The continuity which is described in the setting and history of this site, and generally considered the "default" timeline for community interactions and events. The "main" tag is only from a meta perspective; in lore, there is nothing particularly distinguishing the main continuity from other continuities. 

An alternate timeline of the Ideation universe in which physical reality collapsed, leaving only Abstractions for all beings to exist in.

The Calamity Continuity is an alternate timeline of the Ideation universe, where Firmament left (many say it as "the Firmament collapsed"), and some actions of multiple Edeia led to the mundane plane being completely blipped out of existence - not even empty space remaining. The ethereal plane is intact, though, and all Edeia were booted to their Abstractions if they weren't there already; the Abstractions of those in this continuity still have that adjacency of the same origin, and are able to sense and find each other to some extent.

All this means that the "physical space" of the universe now consists more or less exclusively as the Abstractions of Edeia. At the end of the world, some Edeia tried to rescue as many non-Edeia as they could by bringing them into their Abstractions. Perhaps had good intentions... perhaps some less so. They are, more or less, the sole "god" of their Abstraction, after all. Some Edeia create "doors" between Abstractions that allow free movement or easier movement. In this timeline, the Orderly is replaced by the Coalition, which is more open (you may freely add your Edeia to the Coalition if you wish) and tries to reach out to as many Edeia as possible and register/keep track of citizens. 

In this timeline, the Age of Secrecy never occurred, and there were frequent magical conflicts that eventually led to the end of the world.

All are free to join, though Auspice may offer suggestions/corrections to better align with the continuity's lore.

History - The Calamity

The world began to destabilize a decade before the end (2000s), though only those who were very in touch with the fabric of the universe and/or potential futures noticed. It was gradual and then accelerated quickly; many believed destabilization was all it was, and not the start of something bigger. Some did see it as a sign and thought it preventable, or that it wouldn't be a problem for a long time. 

By 2010, there were probably clear distortions in reality. Tears in space that led to nothingness, time slowing, speeding, sometimes jumping back or forward. Unexpected displacements in space. By now, more people understood that this was a bad situation, and Edeia started offering sanctuary - whether with good or bad intentions. People had magic technology, though, and many by their hubris thought themselves above the impending disaster. Even then, many were still wrapped in conflict, fighting over resources and any other reason they could find. 

In early 2012, large parts of reality began to disappear. The societies finally tried to stop fighting and focus on solutions, but by then it was too late. The disintegration seemed slow... and then, in December, everything fell apart. No one knew when or where the next collapse would happen. People rushed to flee - to Abstractions, to other universes, even to other timelines. And then.... for those who stayed to watch the end of the world - it was a cacophony of noise at first. And then, the sound was vacuumed away into silence, an implosion of reality that became nothing at all. The mortals died, and the Edeia would awaken, disoriented, in their Abstraction some time later. Some even Actualized at that very moment, coming to in their Abstraction as well.

The NPCs

Firmament: Vanished at an unknown time, but can be estimated around 1000 BC. What happens when they "leave" a universe is that they return to universal essence, ready to birth a universe. Where is it now? Has it already made a new universe? Unclear. Perhaps it is still potential energy, waiting to come into being. Maybe there is hope that they could be used to rebuild the universe, if they can be found and gathered. 

Consciousness, Concept, and Ideation: Concept's fragments appear throughout various Abstractions, while Consciousness wanders from Abstraction to Abstraction, maintaining a tenuous connection between all the minds of the continuity. Sometimes, they fuse and Ideation appears.  

Life and Death: Became overwhelmed with the influx of souls due to the calamity; extremely busy with making sure the ethereal plane also doesn't implode. There are increased instances of soul pathology: multiple souls ending up in one body, stillbirths, reincarnations with memories of the past, souls that dissapate unexpectedly. Over time, these even out, though the "rules" for souls are much more loosened - Ideation souls become able to reincarnate into beings that are not Ideation native, including extradimensional species and even, sometimes, magical constructs. 

Order: A long-lived entity who actualized at the final moment of the Calamity, and immediately began to try reaching out to other Abstractions and figuring a plan of how things should be now. After finding good allies, they formed the Coalition and later opened their Abstraction as a highly orderly city. 

Data: Actualized in the midst of the Calamity, and cared less about the end of the world and more about getting all the data, every single bit of data. One of the first Order met, and Order proposed a plan, eventually leading to the Coalition. Data rescues entire databases and individuals with immense amounts of knowledge, and has their Abstraction open. 

Possibility: Has always been aware of the possibility of the end of the world, and when the possibilities began to collapse into certainty, began offering possibilities to others: new universes, new timelines, new lives. They expended a great amount of power, both due to their wish to maintain more possibilities and due to people desperately coming to them for escape. As a result, they do not appear often and the "price" to escape to a different possibility is often very, very high. 

Ritual: The end of the world was foreseen - at least, the possibility of it. Early on, they invited their worshipers into their Abstraction. Soon, some became "missionaries" of a sort to recruit more followers, speaking of the coming end of the world. They welcome any who wish to join, but as always - pay a price for an equivalent gain. After the Calamity, their "missionaries" go out to other Abstractions and offer the power of ritual magic and, in the cases of Abstractions where the Edeia are not so benevolent, an escape. Refused to officially be part of the Coalition, but willing to cooperate at times. 

Sanctuary: Absorbed all of their Sanctuaries into their Abstraction around 2011, when they decided they could not wait any longer and gave up on the physical world. Their Abstraction is open to any who wish to visit or stay. Part of the Coalition. 

Pre-Calamity Societal Structure

The societal structure even prior to the Calamity is markedly different from that of our own world. The map is also different due to Sanctuary not going through the process of hiding every magical civilization from the mundane, while still creating large Sanctuaries for different purposes. 

Most of the larger counties that exist in our own modern world are fragmented into smaller national entities. The structure and culture within each of these nations will vary, with some rejecting magic and pursuing technology, some integrating themselves with magic to develop magitechnology, some devoting themselves to pure magic, etc. Most national entities are under the power of or protected by organizations with immense military power; some nations have multiple of these, some have one, some are the government itself. The most powerful of these are the magitechnological factions, which tend to have their own research divisions along with their military forces. (The magitechnology developed by these factions also played no small part in the destabilization of the world.) Conflicts may arise between nations, in which case a nation with multiple factions will work together to fight; internal conflict may also occur, leading to certain factions gaining power over others.

Many factions with less military might sought out Sanctuary for, well, sanctuary; so long as they agreed to be put under the effect of Sanctuary's laws of no harm, Sanctuary was willing to create the Sanctuaries isolated from external conflict for them. (Later, as the end of the world neared, Sanctuary took all of these Sanctuaries into their Abstraction, unless they agreed to another Edeia taking them instead.) 

The most powerful factions of the world may have different attitudes towards the crumbling of the world. Some took responsibility and sought to remedy the abnormalities in reality. Others did not care about the collateral damage of their conflicts. Occasionally, these factions might join forces to address an abnormality that presents immediate danger to both of them, such as those causing natural disasters. After a certain point in the timeline, these powerful factions tended not to directly engage each other due to the anticipated mutual losses, though they might continue to subjugate weaker factions. 

In addition to areas ruled by factions, there are also places without any such structures to their society, or other pockets of civilization. These are often protected by an Edeia in some shape or form, whether they know it or not.