The Age of Great Magics

As time progressed each of the races found their niche magically as well as economically.
The nomadic orcs turned their attention to the world of spirits becoming powerful summoners and shamans.
The elves continued delving into the secrets of nature becoming masters of shape shifting and healers without peer.
The dwarves’ talent for engineering and crafting was reflected in their arcane endeavors, as they became artificers producing many wondrous works from their workshops.
Man started as the jack-of-all-trades of the arcane world but finding links between the other race’s lore he began breaking new ground becoming the first called wise ones or wizards.
The gnomes in their practical homey ways never really took magic seriously except as entertainment. It is not surprising that the most renowned magi of the gnomes were illusionists.
Three major events marked the transition into what is commonly called the Age of Great Magics.
The first occurred as one of the orcish herdsmen, following some strays wandering far into the north, were caught by a freak blizzard. Wandering in search of shelter he came to what he assumed was an overhang from a rock wall. Using this shelter he settled in to ride out the storm. As the storm passed and a new day arose he found his rock wall was actually one of a pair of huge statues. As he stepped back to take them in he made another discovery, the land as seen between the statues was different from the rest of the tundra. Walking between the statues he found himself on a vast windswept plain under a burning sky. Far in the distance he could make out a tall tower silhouetted against the horizon. As he traveled north to the tower it became clear that it was higher and farther away than he first thought. After three days travel it became apparent that it was not one but two twin spires that rose from the vast plain.
Out of supplies the herdsmen turned his path south and came again to the statues and eventually back to his tribe. Word of his discovery soon spread and in short time groups of explorers headed north to seek the secrets of the spires.
Eventually the spires were reached and found to rise almost two miles upward from the plains. Fierce winds swept the higher reaches of the peaks making it impossible to ascend by magical means. A vast complex of tunnels and traps honeycombed the base of the mountains and many scrolls and tomes were discovered hidden within. The greatest treasure though was found in a central chamber of the right hand mountain, a passage to the summit of the spires. There was found a bridge spanning the gap between the peaks and what appeared to be a sealed temple on the far side. After many years and countless lives had been sacrificed to the task the seals were finally broken and the inner wards passed. There within the temple were found three great artifacts known only in the most ancient records of the El-Dren.
The first was a huge crystal set in a mithriel base. When invoked the crystal allowed the user to view any place in time he might desire.
The second was a pool where one could cast his perceptions to any point in the world with the slightest thought.
The last was a vast throne set with gems and covered in forgotten runes and glyphs. This last was the most important for from the throne one could summon the very essence of the world’s life to do his bidding. This power manifested as a blazing sword spoken of in the El-Dren legends as Ar-Live. The Sword of Ar-Lon.
The names of the explorers who achieved the shrine are lost to history as they also discovered the risk in using Ar-Live. The more they used it the closer they came to being consumed by its power. And in the end they departed this existence in a massive fireball that killed them all.
In time other explorers would find smaller towers and fortresses dotting the vast plain and these would reintroduce the magic of the Ya-Wen to the world.
The second event to herald the age was the rise of the dwarven kingdom of Kanathar. Already prosperous from the reserves of precious metals buried deep beneath their realm the kings of Kanathar sought to bring greater glory to their realm.
Already gods from all over the cosmos had been attracted to Ar-Lon and every changestorm brought new races and with them the belief that allowed new deities access to the world.
One night the king of Kanathar had a visitor. Passing all his guards and coming to the king’s inner sanctum the visitor laid a proposition before the dwarven lord. Many of the gods had recently fought over a far world all but destroying it and the people they had wished to convert in the process. These beings were so shaken by the aftermath of their war that they sought to prevent it from occurring again. To this end they would put forth a proposition to the dwarven lord. He would build a vast city of temples where any god might be worshiped and all could vie without bloodshed for followers. In return the gods would bless Kanathar for as long as they maintained the city and turned no cleric away and denied no gods their temple within the complex.
The king saw at last the great work he had sought for his realm and swore himself and his line to the pact. As he spoke the words a great earthquake shook the land and continued for several hours. As it subsided the dwarves witnessed a marvel, in a single night the top of their highest mountain had been sheered off and a vast mesa was left in its place. Here the king revealed all that has passed in the night and set his people to the building of the temple city.
In time clerics came from all corners of the world bringing their faith and seeking a place in the new city. And as promised, peace reigned within the city, even between orders that had sworn to eliminate each other.
And so one of the great wonders of the world came to be, the Great Temple City of Kanathar.
As the city grew so did Kanathar’s influence until most of the kingdoms of the valley did at least lip service to the dwarven throne. Eventually in the second century of the city the king began using the title of emperor and the Empire of Kanathar was born.
As Kanathar arose men from the outside world began returning to the valley bringing news of a human empire that ruled beyond the barrier range. First came clerics seeking a place in the temple city. Soon traders and eventually settlers followed them. In time the imperial settlers claimed the lands closest to the great passes and the beginnings of a city arose from the trading post that the early merchants had built. In time this would become the city of Urf Durfal and the main stronghold of the Empire in the valley.
Unfortunately not all that came with the settlers were good. Among the earliest travelers was a young mage outcast from his order and hunted by the imperial legions for hideous crimes. He traveled far to the north first to place as much distance between himself and the empire as possible and then, hearing of the discoveries from the northern regions he set out to find some relic or knowledge to defend himself from his pursuers.
No records tell of what passed in the northern wastes but some 20 years later the orcish tribes tell of its aftermath.
Riding out of the wastes on a great beast the mage came to the grasslands south of the western Dragonreach Range. Here he began a terrible ritual that blackened the skies for a full month. When the sun once again broke through a great lake was revealed and a large island ringed by a vast wall lay in its center. No sign of the mage was to be found but great clouds of black smoke rose from within the walls and anyone foolish enough to attempt to cross the lake were set upon by great beasts residing within the waters. In time the orcs steered clear of the fortress and guided their herds south giving it a wide berth.
Aside from the endless smoke nothing came or went from the dread fortress for almost 10 years. Then, in a single night, a bridge appeared linking the island to the shore. Across the bridge poured a terrible army of infernal creatures driving all before them as they swept out onto the plains. The orcs were caught unprepared for the onslaught and fled as best they could to the east and the relative safety of Zirkast. In less than a single season the orcish tribes were decimated with more than 7 in 10 either killed or captured by the infernal horde.
The pursuit of the tribes gave the dwarves and humans time to rally their forces and in the fall of that year they met the horde on the northern plains of Zirkast. A mighty battle ensued and in the end only the intervention of the priests from the temple city turned the tide and sent the horde back to the dark fortress.
Though battles would be fought on and off for years the horde would hold the northern plains and the range of the dwarven mountains would prove the barrier to their advance. The captured orcs were either sacrificed or converted by the Dark Lord and soon formed the core of his army much to their cousins’ sorrow. Much of the bad reputation orcs have developed over the years goes back to this time.
Over time the fortress became known for dark magic and bloody rituals. Many times during the years armies would march north to lay siege to it but it was never to fall. Even at the end of the age the only reason the Dark Lord fell was because he was caught outside of his Citadel of Blood and slain.
These were the events that opened the age and lead to the greatest discoveries and feats of wonder since the time of the Movement. In the next few posts I will look at a few of the high points before dealing with the events that ended this age and set the stage for the times since.