Searing of Kaelthia
Date: 4 Spring Dawning 254 AC.
This is the name given to the event that destroyed the Academy/Temple island of Kaelthia in a beam of mutagenic, debilitating luminous aether.
Some facts are only known to select audiences; others are more widely known.
Public Facts
In the early morning of 4 Spring Dawning, the Grand Temple disintegrated in a beam of luminous aether that reached several thousand feet into the night sky and then disappeared into Shadow. This beam grew to encompass most of Academy Island and lasted for several days. The aether released by the event caused widespread sickness (consistent with extreme aether destabilization) across Kaelthia.
When the beam ended, it left behind a hole into the magma cavity of Mt. Refuge, releasing toxic vapors and boiling lava and ash. This destroyed most of the waterfront region of the city--only the elven quarter was significantly spared (and that through magical power).
The Prophet of Law Unveiled as well as all of the senior leadership of the church of Law of Truth vanished in this incident and are presumed dead.
It is known that two members of the Catalysts (Vassarian and Safrir), who happened to be nearby for unknown reasons, sacrificed themselves to prevent the unravelling of Shadow caused by this breach.
It is not publicly known why this event happened but theories abound.
Kaelthian Theories
The prevailing theory in Kaelthia as of 260 AC is that the Catalyst members caused it while intending to strike at the Prophet and then sacrificed themselves out of guilt.
A much-less-popular theory blames the Prophet, claiming he was creating some form of weapon that backfired and exploded.
Other Theories
Most other folks blame the Prophet, or believe that it was divine retribution for the sins of the Prophet and his church.
Actual Facts
The Searing occurred because the Ruin Raiders set demolition charges on prime support pillars that happened to be heavily invested with faith-caused unstable luminous aether. They didn't intend to cause that much of a mess--they intended to bring down the Grand Temple. So both they and the Prophet (but really Loran Hae) share the blame--the effects would have been mundane had the Prophet (at Loran Hae's bidding) not been playing dangerous games with faith-generated power.
Effects
This event was a primary cause of the Time of Troubles, releasing a fog of malignant aether that has not settled down, but has interfered with magical long-range travel, communications, and scrying.
This event also caused the breakup of the Holy Kaelthian Republic, as the prior government was almost entirely contained there on the island (and thus killed in the blast).
