The Historical Order of Aurastone
- High in the Spine of Veradun (new mountain range name), there was a healing town known as Sanctumhold, where the Historical Order of Aurastone operated. These healers were renowned across Viscentia for their mastery of light-based magic and their attempts to combat the Great Sickness. As the plague spread, people flocked to Sanctumhold, hoping for a cure.
- The Arcane Mistake: In their desperation to stop the Great Sickness, the Order of Aurastone tapped into ancient and divine healing powers they could not fully comprehend. Their light magic went beyond the physical body, touching the divine realm. But instead of curing the afflicted, it prevented the natural process of death, trapping the souls of the infected within their decaying forms.
- The Lost Souls: These reanimated beings, called Lost Souls, wandered slowly and without the hunger of traditional undead. They do not feed but are forever trapped between life and death, bound to their rotting bodies. The Lost Souls are sluggish in daylight but faster at night or in cold climates, where they seem to draw strength from the shadows. Their very nature makes them resistant to elemental magic, a side effect of the divine powers that gave them form.
- The Fall of Sanctumhold: As the reanimated bodies began to multiply, the Order of Aurastone quickly realized their grave mistake. Guilt-stricken and overwhelmed by their creation, many healers fell into madness or fled. Those who remained in Sanctumhold eventually succumbed to the Lost Souls, and the once-bustling town fell silent, haunted by the slow-moving undead that roam its streets.
In the Current Era
- Today, the Lost Souls still linger in the shadows of the Spine of Veradun, wandering abandoned ruins and cold places. Many dismiss them as myth, though a few brave scholars seek out the ruins of Sanctumhold, hoping to uncover the ancient knowledge of the Order of Aurastone.
- While the Order of Aurastone no longer exists, fragments of their teachings and magical practices have been passed down in secret. Adventurers and magic users, unaware of the consequences, search for these teachings, hoping to control the same light magic, but risking the same dark fate.