Great Erosion
The Great Erosion (c. 63,000–55,000 BME) was the period in which water, air, and fire entered Dalel, the realm of earth, and broke it into separate landmasses. It followed the Era of Isolation and was followed by the Age of Ascendance. It was a conflict between the Primordial Spirits and their armies, and ended with the defeat of Yairan, the Primordial Spirit of Earth, who lost almost all of his realm. Time came into existence near its end.
Background
Before the Great Erosion, Dalel was an unbroken and unbounded expanse of stone and the only tangible realm. Yairan was its only inhabitant.
Course
Intrusion of Aahi
Aahi, the Primordial Spirit of Water, had no realm of its own. It forced its way into Dalel and began to wear away the stone. During the Great Erosion Aahi formed Aasila, the realm of water, around what remained of Dalel.
Air and fire
Yavi, the Primordial Spirit of Air, and Metihi, the Primordial Spirit of Fire, followed Aahi into Dalel. Yavi's winds wore down the surface. Metihi's fire broke through from below.
Wardens
Each of the four spirits created a race to fight for it. The warriors of these races are known as Wardens.
| Spirit | Race |
|---|---|
| Yairan | Namuril |
| Aahi | Bensahai |
| Yavi | Shosior |
| Metihi | Oxeyihlu |
The Namuril defended Dalel and built refuges and passages beneath its surface. Those beneath Khamria and Orinilure later became the Deep Roads.
Emergence of time
Konmai, the Primordial Spirit of time, emerged near the end of the Great Erosion. The cause is uncertain. It is most often attributed to the consciousness of Umalyu. Before Konmai, events in Dalel had no sequence or duration. After Konmai, the elements acted on one another in order, and the changes they made became permanent.
End of the conflict
Umalyu created the Enarei, beings of greater power than the Wardens, who stopped the fighting. The Enarei have not been seen since. The four spirits then agreed that each element would keep its own nature while continuing to act on the others.
Yairan had lost almost all of Dalel. He withdrew with the Namuril to the Domain of Yairan and raised the Așdilu Mountains around it.
Consequences
- Dalel was reduced from an unbounded realm to separate landmasses surrounded by the sea of Aasila.
- Rivers, lakes, weather, and volcanic activity came into existence in Dalel.
- Time began, and the history of Dalel is dated from this period.
- The collapse of the boundaries between the realms also began the Dawn Wars, a conflict between Tñarilu and Náiluv, the spirits of light and darkness, which has not ended.
- The conditions created by the Great Erosion allowed the Ascendant Spirits to arise in the Age of Ascendance.
Landforms
Several features of Méniail are attributed to the Great Erosion.
- The Așdilu Mountains were raised by Yairan to enclose the Domain of Yairan.
- The valley of Aráinia is said in Barugoar tradition to have formed where Yairan's tears fell.
- The swamps of Balúrail formed where Yairan hardened the earth against Aahi and the water could not drain.
- Arezilur was carved by wind from land that had been joined to Khamria.
Continuing erosion
The conflict ended, but the elements continue to act on Dalel. Water, wind, and fire still wear down and reshape the land, at a pace governed by time.