Atlantean World War

The Atlantean World War was a global conflict between the human world and the Atlanteans that began after the discovery of Atlantis in the 20th century.

The Discovery of Atlantis
Atlantis was discovered on April 12, 1961 by the cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, pilot of the Vostok 1, the first manned flight into orbit. Prior to that point, Atlanteans had kept their island hidden from humans using a variety of spells and other methods undertaken by a dedicated branch of the government. After Gagarin's discovery, the rulers of Atlantis removed the island's disguising spells and made themselves known to the human world. Unrest broke out immediately amongst the humans. They engaged in riots, practiced hoarding and hiding behaviors, flocked to religious sites, and clogged the highways as they fled.

The War
Thereafter, humans perpetrated the war's initial acts of aggression. The conflict was incredibly destructive but brief, and both sides signed a peace accord in the mid-1960s. According to a newspaper marking the 15th anniversary of the war's end, at least three of the leading Atlanteans in the peace process were Lord Sun, Lord Tower, and Lord Judgment.

The Outcome
Over one hundred thousand people were killed. Several regions, including Poland and the Pacific Northwest, became "magically radioactive wastes" after major battles occurred there. Dragon kind was almost completely wiped out and a plague decimated Atlantis. The war irrevocably impacted the Arcanum as well. At least one Arcana died, The Emperor, his throne left empty. The Empress chose self-imposed exile in the United States. Lady Death abdicated after a serious injury during the war, at which time her daughter replaced her as the ruling Arcana. Because the home island had been made uninhabitable, the Atlantean population established a colony on the island of Nantucket; the process has been dubbed the Unsettlement. Other Atlanteans, choosing not to settle on New Atlantis, moved to smaller refugee communities.