Prologue
More than two millennia before, an immortal named Dak’Verkat—the
Dark Tithe—was born to a Mai’Lang King. He grew to become
a Sorcerer of limitless potential, one of the most powerful men to inhabit
the Midgarthe since the Gods had walked the world. Wealth, power and
immortality could never fill his insatiable desire for more, however,
for there were others like him. Immortals, wielders of the elements.
Sorcerers bent on power and Chaos, and Magi devoted to peace and Order.
The Sorcerer became obsessed with amassing more and more power and wealth
and of devising a way to rule them all. After more than a thousand years,
he finally discovered the means to do so.
Fyrdn Dokksbana was High Mistress of the Elven Mystic Order of Vyzardn
and the greatest warrior of her time. A weapons master of unparalleled
prowess, a weapons smith of unequaled renown and a Mystic of unrivaled
power, she had forged the three Oracles in an effort to rid the world
of the Dark magic wielded by the Order of Daemonika, her hated enemies
once and for all. There was an Amber Oracle, forged from the Light magic
of Midgarthe, an Obsidian Oracle forged of the Dark magic of Midgarthe,
and a Jade Oracle forged from Midgarthe herself. Separate they were
little more than shiny marbles, but together, united, they were a source
of almost limitless power.
Through deceit, manipulation and carefully planned treachery, Dak’Verkat
managed to steal the Oracles from Fyrdn and once he had taken possession,
she could no longer hope to recover them. Undaunted, Fyrdn sacrificed
herself for the good of the world, vowing that Evil would never control
the Oracles. She channeled all of her power, knowledge and her very
essence into a sword forged from the stars. Fyrdn—in the guise
of an ancient bone’s thrower— delivered the magnificent
blade to Dak’Verkat as an act of homage. However, when the Sorcerer
attempted to take the sword, Fyrdn’s curse was triggered and the
Oracles erupted in such a devastating blast of power that everything
as far as the eye could see was destroyed.
The Oracles were scattered to the far edges of the continent with
the curse that should they ever again be united, only the wielder of
the sword, the immortal son of an immortal would be able to harness
their power. This referred to an ancient Foretelling about a boy who
would bring the Gods back to Midgarthe, the Champion of Order, the Sapphire
Son. Fyrdn herself disappeared, along with her all of the Elven Mystics,
both Vyzardn and Daemonika. The sword was lodged in a huge blue sapphire
and buried in the heart of the world, where it would remain for centuries
until it was discovered by Dwarven miners.
Dak’Verkat did not die, for he was immortal, and soon he became
more obsessed than ever. For the next thousand years he scoured the
continent for the Oracles, oblivious to the changes occurring in the
world around him. Not long before the beginning of the Great War, Dak’Verkat
once again united the three Oracles of Fyrdn and discovered their curse.
Through his triumph, disappointment, and subsequent rage, the Sorcerer
once more became part of the world. As he plunged it into Chaos, he
began a new quest, this one for the Orphan Mage, the boy who would become
the Sapphire Son.
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