The Story
The Shakarine armies, led by their Warrior Wizard, had reignited the ancient tension between the members of the Wizards’ Guilds and the citizens of Carbynarah. It had been a thousand years since the Treaty of Carta eased the stress caused by the Shadow Wars. It took several more years for the citizens’ desire to eliminate all members of the Guilds, their families, and any others that used magic, to cease.
The wizards and their warrior spells had been responsible for most of the dead and wounded on the battlefields. Their magic had indiscriminately killed and maimed generations of men who fought in the Shadow Wars. It was common for battlefield widows to discover that on the same day that they lost their husbands, they had also lost their sons and grandsons.
It was only after the citizens of Carbynarah had mercenaries and members of the Assassins’ Guilds hunt down and kill magic users and their families, that the Wizards’ Guilds finally accepted the citizens’ demand to stop the use of warrior magic.
The signing of The Carta preserved the wizards, their families, and their Guilds-including all who used magic. The treaty forced the Wizards’ Guilds to cease using and teaching warrior magic spells.
The treaty had worked. The signing of the agreement, known as “The Carta”, brought a thousand years of peace. Time had become a healing balm for the Wizards’ Guilds. The Guilds focused on magical research to develop spells that would benefit humankind; thus, allowing wizards to become an integral part of society, responsible for providing better lives for the people of Carbynarah.
Magically enhanced crops grew twice the food, and magical bobbles (like warmth rings) helped those living in the North Country stay warm during cold winters. Every part of society had grown to rely on Wizards’ Guilds.
But old fears began to manifest themselves with rumors of a Warrior Wizard leading the Shakarine forces against neighboring kingdoms in the north spread across the land. Magic users, their families, and their maiggii were being hunted down and killed or imprisoned. Crops that relied on the magical enhancements were failing and food shortages were becoming a problem in many of the Kingdoms of Carbynarah. These rumors, and the refugees escaping from the war-torn parts of Carbynarah, forced the leaders to call an emergency meeting to deal with rekindled fears.
The Shakarine attack on the High Plains, led by their Warrior Wizard, was the fear of the day. Many of the Kings representing Kingdoms across Carbynarah were unable to attend the Executive Committee Meeting of the Grand Council because they were defending their Kingdoms from the Shakarine and their allies’ attacks.
It was during this meeting that King Timon, High King of the High Plains, via the Casfur, contacted Grand Master Raajanaar, the leader of the Grand Council. The Casfur, a magic orb forged by the Guild of White Essence – that allowed designated people to communicate with each other over long distances, glowed softly. The activation of the Casfur caused the council members to silence their discussion. All eyes focused on the lightly lit orb that rested on the table next to Grand Master Raajanaar.
“Grand Master!” screamed King Timon. The Grand Master turned toward Casfur and looked at the King’s face, which appeared in the small orb. “HELP! We are…” the King shouted with tears streaming down his face. He took a deep breath before continuing, “My youngest son has been dispatched to your home. Be there when he arrives.” Suddenly, the Casfur went dark.