Origins

  Nobody would expect Ponthas, the pearl of the west, to have its roots in a society built upon druidism. Several centuries ago, the lush forests of the western continent were home to a large number of druidic and shamanic villages, their leaders well-versed in harnessing the natural energies around them and creating little miracles in the eyes of their people. The single communities were in constant exchange with each other, leading a communicative and peaceful life.   Every three months the wisest of them would gather to contemplate the nature of beings and ideas of what the future could bring. One particular bright young man, Tonval Ponthas, sought a way to ease the life of his people through the means of magical energies. Over many years of study he found a way to harness large amounts of free energy from his surroundings without harming the life in it. The elders thought it ill-advised, seeing Ponthas’ work as just a less obvious form of necromancy, worried about long-term damage to the land. With wit and persistency Ponthas managed to win over his younger colleagues. Over the course of many decades, Ponthas’ new form of free magic established itself in the western lands.  

The Calamity

  Ponthas had gathered a large amount of students over the years, the brightest women and men of the western folk. Working together, they managed many breakthroughs in the study of free magic and eventually connected the origins to the Spark. Knowing that there must be a vast amount of free energy in the veil between planes, a couple of his most elite students sought to tap into this pool of magic, with devastating consequences. As Ponthas students completed the ritual, the veil between the planes rippled and began to tear, massive streaks of entropic energy causing great destruction to the landscape and villages of the surrounding area. In a last minute effort, they managed to seal the tear shut again, Ponthas giving his life in the process.   Ponthas’ eight remaining students decided to prevent further incidents of this kind by establishing firm rules about the use of magic. In honour of their fallen mentor, they erected a shrine to his teachings where the rift had emerged, and settled around it with their families and offspring, naming the newly founded community Ponthas.   With systematic design the surviving people of the west turned the destructed landscape into a shining metropolis of magic. Ponthas’ students formed the Magic High Council, ruling over the city and allowing bright young people to study in the Blue Citadel, giving access to the magical secrets that they had unveiled so many years ago. Eventually even the Druidic lifespan of some of Ponthas’ students had expired and so each of them passed the mantle on to the most talented of their specialisation, known as the schools of magic.