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BACKGROUND Beldinas Pilofiro , last Kingpriest of Istar , never liked the concept of balance. He believed that Paladine accepted it in a time when he was weak. As time passed, and the forces of good flourished after the Third Dragon War in which Huma Dragonbane defeated Takhisis , he thought the time to break that outdated Pact was nearing. His decision to end the balance became strengthened when the previous Kingpriest, known as Kurnos The Usurper , sent Sathira, an evil Spirit , to kill him. Ilista , First Daughter and the woman who traveled from far Istar leaded by a Prophecy to find the true Kingpriest, sacrificed herself in order to save him. Though at the beginning Beldinas only fought evil, as time passed he began to include those who did not think like him. Thus, he destroyed Temple s and expelled followers of the Neutral Gods as well. With time, his obsession drove him to also destroy followers of the Gods of Light. THE THIRTEEN WARNINGS For thirteen days prior to the Cataclysm the gods sent warnings to the fanatical Kingpriest and his followers, all of which went unheeded. Following is a list, in order.
The warnings had been prophetized by the First Son Revando before taking his own life. Emissary Quarath, though knowing about the warnings, did not tell the Kingpriest their true meanings. THE PETITION The Kingpriest misunderstood the warnings, convinced of his own truth. He believed those were the last efforts of the evil gods, and only hardened his resolution. He called Paladine too weak to destroy evil, but with the Kingpriest as his right arm evil could be defeated. The Kingpriest called for the genocidal destruction of the Ogre races and the relocation of the Dwarves and Kender . For his arrogance, the gods punished the city of Istar . CONSEQUENCES Soon after the Kingpriest made his demand, a fiery Mountain struck Istar. The city and all the land around it was pushed down and the Ocean roared in. The thick, red soil was churned up by the water, giving it a red color. It became the Blood Sea Of Istar . Where the Temple of the Kingpriest once was, there was a perpetual massive Whirlpool that kept the red soil churned up, leaving the Blood Sea permanently blood colored. On the opposite side of the continent of Ansalon , the Kingdom of Ergoth was broken from the mainland and split in two. More water flooded inland and created the Newsea. The city of Caergoth , an inland farming city, suddenly found themselves on the oceans doorstep. To the south, the thriving Port city of Tarsis found that the Sea had retreated and they were now surrounded by Plain s as far as the eye could see. The effects of the Cataclysm continue to be felt on Krynn to this day. Several cities, including Xak Tsaroth , were utterly destroyed. Post-Cataclysm time in Krynn is often rendered ''AC'', to denote ''After Cataclysm''. REFERENCES |