Adron's Disaster

From the Lyorn Records of the Dragaeran Empire

Adron's Disaster was the culmination of several events, most of them described in Five Hundred Years After. The basic facts of the disaster are that Adron e'Kieron attempted to claim the throne from Tortaalik using Elder Sorcery and, simultaneously, Mario killed Tortaalik.

In the ensuing chaos, Adron then became the focus of conflicting energies: The Orb, attempting to find a new emperor, and the spell, attempting to pull the Orb away from that emperor.

Adron lost control of the amorphia which powered his spell, and it devoured Dragaera City and all its inhabitants. The Lesser Sea of Chaos (composed of amorphia) now occupies the area around the site of the disaster. Thanks to the efforts of Sethra Lavode (who was with the emperor when he was killed), the Orb itself was saved. Sethra succeeded in teleporting it to the Paths of the Dead before it could be consumed by the explosion.

The effects of the disaster were not confined to the immediate area around Dragaera City, however. There are stories of massive earthquakes all across the Empire, and huge "breakwaves" in coastal areas. The failure of Sorcery consequent with the banishment of the Orb to the Paths of the Dead also resulted in numerous secondary disasters, including the destruction of the Floating castles of the e'Drien line, and the collapse of Kieron's Watch into the sea.

The result of the Disaster was instant disintegration of the Empire, loss of the Orb, and an Interregnum lasting 247 years.

Some sources have argued that the second Dragon-Jhereg War played a role in the disaster, by causing Adron to act against Tortaalik sooner and with fewer resources than he would have preferred. Others, including Paarfi, discount the significance of this event on the actual disaster.