Decades after the Last War, the land of Khorvaire was engulfed in a pink-purple mist around every corner.  By itself, the fae-curse miasma was harmless, but it stifled the effects of restorative magic, and bolstered the effects of evocation.  This was when the Lord of Blades attacked, and decimated portions of the kingdoms, aided by runes which could return the effects of arcane magic back at the defending warmages, or even absorb it altogether.

Summoning spells began to falter; some of the last to touch conjuring magic have yet to be seen again on any known plane, whereas other attempts led to the summoned creatures turning against their summoners.  Seers were left blind and deaf by their divinations.  Illusions flickered out, while transmutation spells tore doors off hinges and pages out of ancient books.  Tales of how Necromancy failed within the miasma are best left away from the dinner table.

The Lord of Blades pushed further from the ruins of Cyre, marching forth from the Mournland as a seemingly unstoppable force.  With Kalashtar backup being torn to shreds, Argonnessen defenses being battered and beaten, and the world falling to the mercy of the Metal Tyrant, the fallen island of Arcanix unleashed a forbidden spell that would turn the world upside down.  Giant spires of Khyber dragonshard began to explode forth from the land.  The sky of Siberys dragonshards began to circle across the sky, orbiting much lower than before.  Dragonshards of the Dragon Between began to sing with an eerie, yet soft tone.  And with that, it was done.

The Dragons Dance had begun, and magic as Eberron knew it, ceased.

For seven years, the forms of magic that had been known for generations no longer worked, instantly dispelled by an unknown force.  During this time, the King of Blades was pushed back, and although not defeated, his forces relied too heavily on failing magic to continue conquest.  The allied forces had to quickly revert to ancient forms of magic unaffected by the Dance or the Miasma.  The King of Blades once took hold of Thrane, and perhaps parts of the other continents, but there was far less fear of his tyrannical imperialism.

Magic was supposed to return to its normal state eventually, but it was too well known that further use of those ways would only continue to aid the King.  As such, the old ways were to be outlawed, punishable by death. However, the Dance never ended, and in time people almost forgot that there was a time before.  Before the Dance, before the era of the King of Blades.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:43, Thu 30 June 2022.

When the Dragon's Dance was first initiated, the resulting chaos was determined to be well worth the effort and risk of almost literally destroying the systems of magic that had already existed since the empire began.  The miasma had become widespread and powerful.  The lightning rail ceased running due to large swathes of conductor stones becoming either dysfunctional, or deadly.  Couriers refused to take the risk now associated with their previous duties.  Airships had to be permanently grounded, as no pilot wanted to be associated with yet another collision.

During the fight against the on coming forces of the King of Blades, many of the smaller cities of Breland were able to hold their own using the hastily copied manuals of the most basic form of magic in recorded history, Word Magic.  As well prepared as they were, the King's forward could not stand against an entire city of spellcasters, so that by the time the army arrived, the city was already bolstered with their own battalion.

As the cold war settled in, concerns were raised over whether the Dance would be reversed when and if the time came.  As it turns out, the Dance was barely a theoretical spell, only tested on a small scale.  Had it not been for the fae-curse miasma, the schema it was etched into would still be collecting dust.  The effects of the Dance did not at the time have a reversal.  For the time being, those magical formulas would be locked away forever, and for good reason.

Over time, the new world thearte built a solid foundation, society becoming accustomed.  The remaining three nations had set up barricades around Metal Breland, erecting giant walls of stone in strategic locations.  Arcane universities across Khorvaire began teaching the ancient magics, with Sphere Theory quickly becoming the favored magical concept.

Now, two decades after the King of Blades' rise to power, even the youngest of new mages are near experts of a once dead concept.  Sharn is reborn, the Kalashtar find themselves in two wars, emissaries of the King of Blades are asking for meetings and summits, and the remnants of Thrane are holding steadfast against any attempt by the King to retake their land.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:47, Thu 30 June 2022.

Arcanix is no longer a floating fortress in the sky, due to immense damage which occurred when the towers fell into the lake after the Dance.  The remnants of Arcanix now float along the Aundairian third of Lake Galifar, anchored to the shore with steel chains.  Large chunks of the old towers are missing, presumably sunk to the lake bottom, although the city otherwise continues as it normally had previously.  Many citizens of various nations, including Aundair itself, have turned against Arcanix after the Dragon's Dance.  Some refer to it as a deliberate act of war; one for which Aundarian royalty must now answer.

Sharn has been subject to a relatively small amount of damage due to parts of the city, drifting from their anchored locations in the air.  If not for the natural manifest zone to Syrania, the damage would have been much greater.  Pillars of stone were hastily erected within the Cogs in order to keep the basement of the lower city from crushing everyone and everything lower than the Depths.  Many of the floating sections of the upper city now hang from thick chains attached to the walls and cliffsides.  The Skyway now partially rests one end against the towers of the upper city, where it slammed into the walls and settled into a 25 degree angle, causing thousands of platinum worth of damage between both areas.  Various efforts are being made to return the city to its original form using sphere theory, and many eyes are on Aundair to foot the bill.