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the world is left in ruins

The Crystals would remain hidden in the twisted terrain of the new world, not only locking away their vast supplies of energy and the Gods, but also distorting the distribution of energy. The result was a world devoid of magic. Former magic-users were suddenly unable to grasp their powers to manipulate the elements and in the midst of the ensuing struggle for survival, people were able to quickly forget about things like mana and magic.

0-35: Survivors of the great conflict awaken to varying degrees of ruin, all around the world. Most of the able adults died fighting or protecting others, creating a generational gap throughout much of the population. Maps from before the disaster had become functionally useless, while books, scrolls and other documents written in now-dead languages lie strewn about, creating obstacles of curiosity; in short, the world's overall sum of knowledge was set back.

A few locations survived the geographical turbulence, but most people were so utterly displaced that places to build new homes would have to be found. From that point on, exploration remained a common way of life, even after society began to reassert itself.

the revival of civilization

Though the entire span of time described above could have been labeled as the revival of civilization, this is the point at which people start becoming identifiable in groups. Regional differences are also starting to form, creating the first boundaries on the new terrain. The remnants of the Tritan Empire are forced to emerge from the sea, where many of them had been able to survive in somewhat of a secretive fashion. Afterwards, the Tritan (with surrounding regional powers) from the nation of Ancea. The history of the nation of Keshlam begins to unfold in this chapter, as well.

35-37: Having organized the largest unified kingdom since the essential destruction of civilization, a Sparron noble named Sabborus Keshlam begins aggressively expanding his territory. Without a strong government, the rest of the world is virtually helpless against this takeover.

38: Sabborus reaches his peak of world domination, controlling nearly 85% of the population. Alarmed by the news, the Tritan empire reacts with a posturing attitude, emerging to preemptively oppose the annexation of the sea. An agreement is reached, that Sabborus will not attempt to annex the ocean, if the empire keeps its business off of dry-land. Sabborus is actually more frightened of the Tritan than they are of him, but after managing to complete the unexpected juncture, The nation of Keshlam solidifies a hold on most of the world.

39-98: Though there are taxes under Keshlam's rule, his economic guidance brings long-distance trade back to everyday life. He also instates standardized currency and free education for children across the civilized population.

99-100: Sabborus Keshlam dies and leadership begins to falter. There is a brief argument over who should take control of the entire kingdom, until the former-ruler's family decides to split power evenly between themselves, briefly forming a government known as the Keshlam dynasty.

180-182: Taxes climb exponentially, inflating the wealth of the dynasty, at the direct expense of their populous. Many rag-tag resistance forces of varying size and capability form in light of these injustices, but most are in some way disrupted or destroyed.

183: Orchan Keshlam (one of the many family members in power) makes the mistake of demanding the seizure of a cargo-vessel, citing failure to pay one of his new taxes, before leaving port. When the captain refuses to pay, the vessel is attacked, but manages to escape. A group of Tritan hunters helps the crew with injuries and repairs; the lead hunter and the ship captain, exchange information and become friends.

184: The nation of Ancea begins to take form, through a collaborative union between the Tritan empire and a growing number of independent organizations. Despite their general lack of interest in the ocean, the dynasty of Keshlam considers this as a threat, because of the land they now stand to lose, as a result of this new collaboration.

185: With the protection of their newly organized military, Ancea is swift to secure most of the strategically relevant coasts, ports, etc.. the exceptions focused mainly around the heart of Keshlam. In an act of desperation, the rather flustered dynasty of Keshlam sends most of its army to take control of Ancea's capital. Though Keshlam's army does reach the capital, it is met with fierce resistance and is unable to take full control of the city.

the Gods escape

• During Keshlam's invasion of Ancea, the Crystal of Water suddenly shatters, smashing a great deal of the western world to the ocean floor. Ancea sinks, crushing the better part of Keshlam's military to a watery grave - an abrupt end to a short-lived war. Many of Ancea's citizens were naturally or artificially capable of breathing water and thus, were able to survive the deluge. Nerena, a previously average town, becomes the new center of Ancea and is elected as the capital, only a few days after the apparent disaster.
  • Within hours, the Crystal of Air shatters in a similar fashion, sending a the land around it skyward. The northern edge of Keshlam separates and floats from that point on.
    • Following suit, the Crystal of Fire shatters, scorching the jungle around it. Unlike previous eruptions, this explosive event seems to have more lasting effects. As the average ground temperature seems to skyrocket in many areas, Tonori transforms almost overnight, in to a barren wasteland. The area becomes known to many, simply as the Volcanic Desert.
      • Finally, the Crystal of Earth shatters, forming the longest and tallest mountain-range, in the world. Once a rather unremarkable chunk of land, Gasaro grows in to the most fertile stretch of land in the world, despite its generally rocky terrain.

186: With each of the Crystals broken down, the flow of elements around the world changes radically. Due to fluctuating levels of elemental stress, an enormous whirlpool forms in the waters of the central ocean.

188: The Kingdom of Tulimshar is officially founded, though its people had already been populating the area for a while, due to the aquifer beneath.

190: The Kingdom of Gispaa makes its official borders known, though they are secretly having engineering problems.. probably because they're building a large town on the side of a very active volcano.

199: The whirlpool begins to subside slightly, revealing a previously submerged continent. As the news spreads, explorers immediately begin traveling to the central continent. It goes by several names at first; Gaea's land, the Island - it is eventually named Argaes. People settle in droves, but the new continent remains shrouded in mystery.

a new era of magic

we need to figure out how the Crystals and their fragments are incorporated in to the magic and perhaps the crafting system. Here are a couple of ideas to get us going on this one.

When the Crystals shattered, their fragments became spread across the world. Once separated, many fragments mixed with other substances, transmuting them. If we do something like this, the whole concept can be used to express the importance of seemingly common materials. Instead of simply having four types of crystal fragments to find, we can create a list of precious metals and jewels to be a bit less obvious.

When the crystals shattered not only the crystal fragments but also a lot of mana energy could have errupted from them. This mana energy could have been absorbed by materials that are especially sensitive to the various kinds of mana energy. --Crush 18:13, 10 December 2007 (CET)

OR..

In this "new era of magic".. an abundance of raw energy does not simply float about like it did in ancient times.. instead, people must utilize the materials around them, in order to create magical effects. This could be done in a way similar to Secret of Evermore; instead of MP, specific amounts of regents or ingredients make or break a spell. Many people will attribute this to UO however, so I'm not sure if it's the best idea.

From the gameplay point of view I would not suggest to use reagents for attack spells. Ultima Online and Tibia show why this is a bad idea (spellcasters spend more time farming for spell reagents using melee combat than they spend fighting with spells). Using reagents for support spells on the other hand would make sense because it would stop people from casting support spells on all players in towns to gain exp without any risk and instead use them only in combat where they are really helping someone. --Crush 18:13, 10 December 2007 (CET)

OR..

The materials you find have to be processed in to "magic paint".. the paint is then used to draw runes, which enable magic use.

OR..

In times past, the crystals (being large) radiated strong rays of magic energy off their faces. But because crystals are broken into shards, only weak rays are radiated from these. Consequently, crystals must be collected, and aligned in geometric ways for their radiation energies to synergistically combine and strengthen eachother. Ordinary weapons must be shaped and designed to accomodate the placement of crystals in different symetrical geometric alignments, and spell-casters must develop symetrically, geometrically designed ornaments (similar to runes) held in their hands or worn on their clothes, and even positioned in alignments around their body (feet, hands, head, and different postures/positions made to align them in different ways). The sun, moon, and other planets also play a role, because they embody many crystals in their makeup (a sun crystal is rare-- it actually comes from the sun; meteor crystals--not as rare). Some types of crystals complement eachother, while other kinds of crystals detract from eachother (such as light and shadow?)

Note that this method will allow players to get creative with geometric designs as well as combinations of crystal types (which spell effects could be computed from, rather than making a specific spell set-- much easier and funner for the developer and the player!) --Blash 17:51, 13 December 2007 (CET)

Arkyan's Idea for Crystal Use

The crystals may have shattered, but each crystal still had at least one large enough piece to provide a jumpstart to new magic users. The various master crystals were located by the various civilizations, and whole schools of magic have been created around each of the crystals. Most of the crystals are found in heavily guarded areas, as they are obviously a source of power (and in some cases, income) for the particular owner. Other crystals, however, are lodged in secretive societies, either through hoarding of said crystal, or the magic considered an outcast strain of magic by a consensus of modern peoples. When a user who is not familiar with a certain element of magic comes in contact with a new master crystal, their forgotten ability to use magic will be restored. The user is then free to learn this element's abilities along with those he already knew. Beware, however, as most holders of these crystals will charge large amounts of currency for unfamiliar users of their element type.

The other, smaller pieces of crystals are scattered throughout the world, and very useful for the creation of magic-related items or elemental weaponry. Crafters find these useful as they can make better armors weapons, and arrows from them. Magicians and alchemists find them useful to make items that have an amplification effect on their magic.

Smaller still are the void crystals. These crystals were too small to retain a distinct identity, and only hold a small amount of non-elemental energy in them. These can be found nearly anywhere, and are useful for creating one-shot spells that may not be available to someone of another school of magic or a non-magic user. These crystals require mana and a certain level of proficiency in the desired spell before they can be made into a useful spell crystal. Once used, however, the crystal will shatter and no longer be useful. These smaller crystal fragments will, over time, attract enough energy to form another crystal and allow for the magic cycle to continue.

This method would allow for a few things. For one, it would allow a user to select an initial magic type when they are creating their character, or select at a low level. The system, ideally, would also allow for users to participate in any number of classes, magic or not, that they wanted (for a price). The initial school the player chooses will grant them access to all levels of spells free of charge. Should they wish to pick up another form of magic, however, the person would need to pay up to the crystal's owner in exchange for being able to learn abilities of a certain element. Each school would have a tiered system consisting of 3 or 4 levels of spells. The lowest level would have the least powerful spells, but is also the cheapest degree to purchase. The price for a new degree should be quite high to discourage people simply buying their way into all the schools. The time it takes to master any one element should also be considerable, to further discourage people from being able to use all elements, and force them to concentrate on a select few. It may also be useful to only allow a user to have 1 or 2 elements in the first or second learning level, to force them to at least become proficient in said element before moving on to another. And of course, the more powerful or exclusive a crystal's school, the more they will charge, with some demanding more than just currency of a user (or perhaps a certain proficiency in another to prove they are a worthy user of their magic).

The use of perishable crystals would create an economy around magic, as well as allow for these items to be usable for various tasks by melee fighters or crafters (but to a lesser degree than a magic user, since they obviously are not as proficient in magic). The quality (effectiveness) of a crystal could also depend on a chance factor when making it that is dependent on the creators skills in that magic. This would have risk involved in making too powerful of crystals, and make them more expensive to use.

Arkyan June 23, 11:52PM EST

Basilisk's idea:

Maybe masses of mana energy could have escaped as the crystals shattered, and certain objects/elements/animals/plants (possibly Cobalt, Gamboge, Mauve and Alizarin plants?) could have absorbed the energy. If you find such an object, it could give you a certain/infinite amount of energy to cast spells belonging to that element. Basilisk

Danleej's idea:

I think that after the crystals shattered and scattered across the world, they still hold magic that radiates from them, the bigger piece's radiate more magic the smaller pieces less so, kinda like radiation, so the farther away the less a magi could draw on the closer more so, smaller pieces can be carried for "magic dead zones" however there is a limit to how long the smaller shards can be used, sorta like a battery, before needing to be replaced. I feel certain objects absorption of magic is kind of moot as everything would have been bathed in magic, so in essence, it is a matter of releasing the residual magic in any object, such as herbs and roots etc. the crystals hold a more pure kind of magic yet even then it is "polluted" by the type of crystal, so you could have a couple types of crystals, some being elemental in nature, and those that are either dark or light energy. Some area's magic type can over lap. If those using smaller crystals in an area where it's opposite is more powerful, spells cast would be less effective in those areas. The largest of the crystals still remain buried yet to be discovered. The benefits would be numerous, not only could you use the magic from the various objects for spells but you can use the crystals as well and it would be challenging as the magi would have to bring provisions to go into areas outside of their type of magic, and as earlier it would also fit the games mechanics for herbs, roots, petals, etc.

We must discuss this issue, soon.. the sooner we decide on something, the sooner we can make this story reflect the game mechanics.: