Gizmagrad's enemies breached the mountains and flooded the River of Sand, making the city an island and breaking its northern monopoly.
Overview
The Drowning was the largest deliberate alteration of geography in recorded history. It succeeded militarily while exceeding every model made by its planners.
Water did not merely fill the lowest basin. It followed old sand currents, climbed channels thought to slope upward and entered sealed ruins before touching their outer walls.
History
Rival powers concluded that Gizmagrad could not be defeated while it controlled every practical route to the northern wealth. Engineers dammed rivers, linked high lakes and used explosive and magical works to break the Crownspine barriers.
The River of Sand became an inland sea. Gizmagrad's high centre survived as an island, but its toll roads drowned and new routes opened through the mountains. Refugees founded ports on former mesas while entire caravan cultures disappeared beneath the water.
The present record
The event marks the beginning of the Age of New Waters. It ended one monopoly and created several naval empires, eventually producing the War of the Seven Ports.
Debate continues over whether the planners redirected ordinary water or awakened an ancient watershed remembered by the desert itself.
Notes and record
This article combines campaign record, spoken lore and the mythic account preserved in the Earin archive.