Cataclysm (FR)
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Visiting the murals in order, from the first (denoted by Roman Numeral I) to the last (denoted by Roman Numeral VIII), depicts scenes of a land being terroizied, sundered, and again reborn. This seems to be one of the first concrete links to Sacred Grove's history that we have encountered.
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Dialogues Regarding the Cataclysm
Walking up to the entrance of the caverns in Sanctuary....
Entrance Guard (right): "*Ahem* Welcome to the Memorial Caverns! Inside you can see the chronicling of the great history of the pixies, as well as learn about the founding of Sanctuary by Queen Valerian's ancestor, the powerful druidess Ayani!"
Entrance Guard (left) : "Enter and gaze in wonder at the heart of Sanctuary, the Heartseed! Well... what's left of it after Princess Lavender went and..."
Entrance Guard (right): "Quiet! You know the rules!"
Entrance Guard (left) : "Oops! Sorry!"
Over near Forgotten Caves, there are two boys standing by the water....
Boy (right): "So let me get this straight - the Gloam Council got blown up during the Unbinding along with everything else...right?"
Boy (left) : "Right."
Boy (right): "And now everything is alive on the surface again thanks to Ayani, so now everyone is out and making friends again?"
Boy (left) : "You clearly paid attention during the tour."
Boy (right): "But if the Gloam Council came about during the Age of Harmony when everyone was working together, is there anything stopping them from coming back now?"
Boy (left) : "Only the fact that those ancient heroes hit them in the face with a CATACLYSM! BAM! No more Gloam!"
Boy (right): "Hmm, yeah, I guess so..."
Maria, over at mural V....
Maria: "Aren't you glad we visited, Evan? We've learned so much about the cataclysm."
Grayfoot, over at mural VIII....
Grayfoot: "Ayani never again left that place. It was the founding of our current capital city, which she named Sanctuary in memory of the sheltering caverns below. When Ayani eventually passed on, they buried her at that spot, at the center of what is now called The Lake of Tears."
Grayfoot: "A few days after they buried Ayani, the pixies noticed a tree sprouting from her grave. It grew larger and larger, forming the Heartseed in the caverns below, and the World Tree up above."
The Murals of Memorial Caverns
Original Mural Books
The following is the original version of the mural books in Memorial Caverns. It was discovered[1] in April 2010 that the text had been shortened (see below).
 First Mural | Mural I: In ancient times, all of the world's races lived in harmony. Their leaders formed the Gleam Council to protect and guide the races. Their intentions were pure and they sought to maintain peace throughout the realm. This period was known as the Age of Harmony. Mural II: The Gleam leaders did not agree on everything, and the gap between council members grew until an opposing council was formed. This new group wanted to control everyone, for they reasoned that they were best suited to tell people how to live their lives. This was the beginning of the Gloam Council. |  Second Mural |
 Third Mural | Mural III: The Gloam were very secretive, exclusive, and growing more and more powerful. They were so secretive, the Gleam Council didn't even know about them until it was too late — the Gloam built a powerful artifact that could bind all magic to them. Since all living things had some magic within them, they could practically control the world. The plan worked, but for a minor flaw — not everyone succumbed to the artifact's control. Mural IV: Nearly every magical creature was affected by the Binding. Victims stared with cold, empty eyes and carried on with their daily tasks, but the joy in their lives was gone. A few of the most powerful heroes of the day were able to protect themselves from the Binding. They banded together in secrecy to plan the artifact's destruction. |  Fourth Mural |
 Fifth Mural | Mural V: When the heroes were ready, they spread word to all the races, "Flee, for the magic that would be unleashed could have catastrophic effects!" They then approached the Gloam tower, knowing full well that the destruction of the artifact would result in their own demise. Battling through unwitting mobs and powerful wizards, the heroes finally made it to the artifact. With their powers combined, they breached the magical defenses and shattered the artifact's physical shell. What resulted was known as the Unbinding, which freed the people, but sent a tidal wave of magic across the lands. Mural VI: While the heroes fought, the races retreated: the elves erected the crystal barrier, the dwarves dug deep into their mountains, the humans sailed away, and the pixies went underground.Years passed and the pixies had made themselves a comfortable home in the caves. It had transformed from a dark and forlorn shelter to a warm, cheery home. Everyone assumed that there was no life left above, and was content to stay in the caves forever. That is, until the changelings showed up. |  Sixth Mural |
 Seventh Mural | Mural VII: Pixie scouts have always said that the lands above were devoid of life, but the appearance of the changelings meant that life does, indeed, exist up top.
Deciding to brave whatever dangers lurking outside, Ayani, the Druidess Queeen, decided that she would venture forth alone to look around. However, when she flitted out of the caves, she saw nothing but desolation as far as the eye could see. Gone were the flowers and the trees, gone were the bixies and everything else she remembered as a child. Mural VIII: Ayani was so saddened by the barren lands that she began to cry. Such was her sorrow that her tears formed lakes and rivers. But where her tears touched the ground, plants began to spring up. Seeing this miracle, other pixies emerged, and coaxed life back into the land. When Ayani passed, she left behind the Heartseed. With the royal family nurturing it, the Heartseed grew into the mighty World Tree, the center of the pixie's world. |  Eighth Mural |
New Mural Books
This is the new text from the mural books as of April 2010. Not all of the murals had changed text, and most of the changes were minor. We have bolded the lines that are different from the original version.
Mural I: In ancient times, all of the world's races lived in harmony. Their leaders formed the Gleam Council to protect and guide the races.
Their intention was pure - maintaining peace throughout the realm. This period of time was known as the Age of Harmony.
--
Mural II: The Gleam leaders did not agree on everything, and the gap between council members grew until an opposing council was formed.
This new group wanted to control everyone, inferring they were best suited to tell people how to live their lives. This was the beginning of the Gloam Council.
--
Mural III: The Gloam worked convertly, growing more and more powerful. They were so secretive, the Gleam Council didn't even know about them until it was too late — the Gloam built a powerful artifact that could bind all magic to them.
Since all living things had some magic within them, they could practically control the world. The plan worked, but for a minor flaw — not everyone succumbed to the artifact's control.
--
Mural IV: Nearly every magical creature was affected by the Binding. Staring with cold, empty eyes, carrying on with their daily tasks, the joy in their lives was gone.
A few powerful heroes of the day were able to protect themselves from the Binding, banding together in secrecy to plan the artifact's destruction.
--
Mural V: The heroes spread word to all the races, "Flee, for the magic that would be unleashed may have catastrophic effects!" They then approached the Gloam artifact, knowing full well its destruction would result in their own demise.
Battling through unwitting mobs and powerful wizards, the heroes combined their powers breaching the magical defenses and shattering the artifact's physical shell.
This resulted in the Unbinding, which freed the people, but sent a tidal wave of magic across the lands.
--
Mural VI: While the heroes fought, the races retreated: the elves erected the crystal barrier, the dwarves dug deep into their mountains, the humans sailed away, and the pixies went underground.
As years passed, the pixies transformed the dark forlorn cave into a warm, cheery home.
Everyone assumed that there was no life left above, content to stay in the caves forever. That is, until the changelings arrived.
--
Mural VII: Pixie scouts have always said that the lands above were devoid of life, but the appearance of the changelings meant that life did, indeed, exist up top.
As the queen, Ayani the Druidess decided she would venture forth alone and brave the world above.
However, when she flitted out of the caves, she saw nothing but desolation as far as the eye could see. Gone were the flowers and the trees and everything else she remembered as a child.
--
Mural VIII: Saddened by the barren lands, Ayani began to cry. Such was her sorrow that her tears formed lakes and rivers and where her tears touched the ground, plants began to blossom.
Seeing this miracle, other pixies emerged, and coaxed life back into the land.
When Ayani passed, she left behind the Heartseed. With the royal family nurturing it, the Heartseed grew into the mighty World Tree, the center of the pixie's world.
The Heartseed of Memorial Caverns
| The Heartseed | |