Before the Age of Superheroes
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Unless otherwise noted, the History of the Avatar's World is largely similar to our own. Most differences in eras anterior to the 20th century have to do with the existence of magic; those particular bits of History are still being studied by the Avatar's World's historians, as more evidence becomes accessible with time.
While magic has existed in the world's early History, very few humans learned how to use it, and it often remained anecdotal. There was, however, one place where magic was common: The elven city of Avalon.
Elves, as recent studies have shown, are a sub-specie of humanity. Aside from their green skin and longevity (The average elf lives about four centuries), their one important difference from humans is their natural aptitude for magic. In ancient times, elves became mistrustful of human communities, and secluded themselves to Avalon, a city they had enchanted to float of the British coasts. Their occasional interactions with humanity have no doubt influenced Arthurian legends, but as humans became more numerous and civilized, the people of Avalon felt even the current location of their city wasn't isolated enough. They gave it further enchantments, allowing it to fly high in the sky, and moving it above the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
At some point between the 10th and 11th century, a major event happened - an elven archmage named Nollius became the ruler of Avalon, presumably through a coup. There are rumors about Nollius having "sold his soul to the Demon King for power", but Historians do not know yet if there is any truth to that. Regardless, Nollius's rise to power was followed almost immediately by magic disappearing from the world: Avalon, along with every magician and nearly every magical item on Earth, was trapped in Limbo, unable to get out; what few items remained on Earth saw their powers vastly reduced, becoming almost useless.
The exact reasons for the disappearance of magic remain up for debate. Magic-experts agree that some massive ritual was used to banish it to Limbo; some historians suspect that the population of Avalon did it for the express purpose of preventing Nollius from turning elven magic against the rest of the world - Avalon's culture seems to have placed a very strong emphasis on responsibility. Whatever the cause, magic was all but gone from the world, and wouldn't return for a very long time...
(Note: There is far more to the History of the Avatar's World than is publicly known, especially when it comes to ancient events. This information, however, is not available for players at this stage.)
