From the overflow of the heart, the pen writes.
From the Annals of Matthaes, elusive Scribe of Crystalys
In ages past, Shaddai of Eternity reached the pinnacle of creation. Crafting the most beautiful of all realms, He who is All named it Niveus. A crowning Jewel adorned its sky, giving Niveus eternal light. Shaddai spoke into existence the Great Ones, the Valdir, as caretakers. Such titans were the Valdir, yet despite their strength, they tended Shaddai's creation. Shaddai then gave them the greatest gift, that of love, and with it, that of choice. Though love was the most precious of gifts, the Valdir instead chose to rape the realm. Forging tools for war, they set out to conquer Niveus for their own and defy Shaddai. Shaddai laughed as He cried. The great Jewel in the sky was rent that day, and from the dark scar came Sheol and the black tide. Yet Niveus was not without hope, for the First King came for their reconciliation to Shaddai, wielding half of the Jewel against the Valdir's punishment. The other half of the Jewel shattered further, each shard changing to match the elements it sustained. The first King would show them want it meant to love.
First Shard - Heart of the Depths ~ Wielded by Lord Dumarkius of Hydronia. Dumarkius was banished from the Dialys Islands and joined a band of rebels to overthrow the current dictator. His charisma quickly gained him the position as leader and he assassinated the Dialys high lord, stealing the Heart from the dead leader's treasury. Fleeing his home city, which now was in political turmoil, Dumarkius attempted to incite rebellion all around Pyria but was continually thwarted. Leading him north to the Western Sea, Dumarkius set up his first kingdom by drowning it's denizens beneath a massive tidal wave. The nation of Hydronia started as a refugee camp from Pyria, along with noblemen from Dialys. However constant attacks from the Pyrians caused Dumarkius unending strife. The Water Wall was built and Dumarkius won his first defensive. Other attacks from multiple nations were met with equal failure, and Hydronia grew rapidly. Dumarkius has intergrated the First Shard into a gauntlet on his right hand.
The Second Shard - The Eternal Ember ~ Wielded by Oltair Zain of Pyria. The Zain family have always been the ruling class of the extensive kingdom of Pyria. They have large families whose sons, known as Forge Princes go through rigorous training, until the most powerful one vanquishes the other princes. This Forge Prince is then continually blessed by a potent spell with the help of the Second Shard wielder until his time to overtake the throne. Lack of internal conflict has allowed the Pyrian Kingdom to be the second largest kingdom. The Second Shard has been forged into the head of a blackore hammer used by Oltair and is eternally wreathed in flame.
The Third Shard - Gaelon's Blessing ~ Wielded by Pinaetil, Queen of the Forests of Gaia. No one knows the Queen's actual age because she never seems to age. Some suggest she is not human at all and just an extention of Gaelon himself, giving her the nickname of Gaelon's Bud. Some believe that she is an eternal being perhaps one of the Great Ones. Others believe that she chooses a woman from her court, who blossoms into the position, taking on the same name. Despite the mysteries behind her position, she is the caretaker of Gaelon, a brilliant strategist and a potent elementalist. She never seeks expansion because her forests are already the largest nation in the realm, but is constantly defending her kingdom from attack. Pyrians from the east and Gorals from the north. 15 years ago a group of mercenaries from Ballastion, a Southern mercenary nation were the first to suceed into invading the inner sanctum of Gaia in the infamous battle of Faer'en Dell. No one has since. Pinaetil carries the third shard intertwined in a living wooden staff.
The Fourth Shard - Dontite Core ~ Wielded by Galoff the Stout, of Goraltain, a mountain nation that split off from Gaia and now resides beneath the shadow of the Grande Dontaine, a massive mountain whose peak has never been seen by any other outside of the Gorals themselves. Galoff constantly wages war against Gaia, mostly because Pinaetil spurned his romantic advances. The Fourth Shard has been grafted into Galoff's throne, but he is not proficient in it's use.
The Fifth Shard(s) - Behloth's Height ~ Windlord Behloth was the discoverer of this shard and used it to cause devestation to Aeronia. Behloth was killed at an enormous height by a mysterious drake knight. Whether his own corruption cracked the Fifth Shard or whether it shattered from the fall, the three pieces of the original Fifth Shard are now held by three different men, Ahzin, Rezhin, and Toz. Each a self proclaimed windlord, keep their piece in amulets. Constant inter-nation turmoil has kept the Aeronian nation small, but their power, when focused, is not to be underestimated.
The Sixth Shard - The Tear of Azuhara ~ Wielded by the Snow Queen Ella of Crystalys. The first Snow Queen, the firey red headed Azuhara, discovered the gem as she mourned her love in battle, her tears melting the ice around the stone. It has been passed down to Snow Queen Fyanne and finally to Ella. She wears the Sixth Shard in a diadem.
The Allshard - Shaddainite ~ The first King, blessed son of Shaddai, wielded the Allshard as a blade against Sheol Gravelord, ending the era of the Great Ones. The Allshard shattered, destorying both the first King and Sheol, saving the realm from taint many ages ago. The twelve Lydaer knights, carried on the first King's legacy by defending the realm from Sheol's dark tide. The latest King of Lydaer, known as the White Adamant, has reforged a steel sword from the famous hilt that once held the Allshard. Lydaer is the capital of the realm and it's white city is never sieged. Some of the blood of the Great Ones still flows within this xenocentric nation and their only mission is defending the realm from being engulfed by the black tide.
Sheol's Shard ~ Rumor has it that in the titanic battle between the first King and Sheol formed a dark shard, infused with the evil power of Sheol's essence. No one has ever confirmed to whether this shard exists.
You may be asking yourselves, "Joe, you sure are writing a lot. You must have a lot of free time on your hands". You'd be right. Whether this is the best way of spending it, I can't be too sure. I know there are worse ways. But I also know there are better ways. Namely you and me hanging out. So please, let me know when you're free so I can do stuff. I'm rather urgent because I don't know if I'll remember what the phrase "social life" means after I go to med school. I want to see as many people for as long as I can. So help me out.