Great Rift

The Great Rift is the grand chasm that encloses the Known World. Unfathomably deep and wide, none have yet to cross the gap, though its distance from much of civilization keeps it an enigma to many.

Primitive sailors and explorers are though to have first encountered the Rift by sea; the only terrestrial regions that meet the chasm are considered darklands, areas of strong magickal energy and chemic instability, so few scholars are willing to risk their lives for a view unobscured by the mists of the oceanfalls. Some small outcroppings of land are indeed accessible along the Rift, which many scholars presume were the salvation of fortunate sailors drawing dangerously close to the falls, allowing them to journey back home to spread the word.

Folk knowledge of the Rift led to the popularization of flat-world models, as stories of ships topping over the edge of the world became well-known and sensationalized. Studies of sun-and-moon patterns, however, have revealed to scholars that Dunarion is indeed on a curved plane—current hypotheses postulate that the world is a spherical planet, and Dunarion is merely an enclosed section of the globe. It was the invention of the telescope that led to the discovery of seas and landmasses beyond the Rift to support the theory, as the other side became visible on a clear day.

The first attempts to cross were believed to be made by rocs, and their attempts at crossing have evolved into colorful folk tales and a badge of identity. Other races continued to attempt the feat, yet the downward suction of the falls coupled with a strange energy akin to those in the darklands hindering the power of those over the chasm—the rift is a region of dead space.