Children of the Mark

Legend has it that, at the dawn of existence, a civilisation was blessed with the ability to merge their souls with the animals of the Feywilds. A simple people with an iron will to survive, they made their home amongst the wilds of the Fey. They grew in number and sectioned into tribes, however their ideals remained and their compassion for nature went unchanged. The gods of the Fey saw this and became endeared to these people, becoming invested in their survival. As time marched on, other civilisations - more advanced and more callous - sought to enslave them, viewing their way of life as weak and unsustainable. One by one they were slain, their population nearing extinction. Seeing this injustice, the gods with whom they'd unknowingly gained favour intervened, bestowing a powerful gift upon the people of the Old Feywilds. They split the souls of the remaining few and bound them to powerful creatures within the Fey. The gods taught them to use the primordial energies of the Fey to complete the soul merge necessary to utilise the power that now resides within them. New tribes began to form, calling themselves the Children of the Mark, and passing down this gift from generation to generation. Their survival had become the will of the gods themselves.

Several of these bloodlines once existed, although no one knows whether or not they survived the Last Planar War, and if any of the bloodline stills walks among us. Scattered across the planes, those who bear the lineage often go their entire lives without knowing of their divine gift. In the modern day, even the Keepers themselves are but a myth to most folk, let alone the primordial energies they protect. Many of the Children who have been activated, and have even completed their Merging, know little of their gifts or of the responsibilities implicit in the ownership the Mark. The lineage threatens to soon be extinguished, like a flame struggling against the wind. It may be but a matter of time until the Children of the Mark are no more.