💥 After the Breaking

With their connection to the energy of origin lost, the elder race searched for new sources of power. Magic was the most familiar but accessing it was inconsistent and did not come as easily. Holy magic requires numbers and there weren’t enough left to access that pool of power. Material was easy to find but entirely foreign and attempts to integrate magic and material failed.

The first discovery was that holy energy acted as a balancing force between magic and material. After implanting or injecting the material creatures were able to access both sources of power. Simple creatures weren’t able to adapt to the energy and it tore their bodies apart whereas intelligent creatures either died or went mad. Eventually they turned to lizards who’s adaptability and simple intelligence was the perfect balance.

As the experiments continued and the lizards grew some of the population became weary and began to protest. The cities split into two factions, those that thought the lizards were the key to safety and those that thought they would eventually turn on their creators.

The larger faction, the group against the lizards, turned to holy magic. The pooled their shared energy and build massive storage and amplification systems under their cities. The few that showed excessive skill in holy and magic were given unfettered access to these energy pools. This eventually turned them into Avatars, with powers bordering on that of a demi-god.

The lizards continued to grow more and more complex. Eventually they became large enough for a single creature to wrap it’s body around an entire city. These lizards with their crystal, metal, and scale bodies eventually grew wings to transport themselves faster and were given a new name, Dragon.

In order to support the dragons a massive complex was built to mine, refine, and experiment with the material. This became the center of power for the faction and it’s presence a source of conflict for the Avatars.