The cataclysm that ended the Age of Legends, caused by male Aes Sedai driven mad by the Dark One's taint on saidin. In their insanity, these immensely powerful channellers reshaped the face of the earth - raising mountains, sinking continents, and flooding vast areas. The destruction lasted for generations and shattered civilisation utterly, scattering the surviving population. The Breaking is the defining catastrophe of the world's history, and fear of its repetition drives much of the Third Age's politics.