A Brief Timeline of Very Recent Events For All
Written by Earth's Grand Magical Scholar Dimmitrius Alfonse, magically published in partnership with Haste Publications, The World Media Guild, and Silverymoon's Department of Extraplanar Affairs
Note to readers: some content may be delicate for young readers. Should concepts of underage knowledge exist from whence or where you came, it is prudent to restrict access to the articles that follow.
Nearly One Year Ago -- The Convergence
Inexplicably, and to the dismay of contrarians of my popular works on "other worlds" [see, We Are Not Alone -- Alfonse, Kennedy, Calypso]", the worlds of our existence (and yours) violently collided into a singularity we now so fondly call The World, for lack of a more widely agreeable name1.
Above all, one thing is clear: the worlds that converged, The Origins, were quite different in form and culture, and this new resulting World is thus unique even moreso. If we've learned anything of Nature, it is that we should make no assumptions.
What we do know about this new World is little, save what we can plainly see and what research has been done in the 343 days since (as of this writing). What follows is a brief account.
The worlds that converged to create the World appear to have been planetary, like my home Earth (alliances with scholars from other worlds have confirmed this theory thus far). They seem to abide by physics and natural laws, as well as magic, although the latter was a relatively new discovery on Earth. Some areas appear to be more naturally magical than others, possibly in accordance to their origin.
Despite the commonality of its origins in physics and form, The World breaks some existing conventions. First of all it's not a planet, or at least not in the traditional sense2. One who looks at the sky at night will not find the familiar infinite galactic ocean, but instead upwardly curving, endless miles of disrupted land, sea, and strange luminous masses which we do not yet have words for. At first glance, we appear to be on the inside of an impossibly vast ball, at least as large as Jupiter, likely larger, the walls of which are countless worlds mashed together. Looking straight up one finds the usual atmosphere, but on a clear night it's possible to see the faint outlines of places far beyond.
There is no centralized Sun4, rather light seems to stream in in two forms: from planet-sized tears in the sides of the World, the largest of which, Tearicus Maximus, appears to be nearly directly overhead from New Earth. Environmentalists expect that the lack of a central star will mean an eventual death to all plant life, but initial studies have not found that to be the case3.
Physics on the ground appear more or less the same--in fact if one weren't to look up, they'd assume everything was normal. Though this is clearly not the whole story as gravity appears to be pulling everything outward at the same strength, as though a giant inverted planet (re: ball analogy).
Many lives were lost in the convergence. Entire cities were upended. By all accounts, the full continents of Australia and Antartica are missing entirely, and that's only to speak of what was Earth. Nations, borders, and global economy of my home planet and others have destabilized or cease to exist. In the 343 days since, rogue nations and alliances have formed here and there, but they are as fickle as the ground on which we walk, which also seems to regularly shift, though significantly less frequently now than in the first two months following the Convergence. More on this in the latter parts of the timeline.
The First Month
The event itself was apocalpytic. Countless lives were lost, countless more injured. Those who lived through it are not the same. Different races have different accounts of what the event itself looked like but all are in agreement that it was the end of (their) world.
The terraforming and severe weather and total darkness continued for nearly a month straight. Many fled underground or created shelters. Some weren't safe there either.
In the first days as creatures of worlds began to encounter other races, there was added chaos and confusion. Lawlessness prevailed.
The Second Month
Terraforming continued but at a significantly reduced pace. Ash and flame still reigned in the sky and there was still no concept of day or night. There are records in particular regions of horrifying events occurring on the fault lines between worlds, e.g. for nearly a week straight lava shot thousands of miles into the sky on a fault line between France and Waterdeep (opens in a new tab). By all accounts, both were completely destroyed5. By the account of an elvish song, a plague spread that turned organic life into a foul smoke, inhaling which would spread the infection.
The Third Month
Terraforming settled, though occasional earthquakes were still common. The skies cleared and to our awe we finally understood the full scope of this new place. Power struggles escalated, especially over forming trade routes. The Singularity6 was discovered.
The Time Since
Tensions between regions have grown with the relative stability of the environment. Border wars crop up constantly, and people, creatures, demi-gods, heralds, acclaimed prophets, and the occasional demon come and go through the ever-growing network of connected portals via The Singularity. A new disaster sets foot nearly every day.
A capitol city, New Silverymoon, emerged on the intersection of a three-way fault line between the ruins of New York City, Silverymoon, and Lith Harbor. The city is also uniquely situated on one of the largest taverns in The Singularity Tavern, nestled deep into the woodland area central to the city. This central point has provided shelter to billions, spread throughout the region, and is thus far the only relatively organized kingdom to my knowledge.
Even still, attacks are frequent.
The Guild, a coalition of representatives, leaders, and/or powerful beings representing budding nations or former ones was formed to help orchestrate friendly communications and alliances between intelligent creatures seeking safety. Currently, it is an official alliance between three factions, loosely representing Earth (North America, South America, Europe), Toril (Faerun), and Mirth (Lith)7. Though the alliance is official, it has little to no governing power, and lawlessness still prevails.
Two Weeks Ago
On the outskirts of New Silverymoon, the border town of Yanto was obliterated over a struggle between an unknown archdemon and the old god Jergal (opens in a new tab), whom locals say was hiding out before being sought out by the demon. This marks the second major, targeted attack by a demon or other entity, which is concerning peoples and thus is one more pressing security issue for The Guild.
Footnotes
1 Many scholars in their plain vanity have tried and failed to name the place resulting the Convergence, and if history has taught us anything, they will continue to. These attempts are both elementary and, as we've come to learn through mingling with our new "neighbors", presumptive.
2 At the time of writing, no one has been able to grasp the full shape or size of The World, although it does appear to exist within the observable universe, indicated by light and stars visible beyond the Tears.
3 While there is no central Sun, two seemingly artifical lunar bodies can be seen orbiting high in the sky. An expedition was launched to investigate 6 months ago, but communication was lost.
4 Numerous hypothises surround the mystery of our missing sun and the affect on life, especially agriculture. The leading theory is that the faint light trickling in from the Tears is supplementing them for now. The jury is out on whether or not this will continue or not. As a precaution, Solaris Enterprises was launched to provide commercial light to plants. The first artificial sun was launched above New Earth to help illuminate the region. Its launch, however, was been met with significant controversy and it was promptly removed.
5 There are rumors of a red elder dragon wreathed in lava emerging from the ruins.
6 Around the third month, explorers discovered (entirely by accident) The Singularity, a network of portals between different places. The portals seem to vary in shape and size, but are always distringuished by a glossy, chromatic fog. Certain portals appear to have some randomness to them, and initial studies indicate that the randomness corresponds to the density of the fog. Clear, transparent fog indicates a strong connection to whatever is on the other side, as though a normal portal. These portals seem common in what has come to be known as "The Singularity Tavern", a tavern network built around the clear portals, staffed by denizens of the area. Most portals has been discovered in this tavern network, however others have also been found. One should note that the thicker, opaque fog appears to have more varied outcomes. It's well-known that going into an opaque portal does not guarantee one will be able to cross back through and end up where they started. Nor can one expect any two trips through these portals to be the same. The full extent of the network is unknown, and the existence of these portals is sure to be key in understanding this new World.
7 Mirth is an oceanic world that little is known about. It seems much of the population was decimated in the convergence.