The Great Flood of the First Age

In the oral traditions of the Muridae (Mousefolk), the world was not always a series of continents and islands surrounded by a vast ocean. Instead, they speak of the Great Flood of the First Age, a cataclysmic event where the sea rose with unnatural speed, swallowing the low-lying plains and forests of ancient Aethervale.

The Muridae Exodus

According to legend, the Mousefolk were originally a terrestrial race living in the great grasslands of the Northern Continent. When the waters began to rise, their ancestors were forced to flee. While other races built massive stone fortresses or sought the highest mountains, the Muridae followed a vision sent by The Great Owl. She led them to a single, colossal seed floating upon the dark currents—the seed of the Mother-Tree.

The Birth of the Boughs

The seed eventually struck a shallow reef in the Boundary Ocean and took root. As the Mother-Tree grew with supernatural speed, fueled by the rising aetheric tides, the Mousefolk found sanctuary within its branches. The Mist-Weaver then breathed the first magical fog into existence, hiding the growing forest from the world and protecting the Muridae from the predators and storms that followed the flood.

Modern Significance

The Great Flood is more than just a myth to the Muridae; it is the foundation of their culture. It explains their deep reverence for the Mother-Tree and their innate fear of rising tides. Many Mist-Whisker rituals are designed to "appease the ocean" and ensure that the waters never rise to claim the canopy. Scholars from Thorne’s Library suggest that the "Flood" may have been a massive aetheric surge that physically reshaped the planet’s geography, a theory that aligns with some of the obscure chronicles found in the Ministry of Records.