The Cataclysm

The SC world was formed very much like Earth - the planet formed over a very, VERY long time, civilization emerged, and began to organize and progress. No chasms yet existed. During this time, man tamed the horse and other livestock.

Then, according to the main creation stories,* man became rebellious, so God struck the earth, shattering the surface, separating men from one another. Many call this The Cataclysm. During The Cataclysm, the chasms formed suddenly and violently, devastating humanity and setting both their society and their technology back thousands of years. Knowledge was lost, nations were fractured, and the vast majority (90%) of the population was utterly decimated. However, according to the sacred stories, God was merciful, and brought up new, flying creatures to assist mankind in rebuilding in the new world criss-crossed by huge, impassible chasms.

From a more scientific perspective, the Cataclysm definitely did happen, and it was just as devestaing to mankind and animals as the stories say. During the thousands and thousands of years for mankind to return to any semblance of real civilization, pegasi and other new flying creatures rapidly evolved in the wake of the destruction of most other creatures. Creatures who did not evolve flight capabilities were driven to further specificity in their now isolated ecosystems. Once mankind started to bounce back, they started to tame the pegasus. Only once the pegasus was mastered were men able to intermingle once more, and rebuild the larger society we see in Sky Cowboys today.

* There are, as one might expect, several creations stories that exist simultaneously, each one specific to a particular island or group. The one recounted here is merely the most widely accepted.