The Broad Swells Incursion (385 AW)

Overview

The Broad Swells Incursion of 385 AW is remembered as a time of terror when the oceans themselves seemed to declare war on the land. A massive, coordinated assault by deep-sea horrors breached the ancient Southern Wards, flooding the coastal regions with seawater and nightmarish creatures.

The Breach

The Southern Wards were an ancient network of magical beacons designed to repel leviathans and intelligent aquatic threats. In the winter of 385 AW, a coordinated sabotage—or perhaps a critical failure of the arcane infrastructure—caused a cascading collapse of the Wards.

Taking immediate advantage, a horde of aquatic monstrosities, led by the enigmatic and vicious Sahuagin warlords and driven by the maddening influence of deep-trench leviathans, surged ashore. The assault was unprecedented in its scale and savagery. Entire port cities were dragged into the sea, their populations slaughtered or taken as slaves into the crushing depths. The invaders utilized storm-magic to create perpetual hurricane conditions, allowing them to advance miles inland under the cover of torrential rain and flooded plains.

The Pushback and Rebuilding

The incursion lasted for six grueling months. It was only repelled when a coalition of coastal defenders, naval armadas, and mercenary companies (including elements of the Ironclad Vanguard) managed to reactivate key warding beacons using highly unstable Aether-cores.

The retreating tide left behind a devastated landscape, heavily salted earth that could no longer bear crops, and a lingering paranoia among the coastal populaces. The Broad Swells Incursion necessitated a complete redesign of coastal defenses and led to the creation of the heavily fortified "Floating Fortresses," ensuring that the deep sea would never again take the surface world by surprise.