their faith in the Royal Family of Morith, the people force King Bismark to abdicate his throne to a council. The council however, does nothing to help the situation. With the abdication of the Regent Bismark, the Kingdom of Morith officially ends.
• The city of Rune, having taken in some half a million refugees, declares itself, all surrounding villages, and the entire region of the Jenam Valley to be part of the Republic of Rune.
• The Vehran City-States forms from the remaining coastal cities on the Vehra. The act primarily to as a trade and defense union.
• Some half a million refugees leave thee Kingdom of Morith for the still fertile eastern regions.

Geological Changes

• The Vehra Grassland turns into an nearly inhospitable wasteland. Nearly all native life in the region dies. Strange, new creatures began to emerge into the region over the next decade.