-5293 AR

Age of Darkness
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In -5293 AR, the cataclysm of Earthfall causes widespread destruction on Golarion and the fall of multiple empires. This event ends the Age of Legend and begins the Age of Darkness.

-5293 AR in deities

• Zon-Kuthon returns to Golarion from his exile to the Netherworld, emerging somewhere near modern-day Ridwan in Nidal.
• The dragon god Dahak enters Golarion through a gap in the aiudara network and begins a rampage in the Mwangi Expanse. In response, the Ekujae elves confine Dahak within the Huntergate, leaving his manifestation trapped between planes.

-5293 AR in environment

Thassilonians flee Earthfall just prior to impact.

The shattered remains of the continent of Azlant, destroyed by Earthfall in this year.

• A giant meteorite, now referred to as the Aeon Star, is called down from the heavens by alghollthus to strike Golarion in an event now known as Earthfall.
  • The deity Acavna pulls Golarion's moon into the Aeon Star's path and shatters it. However, a shard of it pierces and kills Acavna, bearing her divine blood to the planet's surface. This shard later becomes known as the Starstone. Her corpse plunges to the planet's surface and destroys the elven base at what is now the Mordant Spire.
  • The fragments of the Aeon Star destroy the continent of Azlant, leaving only a string of ruined islands in the middle of the Arcadian Ocean. The event becomes known as Earthfall, reshapes the surface of Golarion, creates the Inner Sea, and plunges the world into the Age of Darkness.
  • On the continent of Tian Xia, the impact of the fragmented Aeon Stone unleashes terrible tsunamis which reshape its coastline. The Chenlun Mountains, located at the antipode of Azlant, erupt with countless volcanoes that blot out the sun for years. The reptilian Valashai empire is devastated.
  • Shards of the Aeon Star strike Arcadia.
  • The impact of the fragmented Aeon Stone destroys the land bridge between the continents of Avistan and Garund. Water from the Arcadian Ocean begins to flow east and forms the Inner Sea.
  • The land west of what is now known as the Rasp falls into the Arcadian Ocean. The new coastline later becomes known as the Lost Coast.

Migrations in -5293 AR

• The majority of the elves of Golarion, having been forewarned of Earthfall by their diviners, flee the cataclysm to the planet Castrovel and their ancestral nation of Sovyrian using the Sovyrian Stone. Some refuse to leave Golarion and descend into the Darklands, or flee to the far north and south instead. Elves who settled the Fangwood flee to the First World but find that most of the paths back have closed.
• Earthquakes and cave-ins plague the dwarven Darklands nation of Felgunn as a result of Earthfall. Its leaders begin debates on whether to interpret this as a sign from Torag to begin the Quest for Sky.
• Survivors of Earthfall from Taumata become seafaring nomads.

-5293 AR in politics

• The great empires of Azlant and Thassilon are destroyed by Earthfall. The runelord rulers of Thassilon escape the destruction, but much of southwestern Thassilon sinks into the sea, including the former capital city of Xin.
  • Sorshen escapes Earthfall by retreating into the Eye of Desire, her personal demiplane.
• The tribal leaders of what is now Nidal successfully petition the newly returned Zon-Kuthon for protection from the devastations of Earthfall. The leaders are transformed into the immortal Black Triune and the nation is forever bound to the Midnight Lord.

Births in -5293 AR

• Taargick, future king of the dwarves, is born in the dwarven Darklands kingdom of Felgunn.

Deaths in -5293 AR

• Acavna, the Azlanti goddess of the moon and battle, dies while trying to save Golarion from total destruction from Earthfall.

Miscellaneous

• This year is -2793 IC in the Imperial Calendar of Tian Xia.
• This year is generally considered by historians to be the opening year of the first historical age of the Inner Sea region, the Age of Darkness. Before it were the uncounted years of the Age of Legend. In Tian Xia, this year marks the beginning of the Age of Ashes, which lasts nearly 2,800 years.
• Many Kellids in what will later be known as Numeria perish during Earthfall, but enough survive in caves to rebuild their tribes in the following years.