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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dave G" data-source="post: 4055073" data-attributes="member: 17">The StoryMastersAs told by Evaliér, leader of the Praesidium Fatum, upon his awakening after the re-establishment of the Council of Mages. --------------------------------------------“There are many things you must know, now in the aftermath of Kor’s Folly. I am Evaliér of the Praesidium Fatum, and I serve the Masters, the Council of Mages, and the land of Anexxia. The order of my loyalty is absolute. The Masters are the creators of all things. They made this world an eon ago but knew the danger of the powers they left you, and that you would need help if someone attempted to steal the Crystal of Creation. The Praesidium Fatum are its guardians, and we have failed.”--------------------------------------------The Crystal of Creation, was an ancient artifact which was the source of all magic in the realm. It was hidden in a strange stone tower, in the middle of a remote desert in southern Anexxia. Wizards and priests of the realm who had mastered their crafts, had hunted down the whereabouts of the crystal using the best of their magical skills and experiences. Their most powerful spells and divinations were unable to tell them anything about the Crystal save for the fact that it was older than anything else on the planet, and it held a vast reserve of  raw magic that it slowly released into the heart of the planet . Slowly, it was, until the day that the avatar of  Kor, the dark god of sorcery walked in through the towers defenses and tried to steal that power for his own dark aims. Kor almost succeeded, the ritual he cast created a tiny hole in the Crystal, and he began siphoning off the magic that came blazing out and absorbing it.  The first to notice was Heironeous, who felt the reserves of his own power ebbing away. He cast his gaze from his home on Celestia towards Anexxia and saw through the sandstorms and chaos that Kor was making his move. He immediately sent minions forth to warn the pantheon and sent his essence hurtling towards the scene. What Kor had failed to realize in his arrogance was the lattice of the Crystal was made of woven strands of magic. They were so tightly wound together to regulated the release of the power, that when the ritual made it’s pinhole prick into the Crystal, it began to unravel. Kor quickly realized something had gone wrong and he had to get the power out fast, so he cast an energy drain spell. To Heironeous, whose celestial form was tearing through the cosmos on its way to the scene, it was as if Kor’s spirit were suddenly a mosquito who’d punctured a vein. He couldn’t stop taking in the power, even as he began to unravel himself. Within an instant, it was over. He exploded in a sphere of devastation that blew through all of the adjacent planes and the land of Anexxia itself for several hundred miles. It is widely accepted that both Kor and Heironeous were destroyed in the blast of pure chaos and magic, but Heironeous was caught in the shockwave and barely managed to manifest an avatar just outside of the immediate blast devastation. He was not immediately killed, but he was dying. Praesidium Fatum No one had ever heard of the Masters until the Praesidium Fatum were awakened.  Their role in this is still shrouded in mystery, but thankfully for the surviving peoples of Anexxia, they were on the same side. The Praesidium Fatum are speculated to be many things, golems, constructs, or some sort of weird figurines of wondrous power are some of the most far-fetched speculations. They had existed apparently as a varied series of 300 statues of obsidian warriors of great size, which were scattered across Anexxia. They stand between eight and nine feet tall and have large feathery wings. They are completely black, even their blood, and although they are both masculine and feminine, they are hairless and smooth as the stone they resemble. All of them are incredible specimens of anatomy in the human style, although they wear simple loincloths, the bracers on their arms and legs, and little else. All Praesidium Fatum wield great-weapons of enormous size.The statues are thought to be magical portals to some homeland of the Praesidium, but when they become active, they step off the base and leap into action. When they return to the base, they strike a statuesque pose and become immobile. They will not allow themselves to be moved, but appear without witnesses in places of importance. There are always nine attending the Council of Mages, with a new one appearing when one is sent on a mission or directive for the good of the kingdom. Many have fallen in battle since Kor’s folly caused the land to need them so much, but the pedestal of the Praesidium Fatum who has fallen always finds a new statue standing upon it one month later.When particularly dire and dangerous creatures or swarms of them are spawned from the chaos, the civilized forces waging battle will often see one or more Praesidium Fatum appear on the scene. They fight these creatures with fury that chills the blood of their allies, which had just had hope kindled by their appearance moments before. They also flock to scenes of tragedy caused by the Destiny storms, clearing debris and searching for survivors.They do have emotions, although to put them in normal frame of reference would be an error. Many of them terribly lament the tragedy of Kor’s Folly and constantly strive to find a way to make up for their failure. They are distant from civilized peoples for the most part, however, there are stories of them accompanying adventurers on important quests and observing sacred ceremonies and rituals. In addition there are those who seem to make friends of sorts with leaders and powerful personas of the realm, although seemingly ageless, they often outlive their friendships.</blockquote>

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