End of the World

The End of the World was the name given during the Age of Wonders to the extraordinary boundary where the mortal world connected directly to Demmazon's Realm.

It was not simply a geographic edge. When Demmazon created the Five Gifts, he drew upon enormous amounts of power embedded within the world itself. To prevent that power from destroying the planet, he merged a portion of his own realm with the mortal world. The result was an artificial extension of the world that remained in place while the planet recovered.

At the boundary between the two realms, the ocean appeared to reach the literal edge of the world. Water plunged over an immense waterfall into Demmazon's domain beyond it. Crossing the falls carried travelers into another realm, making the boundary function as a massive permanent Gate. The Gate was described as being miles wide and extending for an enormous distance.

The connection between the worlds also had an important consequence: it provided the mortal world with access to pervasive ambient magic. Magic became something that could be accessed by ordinary people without the dedicated study that would otherwise have been required.

The Fall of the Age of Wonders

The End of the World ceased to exist in its original form when Demmazon separated his realm from the mortal world.

After Demmazon was freed from his prison, the new gods were drawn into his realm, where their conflict could be contained away from the mortal world. Demmazon then severed the connection between the two realms.

The separation had catastrophic effects on the planet. Mountains collapsed and others rose, oceans shifted dramatically, and the landscape was permanently altered. The pervasive magical connection that had existed between the worlds was also lost.

The original End of the World therefore disappeared along with the connection it represented.

The Lands Beyond

The area beyond the old boundary did not become a new continent.

Although the separation resulted in new lands appearing from the ocean, these were primarily scattered islands and other isolated pieces of land. Most of the region remained ocean.

Over time, the vast expanse beyond the former boundary became known as the Godsea.

The Godsea developed into a world of its own, containing islands, underwater cities, maritime settlements, ships, and other civilizations. It is not simply an empty or unexplored ocean; it is a populated region with its own history and inhabitants.

The relationship between the Godsea and the known realms, however, remained extremely limited.

The Storm Border

In the modern era, the boundary that once marked the End of the World has once again become a significant barrier.

A perpetual storm now rages along the old border between the known realms and the Godsea. The storm is enormous, violent, and extremely dangerous to cross. Ships attempting to pass through it face conditions severe enough that travel between the two regions is extraordinarily uncommon.

As a result, the storm has created an effective separation between two largely independent worlds.

Most people living in the known realms are unaware that the civilizations of the Godsea exist. Likewise, many inhabitants of the Godsea have little or no knowledge of the civilizations and nations on the other side of the storm.

The old End of the World has therefore returned in a different form. What was once a literal boundary between the mortal world and Demmazon's Realm is now a dangerous frontier between the known realms and the largely isolated world of the Godsea.

Historical Significance

The End of the World represents one of the most important physical consequences of the creation of the Five Gifts.

It was created as part of Demmazon's solution to the enormous magical forces involved in creating the Gifts, became the boundary through which the mortal world was connected to his realm, and ultimately disappeared when that connection was severed at the Fall of the Age of Wonders.

Its legacy continues into the modern era through the Godsea and the perpetual storm that follows the ancient boundary.

The original End of the World is therefore both a lost feature of the Age of Wonders and the foundation for one of the world's great unexplored frontiers.