The Fall of Malverand was the collapse of the Malverand Empire and the wars against its surviving guardian rulers. Once stretching from Xalmyrra to Skarnheim, the empire fractured after Barachiel disappeared. Regional powers fought over its lands, and the Order of Thalion Zenith sought to end the guardians' rule. Surviving accounts also call the conflict the Valrindor Implosion.
Loss of imperial authority
Barachiel vanished while testing the Aethrendar Gate above the Aethrendar Sea. The Spiral Shard split in two, and his son Sariel was not ready to take his place. No candidate succeeded in wielding the remaining shards. Michael governed from Maraveth, with Raphael enforcing his decisions, but they could not restore the old unity.
Without a usable spiral shard, the empire had to manage its essence reserves strictly. Isandriel shut down several kinds of production in southern Malverand, while eastern regions were worse affected.
The guardians increasingly withdrew into their own regions. Jeremiah sought a separate empire in Jazarel, while Isandriel developed his southern lands and moved their capital to Radiance Prime, in Brighthaven. Trade still joined the provinces for a time: food and minerals were exchanged for constructs, tools and skilled builders. This cooperation did not stop rebellions and rival claims to territory.
Skarnheim and the Order
In 2085, Thalion Zenith and the displaced survivors of Varnhallow arrived at an empty city that Isandriel called Astralem. Svanhild and Kren recognized it as Rimvold. Thalion declared independence from Malverand and named Rimvold the capital of Skarnheim.
Isandriel joined Thalion's forces against the remaining guardians. Their campaign destroyed Jazarel City, killing its inhabitants as well as members of their own force. Isandriel unmade Jeremiah after the battle. Thalion then prepared to confront Eremion and Raphael in Morindel and Maraveth. The campaign's purpose was to remove rulers whose power and rivalries endangered the world.
Suppression of history
Thalion ordered the Order to conceal its members' identities and burn every book and record about Malverand. He intended their own actions to vanish from history as well. Thalena later confirmed that she had taken part in the fall and was forbidden to speak of it.
Maraveth survived as ruins within Shroudvale, scarred by ancient destruction before the later shaper war. Malverine, the common language devised under Arcanis, continued to be spoken across its former lands. Eremion survived the Order's attempts to destroy the guardian powers and remained intent on recovering Malverand's strength.
The Fall of Malverand was the collapse of the Malverand Empire, followed by the Order of Thalion Zenith's war against its surviving guardian rulers. Barachiel's disappearance left the throne unresolved; the guardians fought, provinces broke away, and the Order eventually destroyed the imperial centers of Maraveth and Morindel. The surviving name Valrindor Implosion describes this period of fragmentation and war.
The gate failure and succession
Khauren arranged a deal with an unknown being to remove Barachiel when he crossed the Aethrendar Gate. He promised Eremion a path to the imperial throne. Eremion passed through and returned before Barachiel's attempt; when the emperor entered, the passage failed and the Spiral Shard was expelled in two pieces. Eremion blamed Arcanis, concealing his own involvement while wondering whether the deal had caused the disaster.
Barachiel reached Vireen alive after fighting the being. To avoid further destabilizing the passage, he cut off the hand containing his shard and sent it back through the gate. His body could not recover, and he eventually died on Vireen. Arcanis later disappeared during a gate expedition. Stranded in the void, he eventually emerged on Vireen and died there. With Arcanis gone, Malverand retained the ability to build familiar cores and towers but lost the knowledge needed for new interplanetary ships and other advances.
Raphael supported Michael as interim ruler. Michael refused the permanent title and hoped that Sariel, Barachiel's intended heir, would become strong enough to wield a shard. Sariel repeatedly failed. Eremion and Uriandel could not use the shards while bound to their existing gods, and an open trial killed many candidates. Sariel later took both pieces to Xalmyrra.
With nobody wielding the spiral shards, the guardians curtailed essence use across the empire and reduced production at several essence towers. These restrictions helped preserve stability.
Regional fragmentation
The guardians' disagreements became open warfare. Jeremiah established the Jazarel Empire, Uriandel swore loyalty to Abraxas, and Remiella overloaded while trying to separate Thiravos and Theryssa, sending a tsunami across northern Valrindor. Eremion culled people he judged too weak. Raphael fought rebellions while seeking to restore the empire under his own rule.
Trade briefly held parts of the empire together, but it could not restore a common authority. Xalmyrra had followed its own course long before Skarnheim's formal declaration. Michael turned to the task Barachiel had entrusted to him: prepare Isandriel to end the guardians if they became a threat. Michael and Sigvariel planned an army within the Varnhallow temporal anomaly, while Isandriel waited for its arrival.
The Order's campaign
In 2085, Thalion Zenith and the displaced Varnhallow survivors reached Rimvold and declared Skarnheim independent. Isandriel joined them against the remaining guardians. The Order destroyed Jazarel City, and Isandriel unmade Jeremiah after the battle. Its victories cost civilians and members of its own force.
The guardians initially defeated the Order, but Helena's abyss rewound the battle and undid their victory. Through repeated resets, Thalion learned to draw on Ozaith's power and hold Abraxas's expanding void rift in place until the fleets escaped. The surviving Order forces then regrouped for their final attack on Morindel.
The final fighting ruined the old imperial centers. At Maraveth, the combined attacks of Ignatius and John repeatedly overwhelmed Raphael's regeneration until his body was destroyed. At Morindel, Zero's black hole trapped Eremion while Kallion's summoned sun consumed the city. The ensuing destruction broke a land bridge and let the ocean flood the enlarged Morindel Sea. The defeat ended the old guardian powers' control of these centers; it did not permanently eliminate every surviving heart.
Erasure and aftermath
Thalion required the Order to conceal its identities and burn Malverand's records, including accounts of its own actions. Isandriel undertook the work across Valrindor. Helena was sent east, where her mission concerned Malverand records in Thalassai, rather than all Thalassai history.
Much of the empire's advanced technology was lost or destroyed. Malverine, the common language devised under Arcanis, continued to be spoken across its former lands. People resettled around Maraveth's barren ruins, and the region became known as Shroudvale. Morindel acquired a new capital while much of its old city lay beneath the sea.
Surviving Malverand hearts allowed some defeated guardians to return. Eliona found Raphael's heart after centuries of searching and restored him using Arcanis's teachings. Eremion also survived. Their later attempts to reclaim power continued after the empire's fall, despite the Order's campaign and suppression of its history.
The Fall of Malverand was the collapse of the Malverand Empire, followed by the Order of Thalion Zenith's war against its surviving guardian rulers. Barachiel's disappearance left the throne unresolved; the guardians fought, provinces broke away, and the Order eventually destroyed the imperial centers of Maraveth and Morindel. The surviving name Valrindor Implosion describes this period of fragmentation and war.
The gate failure and succession
Khauren arranged a deal with an unknown being to remove Barachiel when he crossed the Aethrendar Gate. He promised Eremion a path to the imperial throne. Eremion passed through and returned before Barachiel's attempt; when the emperor entered, the passage failed and the Spiral Shard was expelled in two pieces. Eremion blamed Arcanis, concealing his own involvement while wondering whether the deal had caused the disaster.
Barachiel reached Vireen alive after fighting the being. To avoid further destabilizing the passage, he cut off the hand containing his shard and sent it back through the gate. Oktlix later said that Khauren had set him up to fight Barachiel for his own ends. Barachiel's body could not recover, and he eventually died on Vireen. Arcanis later disappeared during a gate expedition. Stranded in the void, he eventually emerged on Vireen and died there. With Arcanis gone, Malverand retained the ability to build familiar cores and towers but lost the knowledge needed for new interplanetary ships and other advances.
Raphael supported Michael as interim ruler. Michael refused the permanent title and hoped that Sariel, Barachiel's intended heir, would become strong enough to wield a shard. Sariel repeatedly failed. Eremion and Uriandel could not use the shards while bound to their existing gods, and an open trial killed many candidates. Sariel later took both pieces to Xalmyrra.
With nobody wielding the spiral shards, the guardians curtailed essence use across the empire and reduced production at several essence towers. These restrictions helped preserve stability.
Regional fragmentation
The guardians' disagreements became open warfare. Jeremiah established the Jazarel Empire, Uriandel swore loyalty to Abraxas, and Remiella overloaded while trying to separate Thiravos and Theryssa, sending a tsunami across northern Valrindor. Eremion culled people he judged too weak. Raphael fought rebellions while seeking to restore the empire under his own rule.
Trade briefly held parts of the empire together, but it could not restore a common authority. Xalmyrra had followed its own course long before Skarnheim's formal declaration. Michael turned to the task Barachiel had entrusted to him: prepare Isandriel to end the guardians if they became a threat. Michael and Sigvariel planned an army within the Varnhallow temporal anomaly, while Isandriel waited for its arrival.
The Order's campaign
In 2085, Thalion Zenith and the displaced Varnhallow survivors reached Rimvold and declared Skarnheim independent. Isandriel joined them against the remaining guardians. The Order destroyed Jazarel City, and Isandriel unmade Jeremiah after the battle. Its victories cost civilians and members of its own force.
The guardians initially defeated the Order, but Helena's abyss rewound the battle and undid their victory. Through repeated resets, Thalion learned to draw on Ozaith's power and hold Abraxas's expanding void rift in place until the fleets escaped. The surviving Order forces then regrouped for their final attack on Morindel.
The final fighting ruined the old imperial centers. At Maraveth, the combined attacks of Ignatius and John repeatedly overwhelmed Raphael's regeneration until his body was destroyed. At Morindel, Zero's black hole trapped Eremion while Kallion's summoned sun consumed the city. The ensuing destruction broke a land bridge and let the ocean flood the enlarged Morindel Sea. The defeat ended the old guardian powers' control of these centers; it did not permanently eliminate every surviving heart.
Erasure and aftermath
Thalion required the Order to conceal its identities and burn Malverand's records, including accounts of its own actions. Isandriel undertook the work across Valrindor. Helena was sent east, where her mission concerned Malverand records in Thalassai, rather than all Thalassai history. Nerissa also swore to Isandriel that she would destroy Malverand records in Thiravos and Theryssa, later confirming that she had carried out the promise.
Much of the empire's advanced technology was lost or destroyed. Malverine, the common language devised under Arcanis, continued to be spoken across its former lands. People resettled around Maraveth's barren ruins, and the region became known as Shroudvale. Morindel acquired a new capital while much of its old city lay beneath the sea.
Surviving Malverand hearts allowed some defeated guardians to return. Eliona found Raphael's heart after centuries of searching and restored him using Arcanis's teachings. Eremion also survived. Their later attempts to reclaim power continued after the empire's fall, despite the Order's campaign and suppression of its history.