Collapse of Elven Civilisation

The collapse of elven civilisation took place between the years 800-1000. In this event, elven civilisations either fell into decay and abandonment, or were destroyed in cataclysmic wars and natural disasters. All of these factors combined resulted in the end of the dominance of the elven race over Eithlith, with long-lasting consequences, ending the Elven Era and ushering in the Human Era.

Before the Collapse
Prior to the collapse of elven civilisation, much of Burithien was dominated by the elves, who were the most advanced and sophisticated beings in the world at the time. The elves had mastered architecture, engineering, art and alchemy, and used these to build great cities and canals, creating priceless paintings and inscriptions, and forging weapons of unparalleled quality and mighty empires. These mighty empires were especially prominent in southern Eithlith; for reasons still debated, the northern half of the continent was considered unfit for the creation of such nations. Unlike the events of human history, these elven societies and cultures lived in peace and harmony with each other, as they seemed to never lack the resources necessary for their prosperity, and lived comfortable lives; weapons and armour were produced mainly to combat monsters and 'barbarian' human tribes. Using slaves captured in their conquest of human tribes, the elves also had a vast workforce at their disposal.

The elves of southern Eithlith seemed to develop a special proficiency in hydrology and engineering relating to it, alongside alchemy, which allowed them to dig extensive canals that irrigated crop fields worked by human slaves in land that otherwise would have been desert. This allowed the elves to enjoy plenty of food and fresh water in a usually harsh climate. However, this also meant that the survival of their entire civilisation often depended on the success and cleanliness of these canals, along with the willingness of their slave population - which in some places outnumbered the elves 10 to 1 - to remain servile.

THE COLLAPSE
The collapse of elven civilisation can be arranged (in vaguely chronological order) into perhaps 3 main phases:

- Natural disasters and disease

- Conflict

- Decay and extinction

Natural Disasters and Disease
In the year 800, a series of natural disasters struck southern Eithlith. Earthquakes destroyed many settlements, and also damaged the canals essential for the survival of the elven empires. By coincidence, alchemical substances from an elven city built alongside one of these canals had also seeped into the water during the earthquakes. At first the effect was minimal, but soon those drinking from the contaminated canals would begin to die in the hundreds, and algal blooms also began to grow in the water, rendering it unusable. Due to their dependence on these canals, the situation became desperate for the elven empires in southern Eithlith. Crops died, and the contaminated water killed countless elves and humans, despite attempts to find a cure for the former. Additionally, overfarming in the west also began to take its toll on elven civilisation at this time, with underground water tables rising to the surface and bringing with them chemicals like salt that caused gradual desertification.

Further north, the aforementioned earthquakes also severely damaged the city walls of many elven cities, making them vulnerable to attacks from monsters and the embittered human tribes. The destruction of dams due to earthquakes also flooded many of the plains in which elven settlements were built, turning them into wetlands that soon became a home for many waterborne diseases. A plague also struck the north in 805, for which a cure couldn't be found despite the best efforts of elven alchemists. Millions died as a result, and entire cities were abandoned and then razed to prevent the spread of the plague. These ghost cities, broken and abandoned, were often looted by human tribes afterwards, hoping to scavenge armour, weapons and treasure.

Conflict
Now lacking resources necessary to keep their population alive and comfortable, and with no way to produce said resources themselves, the elven empires of Eithlith began to turn on one another, seeking to take resources and slaves from each other. From 813 onwards, elven warriors, for the first time, began to arm themselves and attack other elves. With their knowledge of armour and weaponry and the technology needed for siege weapons and defences, these wars were devastating and long-lasting, with great battles and sieges resulting in vast destruction and suffering. Villages and towns were attacked and pillaged almost on a daily basis, with locals either put to death or taken as slaves to try and repair damaged cities and canals, or mine materials to produce war material. Cities would undergo sieges that would last for months on end, with a countless amount of bloodshed and death throughout, and the near complete destruction of the city in the process.

Decay and Near Extinction
Eventually, the wars began to subside, as many of the factions which had been fighting had now been destroyed. The cost in lives and destruction would never be seen again in Burithien; numerous entire cities had been turned to rubble, with their whole populations massacred, put into slavery or fleeing as refugees. The few empires which survived the struggle for existence soon collapsed, as there were no more cities to plunder and no more farms to reap from. Much of the vast farmland which once fed elven civilisation had now been reduced to barren wasteland, neglect from the wars and desertification. Barely fed and with little use left in these hard times, the large population of human slaves began to run away or rebel, with some managing to expel their former masters from their cities, which they now took over for themselves.

Elven civilisation now fell into complete decay and extinction of the entire elven race began. In the year 950, a large volcano in Virgandia erupted, with the following earthquake destroying what few elven cities were left, and the clouds of ash which it threw into the sky darkened the desert for months. Thousands of refugees fled north, where they lived hard lives in the relatively strange environment, while millions more died in the harsh wastes of the south. The elves which moved north beyond the Middle-Lands would forever be ostracised and discriminated against for the reputation of their imperial ancestors. With almost all their settlements and infrastructure completely destroyed, very little to eat and their population starving in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, within a period of 200 years elven civilisation and its umpteen year-long history had come to an abrupt close.

But elven civilisation did not completely go extinct. Those which settled in the Middle-Lands were fortunate enough to lead hard, but at least sufficient lives. In the south, when human tribes and freed slaves began to migrate into the ruins of the lost elven cities, the promising talents of elven artisans, architects and alchemists saved the elves from harsh persecution or vengeance-fuelled genocide, and the few elves who survived managed to lead decent lives while assisting in the rebuilding of ancient cities for their new human masters.