Age of the Sorceror

From Istaria Lexica

Info blue round.svg This article is a work of fiction related to Istaria. It is part of the background Istarian story.

Timeline[edit]

  • 300 B.R. Construction of the Towers of Magic
  • 298 B.R. The Observatory is constructed on the southwestern tip of the DalimondPeninsula.
  • 293 B.R. Rise of Torrin Macalir
  • 271 B.R. Human Civil War Begins. The Kingdom of Vandus is splintered, each faction vying for control.
  • 269 B.R. The destruction of the Sleeper
  • 268 B.R. Splintering of the Humans and Magical Schools (Torrin Macalir's Exile). The dragon known as the Entombed Will is imprisoned in a statue in Draak; many Lunus families consider withdrawing their hatchlings from the Academy due to its rampant pro-Helian leanings. The Lunus see the Entombed Will as a hero, and this action brings renewed bitterness to Lunus-Helian relationships.
  • 258 B.R. Birth of the Fiends; Founding of Kirasanct
  • 254 B.R. Torrin Macalir reject's Niatha Moraven's Deal; Creation of the Withered Aegis
  • 248 B.R. Ashton Vandus reaches an agreement with the various human factions and the Vandus Confederation is created.
  • 241 B.R. Invention of the Cargo Disk by Gnomian Tinkerers and Scholars.
  • 196 B.R. Return of Torrin Macalir; Invasion of the Eastern Continent

The Age of the Sorcerer is named after the dark sorcerer Torrin Macalir. Macalir, a patron of the dark arts was at one point the leader of the Human intelligentsia and the foremost magical practitioner in Istaria. Then through his experimentation with necromancy he became corrupted and twisted into the evil leader of the Withered Aegis. His ascension to power went greatly unnoticed for sometime due to the petty feuds between the living races of Istaria. During this time Istaria was a hotbed of tension.

The Humans were involved in a feud with a race that has become known as the Fiends. Many Istarians forget before the Age of the Sorcerer there was no such race as Fiends. In many accounts we can relate what happened to the Humans during this time period to the Great Schism of the Dragons. Human society emulated that which had been Dragon society at the height of the Age of the Dragon. Humans were at the forefront of almost every major endeavor in Istarian life, and had certainly made many advances in the realm of magical study and practice. With such a leadership position in Istarian life, it became very easy for the Humans to forget the lessons they learned in shaking off the reins of Dragon domination in their life. Some feel that the Humans during this time coveted too much magical power, while others feel that Human society simply became too lax. If we compare what happend during this time period with the Great Schism we can see that actually, the secession of the Fiends from the Human race was in fact, a much darker event.

The creation of the Fiends and their forced removal from Human society says as much about the Human psyche of this time as anything else. Humans sought to unlock some of the greatest secrets of the use of magic ever... powers and concepts that are lost to us even during this day and age. A significant and sizable cadre of mages decided to tap into the powers of Necromancy and Mental Domination in order to achieve the ends they sought. The powers that be during this time balked at the use of hitherto shunned magical practices in order to achieve those ends, though some think that fear, rather than a sense of honor, drove the leading mages to ostracize their less scrupulous brethren. Many in Human society became embroiled in the growing social unrest, choosing one side or the other.

As with all of the great social dilemmas in Istaria, war ensued. Those who favored the forbidden practices of magic were outnumbered from the start, but managed to flee Human lands when the war pressed on. In order to secure a future for themselves, they chose subservience to a new Istarian deity, earning her guidance and protection. Such fiendish actions certainly earned the name given to them by the Humans and adopted by themselves, but the new Fiend civilization vowed to never be restrained by the shackles of what they considered to be the weaknesses of morality. In turn, they swore to teach the descendants of those who had ostracized them a lesson on, as the Fiends call it, "the virtues of revenge."

The Fiends went on to create the city of Kirasanct to the frigid north. The city is a testament to the Fiendish desires of seclusion from outsiders, while displaying their ostentatious sensibilities. Kirasanct is a walled fortress of metal and stone, with a massive central tower in the heart of the city. Spindly frames circle the city wall, giving the city a fearsome silhouette at a distance. Kirasanct proper lies on a plateau in the center of a vast valley, allowing for a significant distance around the city to be surveyed from the central tower and the high, arching walls of the city. It is clear that the purpose behind the city is to keep unwelcome visitors out, and considering the Fiends for who they are, that means just about all the other Living Races. Even today, when cooperation amongst the Living Races is at a virtual pinnacle, Kirasanct remains an inhospitable place for those save the Fiends.

It is said that either under the icy bedrock of Kirasanct, or perhaps in a nearby cavern, lays a dormant portal to the Realm of Twilight. It is rumored that before the onset of the Lament, the Fiends were actively trying to re-engage the portal, creating a gateway between the Prime and the Realm of Twilight, where it is said that the Fiend's patron deity, Niatha Moraven, dwells. The Fiends have never made a secret of their desire to strengthen the connection they have with their chosen goddess; in fact, the Fiends chose to found Kirasanct over a source of potent magical essence in the hopes that it would fuel their rituals and sorceries to achieve said goals.

With all these events weighing heavily on the minds of Istrians the actions of Macalir were largely unnoticed. How much harm could a lunatic necromancer cause? Only when it was too late did the races of Istaria realize that it was not flesh and blood that would be their downfall, but the twisted forces of undeath itself. How foolish we were, but we only realize this in hindsight now.

It was at the end of the Age of the Sorcerer when Macalir united the different sects of undead in the common goal of destroying the Living. Macalir held a firm grasp on the Withered Aegis, and through his leadership they began their march over Istaria.

Next: Age of Lamentations

Source: community.istaria.com

Original material from istaria.wikia.com by StalePopcorn — licensed under the CC-BY-SA 3.0.