The Untamed Powers of a Dark Past
Tomes found nowadays scarcely mention the ancient art of Summoning. It was a Dark Magic, binding old, lost souls to beings with bodies formed from pure magic and bending them to the Summoner’s will. The Necromancer Guilds - long since killed or forgotten now - played with the concept of undeath and paired it with nature magic to create one of the most powerful forms of magic Melvor had ever been cursed with.
The Necromancers decided their efforts were wasted. Far too much mana was used in the process of Summoning, mana that they would rather use to raise armies of fetid undead, not bind temperamental beasts to our land. Tales claim that the research was burned into fine ash and scattered to Melvor’s temperamental winds, but this couldn’t but further from the truth. A race whose name has long since been forgotten by the annals of history curried favor with the Necromancer Guild, and in exchange for a weighty amount of gold and less-than-willing subjects used for… unscrupulous tests and trials… Teachings of Summoning were passed on.
The race quickly became adept at the new Dark Magic, twisting and shaping old forgotten creatures into savage tools of war which they used with extreme prejudice and reckless abandon. Cities were leveled in hours, and nations crumbled in days unable to push back the tide of long-dead creatures brought back anew. Melvor has seen many years of turmoil throughout its troubled history, but few tales can rival the devastation that followed not long after this new Dark Magic was introduced.
No nations could feasibly stand against their new conquerors with most being scattered to small encampments or absorbed into the nation of Summoners. With no prospective lands to claim, the fools turned inward, levying for power amongst themselves, destroying themselves from within. Many claim the beasts whose souls were being used were Summoned and bound unwillingly and they were the true cause of the Summoner’s internal struggle, but I believe it was their own foolish greed.
With the Summoner’s creations turned against them, nothing short of an all-out slaughter took place in the gold-paved city streets. Towers that scholars studied the most intricate of magics in were toppled. Great libraries which housed most books Melvor had ever known were demolished, millennia of literature lost in mere moments. The city’s palace, an indescribably intricate complex made entirely of glass was crushed and scattered. There wasn’t a single soul that escaped that fateful day, be it a Summoned one, or otherwise. The dark creatures had already been used to destroy or claim nearly every known nation, it seems only fitting the last they were used against was the one that brought them into being.
Nowadays, the few fables that do mention Summoning are told as bedtime stories to keep youngsters well-behaved or as cautionary tales to overzealous practitioners of the arcane. Though, to the few that know where to look... scraps of old tomes can still be found. Even half a page can bring forth a wave of knowledge the strongest mages can only hope to achieve in their lifetimes through other forms of magic.
It’s said that old souls who wait to walk Melvor once again are willing to be Summoned, but only by those who feel they’re worthy of such a power. Those deemed worthy tend to find themselves coming across unassuming markings within the world that hold an extraordinary amount of power. Few beasts are capable of such devastating power mentioned before. Many are just souls who want to feel the wind once more and will tolerate a bond to achieve this. Though… powerful beasts do still lurk, waiting for someone able to tame their raging souls into a magical form to be commanded by those they deem fit to do so.
Summoning is coming soon to Melvor Idle.