Magic becomes quite rare with only a few carefully cultivated blood lines reliably producing mages. Any rumors of new mages are actively investigated so that new mages can be taken to various strongholds. Magic is viewed with suspicion or even as an unfortunate curse since mages are employed purely for war research.
The wars that plague the races of Gimahn become an annoyance to the gods, and angered by the amount of smoke filling her sky, Jellanile convinces
Varunak and Bav Catha to help her clear her domain with a great storm. They create a hurricane that sweeps across the world. Great cities crumble and nations are wiped from the map under the great storm's assault. The storm lasts a year and a day before one of the great elder oaks is split asunder.
Envoys from the Mirage steps forth from the split oak, and engages in negotiations with the gods and the ancient of air. The great hurricane ceases that same day.
Unwilling to completely release the mortals from their punishment, Varunak continues to assault the oceans with storms.
Somehow the pirate ships of the northern seas seem able to withstand the storms. They must use smaller vessels and stay close to shore, but their ability to sail at all is seen as some sort of miracle.
Rumors of a pirate god able to withstand the divine might of the storms begins to spread. Pirates declare their deity is the sea itself.
In the seas along Arda's central coast, a mighty human adventurer named Erefon declares he will defeat the storms and set sail to one of the now legendary other lands. He hatches a plan to distract Varunak and sets sail. Despite massive damage to his vessel and the loss of his charts he manages to make it safely back to port carrying treasures and stories of far off lands shrouded in darkness and filled with treasure from the heavens.
Emboldened by his prior success, Erefon sets sail once again, determined to try and find his way to those dark lands for more treasure. This time Varunak is prepared for his attempts to fool him and sinks Erefon's ship.
Erefon somehow returns home, riding a dolphin and carrying with him a single gold necklace with hammered moons as proof of his trip's success.
Erefon sets sail again, but this time he does not return. He is immortalized in legend, and inspired by his stories more and more adventurers begin to set sail despite the storms.
As more adventurers continue to sacrifice themselves in attempts to sail, Varunak feels pity on them and withdraws his storms from coasts, keeping them restricted to the deeper oceans.
The continents remain cut off from each other, the nations of the first men struggle to recover, and though they occasionally return to war, it is without the same firepower and devastation as the technology of the prior age is lost and forgotten.