The Legend

On July 12, 2012, at 1:04 AM in Yellowstone National Park, Idaho, USA, a megavolcano erupted, the largest eruption ever recorded on the surface of the earth. 4000 cubic kilometers of the earth's crust were ejected into the atmosphere. The explosion was accompanied by powerful earthquakes felt across all corners of the planet. Fragments of stone were thrown more than 100km high, raining down on the surrounding territory and moving poison gases quickly eastward in the jet stream. The explosion was followed by an enormous lava outpouring. Pyroclastic flows and surges followed the explosion's initial shockwave, racing across the surrounding landscape at over 800 km/hr. All life within 750 km of the blast was extinguished within two hours of the initial explosion, primarily due to suffocation or hydrogen sulfide poisoning. The eruption lasted several days, converting the entire midwestern United States, from the Rockies to the Appalachians into a dead zone. The water supply to Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona was devastated, and millions more perished from disease and drought. Seismic waves provoked the eruption of dozens of other volcanoes across the planet, and sent tsunamis spreading across the Atlantic and Pacific with heights of up to 80 meters when they crashed on shore. 40% of the Earth's coastline was destroyed, erasing Atlantic and Pacific coastal cities from the face of the earth, and driving human losses to over 800 million.

The next saw the beginning of the acid rain, which removed the majority of North American vegetation. The clouds of ash and dust released in the explosion took two weeks to cross the Atlantic. In two months the entire Earth was enveloped in dust, shutting out sunlight to the planet. The ashfall covered the entire planet. Daytime visibility dropped to less than a meter, and the surface temperature plummeted by 20 degrees celsius. Northern countries like Sweden and Finland ceased to exist. Earthquakes, ash, and the sharp temperature drop disabled all lines of communication - wire conduits, radio, and railway were all knocked out.

Humanity, totally destroyed and disconnected, didn't have time to comprehend or react to what had occurred, let alone expect a repeat event. 37 days after Yellowstone, tectonic activity brought about another supervolcano eruption at Toba. Sumatra was reduced to fire and ash. The earth's core ejected more than 1000 cubic kilometers of magma, and the entire process started again.

In two months the Earth had transformed into a lifeless planet with a turbid, unlit atmosphere. The human species hung at the brink of extinction. The abrupt environment change brought forth genetic mutations among the remaining life. New forms and species of life began to appear...life who's only sense and purpose was to survive at any cost. Humans became a form of food for these creatures. Only a few shreds of society were able to adapt, with the remnants of the military doing the best. They organized refuges in underground defensive strongholds. Such refuges were few, located across America, Europe, and Asia.

A dark, long-term winter set in, one that grew colder and colder with each day. Powerful magnetic storms ruled out the possibility of making radio contact between the surviving shelters. Supplies were thin. A new place to live had to be found.

The surviving groups of humanity migrated towards their historical homeland. Enduring colossal losses on the path, humankind arrived at equatorial Africa, to found three great colonies of the New Civilization. At this point, nobody could even imagine, what had been the real source of the planet's catastrophe.