Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. So it is that in times of great strife are individuals pushed to advance themselves, their technology, or their very society, not out of a sense of discovery, but of survival. War is such a time, and it is no surprise that such horrific times are when the most amazing discoveries are made. It was during the first Shadow War when the Yalain made their greatest discovery in the form of portal magic, but there was another significant discovery made in the early years of the war, one that we make use of to this very day: The Atlan Weapons.
Lord Atlan was a Yalain of the highest nobility, part of the same bloodline of Alaidain as the Imperial family themselves, but more than that, he was an accomplished smith and crafter of weapons. With the enemy that would eventually be revealed as the Shadows threatening his people, Atlan partnered with his wife, the Headmistress of the Knorr Lyceum Lady Maila, to ready themselves for the coming struggle. Atlan created a new, stronger weapon forged from the mystical alloy pyreal, while Maila created stones that could be used to imbue the blades with elemental power; some stones were even said to be able to drive away the darkness itself. Atlan kept the finest of these weapons, a great red stone-imbued sword named after the moon Rez’arel, for himself and distributed the rest among the Yalaini army.
The Atlan Weapons were indeed formidable implements, cutting down Shadows like nothing else. However, the threat posed by those dark beings was far greater than mere swords and axes could overcome, as Atlan unfortunately discovered firsthand. While investigating the disappearance of villagers in the town of Daralet, Atlan and his army were attacked by a legion of Shadows, led by Bael’Zharon himself. The noble warrior was killed in that battle, and Rez’arel was lost, seemingly forever. Though she would go on to aide in ending the threat of the Shadows, Maila would spend the rest of her life mourning the loss of her husband. In addition, she harbored a terrible, secret fear: That she would one day look out upon one of the Hopeslayer’s endless armies of darkness to see the red glow of Rez’arel pulsing out to meet her gaze.
