Thank you all for your interest! Also, thank you Gamerdude369 for initiating the process. If you have any ideas, throw them out there and we can discuss.

Magic was a massive part of the world, but more so At’aine. The Well of the World was almost like the heart of Arileth, and its radiant waters the blood of the world itself. With its corruption, naturally, the world is also suffering. How do we portray this? A part of the more immediate symptoms of the Calamity are the Mountains of Maltheria falling to the earth and the resulting valley being flooded by the sea. Over time, the waters of At’aine emerged and tainted the inland sea, turning it black and killing anything in it. Naturally, these dark waters are seeping into the ocean.

I was also thinking of some more, subtler changes to the natural world. In the southernmost tips of the world, where the roleplay begins, are the Free Cities of the Druid Clans. Perhaps the humans of these cities are more attuned to the less-obvious changes in the world?

Another idea, which actually inspired this world, is the collapse of a massive floating structure. I call it (placeholder name), the Spire of the Stars, and I was thinking that perhaps it crashed into the capital city of Eredin (called Aldaran, or Aldaran-under-Shadow). This could play into political change – the fall of Aldaran leading to the fall of Eredin.

Regarding politics (my favourite topic), the Great Empire of Merthys falls and the Paerium Empire replaces it. The Merthyne Emperor is a direct descendent of one of the first maegi. The blood of this family has always been strong, and the Emperor of Merthys is likened to a modern-day god. However, the Calamity eliminated his power, made him blind and weak. His cousin assassinates him and ascends to the throne. The War of Merthys begins, concluding with the separation of the old empire into Ifsherys, Soharys and Jhesarys. Meanwhile, Paerius conquers what is left of Eredin, Olgoroth and takes a hefty slice of Merthys.

To redirect to Gamer’s post, the importance of magic varied across the world. The essence of At’aine is a major part of Arileth, making it quite important to the very planet itself. However, how dependent should the world’s peoples have been on magic? Keeping in mind that maegi were supposed to be the world’s guardians (of course, this was not always the case).

Thoughts? Ideas? If you’re all very interested in worldbuilding, I can give what I have, and perhaps we can discuss it over Skype chat or something?