Profound Silence
- This article is about the natural disaster in Iberia. For the eponymous Collectible, see Profound Silence (Collectible).
The Profound Silence (El Silencio Profundo) is a natural disaster in the world of Arknights.
Background
The tenth Terran century was known as the “Golden Age of Iberia,” the era when Iberia controlled much of the southern Terran coastlines. Under the aid of the Aegirian Islanders who introduced highly advanced technology to the Iberians, the Iberian naval capability suddenly boomed through its oceanic nomadic cities, the golden Grand Armada led by the Stultifera Navis, and the shining “Eyes of Iberia,” turning Iberia into a regional superpower around the Sea of Clariside.
However, the presence of the Islanders was actually a warning sign to the land-dwellers. For at least two centuries, Aegir has been facing threats from the Seaborn as the Leviathans, the “bearers” of the Seaborn, became increasingly unstable. To further increase the instability, there is a cultic movement later known as the “Church of the Deep” that seeks to assimilate every human being into the hive mind of the Seaborn to further their goal in creating a utopianistic future. To the cultists, the only way to bring such a future is to merge both the land and the seas under one union through summoning of the slumbering Leviathans, namely Ishar'mla the Firstborn.[1] And the only way to wake Them up is by driving the "Primordial Lifespring," one of the four Firstborn, into madness so that these seedlings that will forever merge with the oceans will provide nourishment to the Firstborns, and the summoning of more than two Firstborns will accelerate their goals despite the mass extinction it triggers along the way.[2]
During the Golden Age, there was an increase of contact between the Iberians and the Seaborn even though they were unaware of their true nature. Even the King of Iberia who were marveled by these sea monsters were tempted to hunt the Seaborn as trophies for his palace such as fishing for a five-meter-long Sea Terror to make it into the palace’s fountain. And among the arriving Islanders came cultists of the Church of the Deep who slowly infiltrated the Church of Iberia, distorted their religious texts, and spread them as gospels to both the poor commoners and the haughty aristocrats. According to their gospel, they described the ocean as a paradise that contains “a giant tree” bearing a sun growing from the ocean bed that provides life within chaos, and such mystic teachings aroused the philosophical interest of the land-dwellers who were unaware of the truth behind.[3]
Despite constant warnings from Breogan and other Aegirian sages in the palace, the royal court of Iberia turned a deaf ear and focused more on flexing their national power through their navies, resulting in long-due neglections for decades.
Tsunami
| “ | The ocean sank into an unprecedented silence. Anomalies appeared across the shore, as violently ebbing tides and irregular waves heralded the coming of disaster. All sounds were smothered. From waves crashing against the shore to the chiming of city clock towers, all noise faded away. | ” |
| —Archival records of the Inquisitors regarding signs of the Profound Silence[4] |
On June 28, 1038, the Iberian coastlines experienced abnormal natural phenomena. All of a sudden, the waves around the Iberian coasts turned silent; geological activity turned abnormal around the Iberian coastlines; communication signals between ports and cities were suddenly cut off. Being alert of the abnormal phenomenon, the ruling King Alejandro I of Iberia issued a nation-wide broadcast later known as the "Silenced Edict" to pacify the panicking public, declaring that the Armada of the Iberian Defensa were already dispatched to declare a war on the ocean after it finally tore off its docile hypocrisy.[5]
Within an hour after the edict, a giant tsunami occurred and washed upon the Iberian shores, destroying many ports and coastal settlements in the process. The once glorious Iberian Armada were suddenly sunk to the deep, vanishing into history forever; the "Eyes of Iberia" dotting along the coasts were shut down as their power supplies were destroyed by the aftershock. Being located right adjacent to the coastlines, Ria Iberia, the former capital of Iberia, was submerged by the tsunami, killing both King Alejandro I and ministers of the royal court. Many survivors of the disaster described the tsunami as a huge silence befallen upon Iberia as people struggled to yell out of desperation.[6]
Aftermath
The aftermath of the Profound Silence brought severe consequences to the country. Almost half of Iberian soil is forever submerged beneath the oceans. The tsunami drastically altered the Iberian topography, flooding many mountains into fractured islands and salinizing the once fertile flatlands into uninhabitable barrenlands. Within a short span of time, the coastlines were heavily infested by the Seaborn that turned hostile against humans. Many advanced infrastructure were destroyed by the tsunami which abruptly cut off Iberia's communication to the outside world. Most importantly, the sudden collapse of the Iberian regime in the disaster caused a widespread refugee crisis due to lootings and famines as many desperately fled from the southern coastlines to the northern heartland.[6] The disaster also frustrated Columbia's attempt to establish diplomatic and economic relationships with Iberia through Siesta as access to trading routes to the southern seas were abruptly interrupted. The subsequent withdrawal of the Union Army led Siesta to formally declare independence.[7]
The Profound Silence also greatly altered Iberia’s politics and culture, including the complete abandonment of the Iberian nobility system and its administrative divisions. Furthermore, the collapse of the Iberian royal house gave rise to the Inquisition, a strict religious order that imposed isolationism upon the country whose ironclad rule crushed the once vibrant Iberian culture. As a result of the old aristocracy no longer being able to maintain their armies, nearly all of the Defensa de Iberia standing forces were disbanded, with a few exceptions in the northern nomadic cities, which the Inquisition allowed to nominally carry their name.[8] In the meantime, the Profound Silence further propagates the teachings of the Church of the Deep as they preach that their current suffering since the Profound Silence is a way to reach their eternal goal into the utopianistic hive mind, leading to several grotesque rituals in various deserted settlements.
References
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