Storm Upon the Prime

The Storm Upon the Prime is a secret ritual by which a particular illithid, known as the Caster, is able to reboot the multiverse and redesign it to their choosing. As revealed by Ashra in the Halls of the Forgotten, it is necessary to counteract the effects of entropy and the leeching of life force into the Void.

History
The first Storm came about as part of an agreement between the All-Mother and the Eldest Brain of the illithids. After the All-Mother made the multiverse, the void outside fed on the life-force of her new creation, weakening it and degrading the worlds within. This manifested in many different calamities, wild magic surges, and a general breakdown of order within the Planes. The Eldest Brain offered to have the illithids periodically bring Fates in from a time-sealed chamber and unleash their power to reboot the world, reversing much of the void damage and allowing time to restart, thus prolonging existence until someone could figure out a better solution. In exchange the All-Mother permitted some of the more existence-friendly abberations to leave the Void and co-exist with her creations.

Components
The Storm must be conducted by a Caster, a special illithid who is born when the world's time is running out. They come from a special tadpole which would have been a ulitharid, but are indistinguishable from their peers. By tradition, they are sent away at one day old and fostered by a different Mother Brain than the one that spawned them. This is likely because the birth of a Caster dooms their Mother to die before the world is reset.

The Caster requires certain objects, typically a Dark Lantern, a Fate, and the soul of a god, to do the ritual. Beyond this, the details of the ritual vary from age to age.

Past Storms
There have been three storms preceding this age, all of which are documented in the Halls of the Forgotten.

Firestorm Prime
The first storm was cast by Talos, the Dreamer. It is generally understood to have gone smoothly.

Thunderstorm Prime
The second storm was cast by Xenteroth, the Chessmaster. Because of inter-party tension over whether Xenteroth was right to kill Talos when she refused to hand over her soul peacefully, Xenteroth was attacked in mid-cast, and many things were lost. These included the civilizations of Ravinia and Eldergrin, as well as the entire Eastern Continent.

Snowstorm Prime
The third storm was cast by some asshole Ashra, the Puzzlesolver. Ashra was also betrayed while casting, as Morzteg Thog snuck alterations into the cast which took power from Titania the Fairy Queen and gave it to his mistress Queen Mab. This also enlarged and empowered the Ornan Jungle. Since Ashra was not distracted by a direct attack during the casting, she was able to compensate by splitting off the jungle and exiling it to protect the Nyasa Civilization and Benin Falls, as well as giving Titania back a minor divinity and the rule of the forests of Elderfey Wild.