"We knew not...
And so we fought, fought until in our ignorance we brought about the end of the old age. Senseless wars were waged under the reign of the Circle; so blinded were we in our constant quest for power that we did not foresee what was to come, could not comprehend the fate we had sealed for our world. As the shadow fell upon the Eye of Aonir, the Masters of the Elements, answering the call of the Thirteen, cast off their bonds and roamed free. Their power and rage unleashed, the ancient Elements once again began to fight amongst themselves, as they have since the beginning of time.
In their anger, the Elements heedlessly ravaged the face of the world. The earth burst open and its glowing blood flowed freely over the land. Columns of fire stretched toward the sky, up to the maelstrom of black clouds that seemed to swallow the horizon. Scorching storms of ash and poison upheaved even the highest mountains and ground them to dust. The oceans began to boil, greedily tearing away at the coasts.
One day and one night the rage of the Elements lasted, before the shadow passed. Then they were banished, just as they had been once before, and a deathly silence fell upon a scarred world.
Only a few of us managed to seek shelter by the Stones. There we lay; some crying to, others cursing the Gods that had let this happen. Yet we were blind, refused to accept the obvious truth… we were to blame.
For we knew not…"
Ishtar Magnus - The Darkest Hour
Background
In ancient times before the creation of the world of Eo, Aonir, the All-Father, tamed the primal elements and thus brought the world Eo to be. Still those ancient powers were not banned from the world but only under the power of Aonir laid to sleep.
The Fial Darg's plan
Ages after the Fial Darg waged war upon the people of light but by the power of the guardian gods they and their followers were defeated. Standing at the brink of destruction the Fial Darg created a trap to bring entire annihilation to the world: In an old ruin they left a text which promised almightiness and the power to rule the Elements. The text said that at a specific time, the Eye of Aonir is darkened by the dark roamer and his power over the elements is weakened. A mighty mage who summoned the elements could now gain power over them.
| “ | What we know of the Convocation comes from a runic text from the ruins of the shapers in Xu. The text describes the meeting of two heavenly bodies: The Eye of Aonir and something that the shapers used to call the Dark Roamer. Aonir's eye was covered over for only a moment. [...] The text says that should someone succeed in awakening the Primal Elements and then could cast a spell on them, he would aquire a level of power that would even make the gods tremble. The Circle mages discovered this text and somewhat later, the foolish plan of invoking the Convocation began to ripen in their minds. | ” |
The Circle being founded
In later times the thirteen mightiest mages of the world joined together to form the Circle. At first it was the idea to bring an end to the intrigues, mages always had created in all times to multiply their own power. But also to bring peace to the people in the aftermath of the Mage Wars and led the Circle, which was even respected by the followors of the dark gods, a golden age begun.
But soon the Circle became what it originally should prohibit: A centre of power which the circle mages used for their own good. They soon learned about the Allfire, which embodied in the Phoenix they trapped in a stone. The Allfire enlarged their power beyond imagination and extended their life to a span, that they could be called immortal.
The trap strikes the Circle
About 500 years after the creation of the Circle, somehow the Circle got knowledge of the instruction left by the Fial Darg. In their lust for power, each of the mages tried to win this power alone and thus they started to battle each other. The Convocation Wars had begun. Huge armies of rune warriors, but also demons and undead, brought desolation into the world and the day of the eclipse drew near.
| “ | In the course of time, the mages had an insight. They thought that only a single individual could also acquire the power over the Primal Elements. That is what caused the Convocation wars! [...] And when the hour of the Convocation came, they invoked the primeval powers with all their magical skills - competing for the price of great power. But nobody could muster enough strength on his own and the elements got out of control. | ” |
The Dark Roamer appeared
The Dark Roamer was covering the Eye of Aonir
When the Eye of Aonir was darkened, the circle mages called upon the elements but none of them had the power to tame them. The Elementes roared and ravaged, ash raining from heavens, the earth spilled blood, and the continents were shattered.
Most of the thirteen mages died in the tumults and the face of the world was changed forever. Only where the sacred obelisks of Aonir, the Godstones, stood, small islands remained amidst all the havoc. And the lands left behind after the cataclysm were in chaos. Only with huge efforts stability could be restored.
| “ | They arose from their slumbers and their raging shattered the face of the world. Only those places where the godstones of Aonir stood - the blue obelisks - were preserved by the might of the god of stars. | ” |
— Darius Servil about the awakening of the elements
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