Catastrophe

The Catastrophe (30 Midfall 2343 VR) was a major, world-ending event that marked the end of the Age of Magic in Avo. It was the culmination of centuries of meddling in powerful arcane arts by the various sorcerers and wizards of Avo, including the development of what were known as "ultra-powerful spells." This meddling resulted in the Wizarding Wars between east Kalempha (Iro), Valwyr, and Dorian. It is generally agreed upon that the Three Wishes event in the Rhysewald in eastern Iro, followed by Felixa's Prism hole was the one that began the Catastrophe, though several related events between 2340 and 2343 VR added to the tension.

With the Three Wishes, three powerful wizards whose names were erased from memory as part of the Catastrophe aftermath were dueling with ultra-powerful spells in Midsummer of 2343 VR and, each in a moment of desperation, cast greater wish to fundamentally warp the fabric of the cosmos. In doing so, they changed the laws of reality so much that the gods were forced to send their avatars into the Material Plane to fix the mess, realtering basic physics and putting a cap on the levels of magic mortals were allowed to possess through the Weave.

Then, three months later, on 30 Midfall, 2343 VR, the sorceress Felixa, who was likely related to or lovers with one of the now-deceased wizards, in a moment of vengeance, sacrificed much of her power to cast a spell which bored a hole through the Prism, the divine gate separating the Inner Planes from the Outer Planes. When the hole was made, several evil-aligned Divine Essences poured into the Material Plane, causing havoc in the worlds there and decimating the populations of numerous worlds. The gods were forced to retaliate, sending a divine essence arm presenting as a goddess of magic (known in Avo as Sarephaian) into the Material Plane, subjecting herself to Entropy, to repair the hole and punish the overstepping wizards and sorcerers of Avo by exploding their heads (an event morbidly known as the Hot Air Ego Burst). Felixa, for reasons unknown, was spared, and Sarephaian let her pass into the Outer Planes, or she escaped on her own--no one is certain.

After the Prism was repaired, Sarephaian was tasked with finding the escaped evil essences and destroying them, which took around five years. These years are known as the Godswalk, as Sarephaian and the evil essences routinely wandered on the various worlds of the Material Plane.