Slowly, over centuries, the world began to die. The Twin Suns grew in size and darkened to a deep orange-red. Drought and famine began to take hold of the land, and the once peaceful nations took to war to preserve and protect their dwindling resources. Once-wealthy nations waged epic battles across land and sea. They abandoned their gods, destroyed their grand cities, and erased all records of entire cultures. They struggled to survive by taking control of the resources of their neighbors. Thus was the Age of Great War.
Let’s rewrite this so that the sorcerers appear after the The Wild appears, this grants us a less confusing narrative, but also helps justify the “deal with the devil” that the rulers made, and could blend Option 1 and Option 2 together in a way that doesn’t necessarily add to the complexity (they could just show up, who needs to explain from where) I think it could help tighten the background story up a bit and make it less confusing, while bringing us up to “now” more efficiently. On a second note, the betrayal of Taris may stem from a restriction of resources as the kingdoms of the Age of Abundance grew. Those strained resources may have led to the resentment of the so-called life giver.
The Sorcerers And Their Defiling Magics
During the Age of Turmoil, an ancient power re-emerged, and it carried a high cost. Magic had nearly been lost to Tarisia over the centuries. Its practitioners shunned to the deep dark corners of the world, or cleverly hidden behind inept Kings and Queens, using their gift sparingly to stay in positions of power. The desperation of an endless war brought those once clandestine sorcerers to the front lines, and their defiling magics into focus.
Although nearly all Tarisian are gifted with a touch of Psi, very few can harness the power of Magic. Those who can quickly discover that Magic requires a costly sacrifice: the essence of life for the great power wielded. The more powerful the magic, the more life necessary to fuel it.
New sorcerers began to appear across Tarisia. Although feared and reviled as monstrous corruptors, they were deemed necessary agents of an escalating war. Even the smallest spells would defile the land in a radius around the caster, further scarring what little fertile land remained. But the temptation of power and hunger was too great, and as their Magic grew, they discovered the dark effects of that power on even larger areas, and the creatures and people within them.
War ravaged Tarisia for centuries, and although already struggling with drought and famine, ultimately it was the defiling Magic that truly killed the world.
While the life-draining sorcerers proved invaluable in turning the tides of war, the toll on Tarisia was excessive. Oceans, rivers, and lakes began to completely evaporate. Swamps and Grasslands quickly became barren wastelands. Entire forests withered into arid steppes and snow capped peaks became stark craggy mountain ranges. Tarisia was now a barren husk, barely recognizable for its former glory—now a dying world.
The sorcerers became the de facto rulers of this new wasteland, eventually banning magic altogether to maintain their stranglehold on the populace.
Next: The Age of Death
Previous: The Age of Abundance