In an ancient time and place...
...all the lands were blanketed with peace, tranquility, and kinship in the realm referred to as “The Known”. The wisdom of ages gone by ruled The Known. New discoveries and added insight were cherished and dutifully added to the existing lore in an effort to forward civilization toward perfection. Advancements in the fields of science, philosophy, and skilled physical abilities were treasured as precious assets. The gifts derived from the land—fire, water, earth and the ethereal gifts from the skies—were revered and held sacred. The most significant of these discoveries were carefully guarded by the Seelie Powers, an assembly of intellectuals from the Four Great Clans – Celshon Nar, Erlon Drez, Lushain, and Mer Lillon. These clans were dedicated to the evolution and protection of The Known. The clans represented all that was light and good, and they saw to the well-being of everything that was within their charge. The Seelie Powers stored all discoveries and breakthroughs in knowledge and philosophy within “The Vessel of Truth”. The Vessel was an amorphous entity that was impossible to touch or hold. Its volatile and priceless contents were accessible only to clans whose stones orbited around The Vessel’s sacred presence. Circling around The Vessel, were four Clanstone Gems, each representing one of the Four Great Clans. Each clan embraced and guarded an element of The Known: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.
Earth—the Clan of Celshon Nar included all that was terrestrial such as the mountains, deserts, jungles, and sandy beaches.
Air—the Clan of Erlon Drez was representative of everything atmospheric like the sky, the oxygen needed to sustain life, even the poisonous gases that were found in “The Known.”
Fire—the Clan of Lushain is self-explanatory, although it also included the molten rock, magma, and lava that exist deep within the Earth. In addition, Fire embodied the power of the Sun, the ultimate source of its own creation. There was a fine distinction between the flowing molten rock, which was classified as “of fire”, and the solid rock it would someday become, classified as “of Earth.”
Water—the Clan of Mer Lillon was all that was aquatic; the rivers, the oceans, lakes, puddles and ponds. It was also things such as rain, snow and all liquid elements that might originate in Air.
The Seelie Powers, led by their duly elected Prime Arbiter, ObLumen, fused all four Gemstones together in a halo of energy around The Vessel with equality of dimension and placement. This was done in an effort to assure that no single Clan would control the knowledge within The Vessel, and thus control the realm of The Known.
And, as with everything in the Universe, good cannot exist without the presence of evil. Over the centuries, the Seelie Powers began to suffer the fate of all assemblies dedicated to the welfare of those within its care. A rebellious faction of Seelie members, led by the charismatic figurehead, Baq d’Lear, from the Clan Lushain, split from the Seelie Powers and formed a body of influence that became “The Unseelie Powers”. The Unseelie Powers consisted of a group of dissident individuals from each of the Four Great Clans. Their separatist goals were touted as beneficence to the commoner, but they were actually aimed toward the perpetuation of their own feudal domination of those very same people.
Those members of Clan Celshon Nar who chose to follow Baq d’Lear, formed the Clan Noffdar. Defectors from Clan Erlon Drez became the aerial raiders of Drylorg. Unseelie members from Clan Lushain forged the Clan of Lucinar, and Clan Xar was formed by the Unseelie element of Clan Mer Lillon.
Because there were now two factions, or courts, from each element within The Known, both the Seelie and Unseelie Powers adopted new titles name The Seelie Court and The Unseelie Court. They abandoned the use of the word “powers” in an effort to minimize their respective quests for that very thing.
Thus, the stage was set for the struggles, strife, and turmoil between the two Courts that was to become GemQuest. Both the Seelie and Unseelie Courts attempted to hold control and sway over The Vessel, hoping to influence destiny for differing reasons. But something far greater than these powerful clans swept through the Realm of The Known, and in its wake, left behind a loss of great proportions. Forces unknown had shattered The Vessel. The artifacts and ruins stored within The Vessel were cast throughout the Known. Some lay wasting in mines and coves, while others remain hidden within the dark corners of alchemists’ labs waiting to be transformed into something of greater and unimaginable power. The Gemstones, orbiting around The Vessel, split from their safe and equal sites of placement and dimension and scattered across The Known.
Those in command of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts summoned their best scholars, wizards, warriors, and savants. They bade them one and all to use their skills, be they magical or scientific, to defend and perpetuate The Known. Warriors from each of the clans came forth to take up the challenge that GemQuest offered.
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