The Cataclysm
This volume is intended for those who do not remember the Cataclysm. If you are a Mind Flayer spying on us by studying our writings, it is advised you run along and go die horribly before we torture and kill you even more horribly.
The Cataclysm was perpetuated by the Mind Flayer colony of Izlude's Torment, during the Tenth Tyranny of Urblexis Grond under Tyrant Gulraga Gesh. All Underdarken society was shattered by this event, necessitating total reconstruction.
A year prior to the Cataclysm, minor increases of Flayer scouts were reported sporadically both to the Tyranny and Udosian Council. Little attention was paid. In months following, frequency of scouts increased linearly. Flickers of concern arose amongst ruling classes of both cities.
Weeks prior to the Cataclysm, Flayers began conducting overt sabotage and preparations for the Cataclysm. In hindsight, their intentions were obvious. No one had any idea they were capable of such obliteration.
Udos Dro'Xun's bridges were weakened remotely via psionics. A Flayer projection created a massive fault line under Urblexis Grond. A small army of thralls began undermining Udos' walls and constructing machinery. Tunnels were burrowed all throughout Grond's foundations.
Repair of damages and destruction of enemy materials were outpaced by the extremely high activity rate of the Flayers. Ultimately, no actual damage occurred from these events apart from structural weakness.
In the late cycles of AR 61, the Underdark shattered. Echoing explosions rang across every cavern. Sound was deafening, caused by huge, extremely violent tremors and quakes. Outlying tunnels across the Underdark were altered, created, or destroyed. Urblexis Grond and Udos Dro'Xun were the epicenters of this attack.
Destruction in Urblexis Grond was almost absolute. Faultlines and tunnels created earlier gave way during the Cataclysm, creating a massive lake out of the River Aagir and sending almost all of the city plunging into its murky depths. Staggering casualties.
Entire buildings, built using dangerous and unhealthy (but cheap) materials, spewed massive plumes of poisonous detritus and dust into the air. Toxic clouds suffused the area for roughly fourteen cycles. Inconceivable casualties.
Udos Dro'Xun was literally built over a giant chasm, but used much higher standards of construction. However, much of the city ended up toppling down the endless abyss. Bridges were snapped and twisted into heaps of metal and stone. Entire citadels dropped like stones into the black depths. Unquantifiable casualties.
The masses of dust and debris in Udos were much different than Grond's due to differing building composition. Clouds of choking, white-hot ash strangled the city, causing mass fires and burning survivors. Incomprehensible casualties.
Contingency procedures were enacted by the cities' respective elite, following the discovery of a latent anti-Psionic anomaly surrounding the Pit of a Thousand Sorrows. Squads of powerful mages from each city managed to recover supplies from both Grond and Udos into the newly-formed Pit Town.
A Drak'aa Mage, with help from scant few outside consultants and a small contingent of kobold innatists, managed to construct an extremely advanced and powerful psionic shield, the details and workings of which are highly classified.
Refugees flooded into Pit Town until both cities were no longer hazardous to inhabit. During this anarchy, Ninth Tyrant of Urblexis Grond, Vippin, seized power in Pit Town and named himself Regent.
His reign was notably productive but unpopular, due to refusal to engage in peacekeeping and politicking, instead dedicating all resources to reconstruction and consolidation of Pit Town's financial and military security. The mantle of Regent was passed down soon enough.
Counter-offenses against the Flayers in reprisal are ongoing, as are our attempts to prevent any other attacks like the Cataclysm.