The Cascade

The Cascade was an apocalyptic event caused by the death of Astra. Since her domains were the oceans, humanity, and the moon, this brought doom to each of these realms in turn: With Astra's death, the gods left the world.
 * The tides were unbound, and the ocean swallowed the land of the South, turning what was a great continent into a few scattered islands. Many suspect that Astra's will bound the Leviathan, who was unleashed upon her death.
 * Humanity began to rapidly die out, though in no single way. Whether they happened to live in place consumed by the flood, were afflicted with plague, or simply died on the spot, humans lost their patron to catastrophic consequence. They remain near extinction today.
 * The moon shattered into fragments. Though it still hangs in a roughly circular form, it brings little order to the tides, and little comfort to those who sleep under its shattered light.

Yet no-one seems to know how Astra died. Theories have abounded amongst theosophers and common folk alike in the centuries since. None bring them closer to the truth.

The scholars of Halholm mark the calender as BC and AC - for Before and After the Cascade, respectively.