Spellguard

Mananode
When natural magic cascades on itself, a mananode may form. In ancient times elven druids would "grow" temples around these fountains of magic. One in particular drew the attention of a powerful Arch-Magi from a powerful Order of Wizardry.

After years of plotting a war between the Kingdom of Fate and the elven druids, the Arch-Magi moved in to take the temple from the elves. A great battle ensued, in which the Arch-Magi, a Champion of Fate, and a wizened Druid lost their lives and were absorbed into the fountain, which at this point has become unstable.

With his last breath the elven druid cast a powerful enchantment upon the mananode. It solidified, and crumbled, making many small stones and dust, but three large stones remained. These stones were the deepest of black, the brightest of white, and lastly, a fuse between the two, each shaped as the one whose heart's mirrored those colors.

The champion's figurine is said to still rest inside a temple in the grand city of Destiny. The Druid's figurine was quickly taken by the other elves there, and has not been heard of since. As for the Arch-Magi's, well, tis said that is is used by the darkest of arcane students as a focus for their studies. Unfortunately, everyone who has ever used it had undergone strange unnatural changes in taste and mannerism. They begin dressing darkly and in ancient fashions. They are quicker to anger and slier with tongue, which a bad enemy makes. All are said to despise both elves and knights, and as if to finish off the "possession", all become obsessed with finding a point of power, obsessed to the point of madness, until, like a rabid dog, they must be taken down before the destruction of so much and so many happens anew. And each time the figurine disappears. However, the last time anyone heard about it is fifty years past. Perhaps the curse is over... or not.

Ruins Underneath
After the mananode became inert, eventually the temple became nothing more than a grove of trees. The elves went even further east, growing a wall as they went, which would become the Ghost Forest. Having suffered a great lost during the war, Fate wanted nothing but to rebuild and forget. That have been their greatest flaw.

The only one who seemed at all interested in the crater, as it had become, was the Archmagi's apprentice. Slowly but surely he accumulated enough influence to be able to establish a keep atop the crater. And then he began the nefarious plan that would tax the strength of the nomadic tribes to the south.

He would resurrect his master.

Before the War of Balance, the elven forest was ideal at keeping the barbarian tribes at length. When the Apprentice established himself, he showed two faces, one to the south, and one to the north. Then the patrols of Fate went down to the crater they saw the excavation of studious scholars going about their work to find out just what happened. Nothing wrong with that, especially since it could be beneficial to the kingdom, maybe even a new weapon. Yet, something was wrong with the scholars, though the soldiers couldn't tell why... probably just from the library dust and no sun they told themselves. They couldn't have been more wrong.

On the other side of the border the picture was completely different. War was about to break out, and these spell shapers were at the fore front of the battle lines!

Temple of Aerious
This temple is dedicated to Aerious.