The origins of the Grand Cataclysm remain one of the greatest mysteries of Sarnout’s history. Scholars and sages alike debate its cause, with two dominant theories emerging over the centuries:

• The Meteorite Impact Theory — This theory suggests that Sarnout was torn apart by the catastrophic fall of a colossal meteorite, an event so violent that it shattered the planet itself.

• The Magical Experiment Theory — Others believe the disaster was not natural but the result of a reckless magical experiment gone wrong, an attempt by the Great Mages to manipulate cosmic forces beyond their control.

There are those who propose a third theory, one that merges the first two: that the Great Mages, absorbed in their arcane research, failed to act in time to prevent the meteorite’s impact—a mistake that sealed the planet’s fate.

Yet the official position—the one upheld by the Conclave of Great Mages—offers a far more cosmic explanation. It attributes the Cataclysm not to any singular event, but to the very nature of existence itself:

“…At the dawn of all things, there was the Astral - a force embodying both creation and destruction, for they are one and the same. To destroy is to create; to forge the new from the remnants of the old - this is the principle of the Astral. Sarnout is but a fleeting manifestation of an era when Creation triumphed over Destruction. From the Astral, a world emerged, and in time, those who walked its lands gave it a name - Sarnout. What this name once meant is long forgotten, but it matters little, for it is merely another word for the Astral’s will made manifest.
As the ages passed, the power of Creation waned, while the hunger of Destruction grew stronger. The world would have been doomed to collapse had it not been for the Great Mages - those who learned to halt entropy and weave a fragile balance, delaying Sarnout’s final dissolution. This is their Grand Mission: to harness the Astral’s power and bend it to the service of those who still dwell upon Sarnout’s remnants…”