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During the Storm Wars, a great many mages and sorcerors attempted to ressurect the powers and spells of the long-forgotten Shaping Wars. As Nathel's hideous advance left little in its wake, and whole nations crumbled before the Dark God's wrath, the magic-wielding protectors of the Karatikan Alliance performed a great deal of research.
After close to a week without sleep, using the stimulant drink klah, the mage Sorvren Katanos discovered a long-lost spell of summoning used by the demon god Argunas. Working with the aid of his apprentice, Antolin Vrijel, and several other summoners, Sorvren travelled west to the Avris Mountains, well aways from Nathel's direct line of attack, to attempt to use the modified spells of Argunas. Using their considerable magical abilities, they scraped off a side of a mountain near the middle of the mountain chain, and began to experiment in earnest. The runes they used allowed them to summon creatures from all of Gaeleth, as well as realms beyond the Shield. This break through in summoning spells would go on to inspire Vyrboth Liss to create the spell adventurer summoning (see spell entry), as well give the archimage valuable insight into the Shield and the Oddity. Working in conjunction with the archidruid Avard Karatikan's top advisors, Sorvren and his apprentices and aides decided to lay several thousand runes inside the Avris Mountains. The runes could be activated at a later time, and used to outflank the Nathelian troops. Once completed, the secret project would be left until needed, and Sorvren would return to Karmen and Rhythis to begin placing similar runes inside the fortresses there. The practical application of his delayed summoning runes allowed for massive numbers of troops and warriors to brought from all over the realms -- and even outside them -- to participate in the various battles. Such was thought to save on immediate troops, and give the Karatikans the advantage in strategy that they lacked in numbers. The death of Nathel, and the subsequent chaos wrought by Nabrol, changed the nature of the war. Sorvren was killed in Karmen, while defending the city from a massive strike by the Dark Race and the dreaded riks. Antolin Vrijel's studies of mettalurgical processess was needed in the vast armories of the north. And the remaining apprentices simply lacked the power and drive to finish the Field of Runes. In the end, only a dozen runes were completed, though they were never energized with magical force. Some one hundred runes remained nearby, either expirements on the original theme, or intended for completion. Lost and abandoned during the Storm Wars, the project remained -- though the lessons learned from it were preserved until the Inquisition. Centuries of erosion, rain, wind, mud, and landslides buried the majority of the project. Just enough survived, however, that when the occasional lightning storm sweeps over the Avris Mountains from deep within the Laekenala Jungles, the runes can be super-charged. Rarely, the runes are charged enough by nature that one of them activates, drawing forth a creature or adventurer from some far away land. During the War of the Undead, a massive storm brought about by the second death of Nathel activated a great many of the runes simultaneously, and super-charged them for years afterwards. Though many western researches have yet to find the Field of Runes, their suspicions of its existance are well-founded, in the aftermath of so many strange creatures appearing in the Avris Mountains after the War of the Undead.
Anyone who discovers the Field of Runes stands to learn or gain little -- unless they are well-versed summoners and conjurers. Buried nearby in the rubble are the remains of Sorvren and Vrijel's labs, but they were stripped clean before the apprentices finally deserted the project. Practical experimentation with the few notes and items left behind is probably sufficient to yield a new and powerful summoning spell. Coupled with Vrijel's spellbook, available from the library at Lok Magius in Rakore, the ruins and the Field of Runes are likely to yield a considerable amount of information to a summoner. However, the exact location of the runes is unknown, and its existance is highly questionable. A monastic text in Kur Maeth inadvertantly misquoted one summoned adventurer, and placed the location of the runes near Lake Avris -- some thousand miles too far to the north. Next Item from the Items List |