Felling of the Primal Tree¶
The Felling of the Primal Tree, often referred to simply as the Felling, was an event in which the Primal Tree, the first known being in the realm of Drehmal and the creator of all the Aspects and of Drehmari, was destroyed. This event was an unprecedented catastrophe, leaving the land of the disc in total ruin and killing off the vast majority of its people.
The Felling is the event that marks the end of the First Avihm (Av1) and the beginning of the Second Avihm (Av2), and directly resulted in the creation of the Deities, who all inherited some amount of the Primal Tree's soul and memories.
Background¶
The world of the First Avihm (Av1) was different from the modern realm, with three approximately equal-sized continents on the disc. The world had been primarily created by the Primal Tree itself, with the help of the Aspects. The Tree likely stood near the center of the central continent of Primzahl.
Over the course of the First Avihm, two rival factions of Drehmari developed: the Maelruhn and Viruhn. Over time, tensions between these two groups escalated, culminating in a battle at the base of the Primal Tree.
Event¶
There are next to no details on the actual Felling of the Tree, although it is believed that the battle which tore it down was known as the Battle of Karesh.
This battle is mentioned by name only once in the entire map, on a pair of signs at the Kiln of Virtuo.
It is unclear if the destruction of the Tree was the goal of this battle, or if it was simply collateral damage. Regardless, the Tree is said to have fully collapsed, and with its roots spread out through most of the land, its uprooting physically destroyed most of the world. This marked the end of Av1.
Aftermath¶
As the Tree died, its soul split into the three Deities, birthing the three new most powerful beings in the realm. It is implied from The Parable of the Worm that Drehmal was initially a simple earthworm that took shelter from the Battle of Karesh in the Tree's roots, and was granted divinity by the Tree as a desperate last resort, becoming a miles-long serpent god. Maelihs and Virtuo were also born in the Felling opposite one another, although their origins are much less clear. Mael's birth is stated to have been agonizing and not one of his own volition, for which the Viruhn are blamed by one book. The existence of two names in these deities' +3 relics suggests that they may have been mortal Drehmari before being ascended in the Felling, although this is in no way confirmed.
Drehmal spent the next few decades re-building the world, through a combination of creating new terrain and repurposing that which survived. The modern organization of the disc into Drehmal and Xivrhynt is a direct result of Drehmal's efforts to rebuild after the Felling.
Very few survived the Felling, although it appears that there were pockets of survivors in many different regions, across all three continents.
The most prominent surviving society was likely that of the Ancient Drehua, who lived in the modern-day Palisades Heath region. As Drehmal re-formed the world in the first decades of Av2, the Drehua people became their most staunch devotees, frequently interacting with the Realmbinder and recording these interactions. As such, Drehua Temple is among the oldest inhabited structures in the map, and contains some of the earliest surviving Drehmari writings. The Drehua would go on to heavily influence the culture and society of many peoples in the central regions, including the Chosen Kingdom and eventually Avsohm.