The Great Fall

The Core of Both Founding Myth and Eschatology

The Great Fall is the central concept of The Canopy Isles' founding myth and its eschatology. According to legend, Aether Crystal buoyancy is not permanent — once every millennium, "the moment when the earth's pull overcomes the sky's force" arrives.

Records of past Great Falls are fragmentary, but mycological archaeology in The Root Realm has uncovered multiple impact sites where massive rock masses fell approximately 1,000 years ago. The Canopy Isles officially deny this, but the recent decline in Aether Crystal output and minor altitude drops on lower islands have quietly stirred debate among scholars.

The Three Phenomena of Omen

Three phenomena are said to herald The Great Fall: "Lower Fog" (abnormal fog appearing on lower islands), "Upward Rain" (water droplets rising upward from the ground), and "Mycelium Silence" (the Memory of the Earth temporarily ceasing communication). The first two of these have been observed within the past year.

Interpreting It as the World's Breath

If The Great Fall truly recurs periodically, some researchers at the Great Fall Research Institute say it is like the world "breathing." The Canopy Isles rise, eventually return to earth, then rise again — within this vast cycle, both civilizations may be accumulating nothing more than their own brief moments of glory.

In The Root Realm there is a cultural interpretation that calls The Great Fall "Heaven's Return." The Canopy Isles falling to earth would mark the end of long separation and the day the world becomes one again. The Root Realm Federation publicly denies this interpretation, but among folk storytellers, legends "preparing to receive Heaven's Return" remain deeply rooted.

The Information Control of the "Silence Committee"

What The Canopy Council fears most is the panic that would result from omen information spreading among the populace. Accusations have come from inside the Great Fall Research Institute that an unofficial information-control organization called the "Silence Committee" suppresses the public release of omen observation records, and the relationship between the Institute and the Council — outwardly cooperative — harbors serious tension.

The Institute's latest data shows patterns matching those of the previous Great Fall. Declining Aether Crystal output, altitude drops on lower islands, expansion of The Mist Sea — all align with records from 1,000 years ago. The world is treading the same path again. The question is how many people know it.