Introduction: Past of Erebon
It was rainy in the region of Erebon today. In fact, the weather had been like this for a long while now, almost 3 solstices. Dense mist hung in the air, giving it a heavy, somber feeling of loneliness. A spacious field spread out along a wide valley.
Sitting in the very center, like a raft floating down a river, was a large red farm house sitting in the middle of a trickling brook. A long hazel deck stretched across the front of the residence with a slender cobblestone bridge protruding from the left of the deck and across the brook to the muddy bank. The building had a presence of grandeur and power in comparison to the small shrubs out-skirting the base of the steeping hills.
This is Erebon, once a legendary place. Bringing shelter and security to anyone entitled to inhabit it. But over time, the land lost its grandeur, safety, and protection. This didn't make Erebon any less beautiful, but it was now full of sinister magic. A threat to all who entered... and all who didn't enter. An ancient enchantment sits on the roots of this land, a curse placed by an Unknown Being near the beginning of creation:
As long as you shall dwell in this land, every existence of darkness from past, present, and future shall penetrate your mind, forcing your soul into a maddened servant of the Master. As the Abonloe flows, let it be done.
How do we know this curse? Well, the valley is preserved in a circle made from 5 granite stones jutting 15 feet out of the ground. On each slab, the curse is etched, each one bearing a different name at the bottom:
Sun, Sky, Sea, Star, Soil.
Ancient philosophers and wizards once worshiped such names, drawing off of them the power to do great works of magic and enchantments. These were believed to be the first beings of actuality. They created all that is known, and fought all that was unknown.
But soon there arose a new generation of wizards, power hungry men who used their magical control for evil deeds and doings. They called themselves sorcerers and thought the magic originating from the 5 brothers to be weak.
Instead, they called upon their own names, discovering the power they had blindly owned their whole lives. This power was theirs, no one else's, they didn't have to share it, or have permission to use it. This was complete, wild, pure magic that is woven into the fibers of all life. Stronger than any other, but sacred, and dangerous and difficult to use.
They combined this new power with the force originated from the Unknown, making themselves as powerful as the Brothers. Once they had discovered this, the sorcerers felt threatened, frightened by the fact that anyone they knew, anyone around them could have access to the control and power that they so greedily possessed. Consequently, they picked 5 leaders, 5 of their strongest wielders to carry and uphold the name of their brotherhood: Sorcery.
These brethren would select one apprentice to learn the ways of sorcery and prolong their reign from generation to generation. For as long as they kept their ways secret, they could never be overthrown.
