======The State of the World======

==== Magic and the World ====

There is much consternation in the days following the final Havering Hill meeting as to what should be done in respects to the 'boring field' - a phenomenon produced by Gaia which keeps her consciousness asleep, later radically altered by Ziz in order to keep humanity safe from the vicissitudes of magic. No-one proposes that Gaia should *not* be put back to sleep using the field - that would result in the complete death of the world. The question is whether to set the field to just enough that Gaia is asleep (which should increase the number of people interested in witchcraft), back to how Ziz placed the field (with some humans interested in witchcraft) or to go even further than Ziz, eliminating interest in magic from the world entirely.

Central to this discussion is how setting this field could possibly impact Gaia and the lifespan of the universe. It seems clear that using magic more frequently will ultimately hasten the end of Gaia in some way, but it is impossible to determine just what magnitude of impact this would have. 

Ultimately, the force of opinion places the field back to where it was when Ziz first altered it - and the status quo of witchcraft is upheld. Various witches try to alter the fundamental nature of the field while Gaia still wakes, but are ultimately unsuccessful.

The world continues to be one in which magic is only interesting to a select few - however, as a result of Gaia's awakening, and the continued efforts to publicise magic, the coming years see a notable expansion in the number of people world-wide interested in learning about witchcraft - if not practising it directly. Magic continues to be largely unregulated as an activity, though the position of Gaians [[eternities:gaians|does change]].  

==== Devastation and Recovery ====

The incidents surrounding what is known as 'The Death of Heaven' or simply, 'The Omen', caused widespread devastation across the entire planet. The continent of America - especially the United States - was completely devastated, with countless cities destroyed and livelihoods erased. One of the worst hit areas was Australia, where it is estimated that over 95% of homes were either damaged or destroyed entirely. 

In spite of it all the world unites to rebuild, and rehome, and repair. 

Nonetheless, takes years to even begin to resolve these problems, and the consequences are still visible in affected areas even hundreds of years later.

==== Cultural Impact of the Omen ====

Whilst magic itself remains 'boring', the cultural impact of 'The Omen' is extremely noticeable, and there is considerably public interest in the narrative of the events from that time and the characters involved therein. Many of the regulars at the Havering Hill meetings find themselves the subject of endless books, conspiracy theories, interviews, movies, video games, musicals. For some, this is welcome - but others prefer to be left well alone.