INRODUCTION- The history of magic in the land.

The land of men was without magic until the power orb fell from the heavens and crashed into the southern landmass. It gorged out a huge crater, scorched the continent of all life and raised massive tidal waves that flooded the surrounding landmasses, creating poisonous swamps in many low lying areas. Five crystal shards broke off it as it fell and where they impacted across the land, great volcanoes arose. Within these volcanoes, crystal growths formed around each shard.

Magic began to seep into the land. It saturated the soil, the plants and even the creatures. As magic ebbed and flowed across the land, it formed temporary concentrations, known as a spatial vortex that affected the very fabric of space itself. Like a whirlpool, this spatial vortex sucked in the space around it and ejected it into a new location. Like blinking fireflies these locations kept disappearing and reappearing throughout the land. Such special locations were mapped and initially avoided. It didn't take long before enterprising tradespeople saw the advantages of translocating shops and soon all such locations were in use for one purpose or another.

Men eventually learnt to harness and control the power of magic. Thus arose the first era of the Magic of Man, the era of the Wizards. Three tools were developed to enable wizards to cast spells, the cloak, the staff and the familiar. These tools helped the wizards to draw upon the magic of the land and focus and direct it to their will. They were able to cast spells on any target that they could see.

With time men learnt more about magic and with the creation of the sacrificial stone wizards were able to merge the power of their tools with themselves. Now tools were no longer required to be used to cast spells. Spells could even be cast across the breadth of a landmass. Mundane items were enchanted to give great magic powers to those who possessed them. And so the second era of the magic came about, the era of the Sorcerers.

Some sorcerers learnt how to tap into a higher plane of magic and the tools of magic, long discarded, came back in use again. Great schools of magic arose to teach sorcerers how to use their tools for this purpose.

One sorcerer, researching the sources of magic in the land, discovered that the five shards, if collected and utilised in the assembly of a shard belt gave tremendous power to the wearer. Further investigation led to the discovery that if the damaged power orb was temporarily repaired with a completed shard belt, it could act like a super sacrificial stone. This sorcerer upon sacrificing and merging with his tools, discovered that, not only did he not require any tools to cast magic but the power of his spells were magnified twofold and could be cast at any location across the land!

He became the first Mage to walk the land and thus started the dark ages of the Mages. This era of death and destruction was the result of what was to be known as the Mage Wars, caused by human greed and hunger for power. Out of the conflict arose one winner, one survivor - the Arch mage. He systematically annihilated all higher level magic casters and amassed a wealth of magical items.

His tower, located high in the peaks of the eastern landmass, beyond the great desert and high mountain ridges of that continent, was also to become his tomb when he finally passed away. The magic seals that protect this tomb have yet to be breached and the massive treasure that lie within have yet to be claimed. It all awaits the next Mage powerful enough to open the arch mage's tomb and to lay claim to the title of
Arch Mage.
The master of all Mages.
The Mage Master.