First Sundering

The First Sundering (sometimes simply the Sundering) or Ever'Sakkatien (as called by the Tel-quessir) was a High Magic ritual cast by the greatest elven high mages of the Tel-quessir during the period of the First Flowering, around. The ritual resulted in the creation of the isle of Evermeet, but also resulted in widespread disaster that destroyed or altered much of Faerûn and might even be the cause of much of the non-uniformity of the Weave throughout the continent.

Ever'Sakkatien was somehow connected to the later Second Sundering, an event that took place in the 1480s DR, and with the Tearfall, which took place in.

"Uaul'Selu'Keryth. In your tongue, the name might be translated as "At War with the Weave". When twelve High Mages last performed this ritual, the world was torn asunder. It is a power no mortal should possess and no god should use."

- Ecamane Truesilver, High mage of Silverymoon

Place of the Gathering
Hundreds of years before the ritual began, elves prepared the place for the casting of the magic. The place was surrounded by small villages, where the elves lived. The gathering place itself was at a special place in the heart of the continent Faerûn. They built there a tower of white granite that reflected the colors of the sky. It was higher than any tower built by elves before. A stair curved along the inner wall and on each step was a seat of stone engraved with the name of the mage who would take their place on it during the casting. When everything was ready and the time of the casting neared, the best high mages of the realms were sent there. Mages of all races, except the evil dark elves and the non-magical sea elves, came to the tower.

The Casting
Before sunrise, the mages took their seats and waited for the mage that functioned as the center of the ritual. It was a young wild elf named Starleaf. Her place was in the middle of the tower and she began a magical song and the mages joined in. They unleashed the magic of the Weave and funneled it through their bodies and fueled it with their own life forces, ripping their very souls from their bodies.

Result
Starleaf was the only one who survived the casting and she saw the others die. But she also felt the tremors of the earth as it was ripped apart to form an island in the Trackless Sea. The coast of Faerûn was destroyed by tremendous earthquakes and floods. Hundreds of elven settlements were destroyed and others were changed forever. Another change was perhaps more dramatic as far as future generations were concerned—the city of Atorrnash was destroyed and with it much of the first Ilythiir empire. Many dark elves died, but most of them were worshipers of Vhaeraun and with that, Lolth became the dominant goddess for the survivors.

But the original goal was achieved: a place for the good elves of Faerûn was created and the island of Evermeet rose from the depths of the sea. When the casting was done, Starleaf awoke at Evermeet and met there the gods Corellon Larethian and Angharradh. Both revealed that the elves had succeeded with their help. That also meant that the elves were not the only ones to be blamed for the destruction wrought on Faerûn.

Politics
Not all elves agreed with the ritual and its plan. With every passing year, the tensions between the Ilythiiri elves of the south and the elves of the north grew. It was for that reason the northern elves chose to exclude the dark elves from the ritual and so this heightened the animosities between the races. The gold elves stood firm and wanted to create the promised land at all costs. In accordance with old prophecies the land should be named Evermeet, and it would be a safe haven for all children of Corellon Larethian. There was resistance from the side of scholars who studied the ancient texts. They warned against the casting because the ancient realm of Tintageer was also destroyed by a mighty high magic ritual. But their warnings went unheard and no one wanted to believe the old stories.

Connections
Die Teilung