manasource-godot/designs/Backstory.md

Backstory

Zielite Purge

Long ago, Mana flowed freely through Aemil, nourishing life and allowing civilization to flourish. But after the devastating Aethyra War, fear of Mana took root. Convinced that Mana was responsible for the spread of Kaore, its decayed and corrupted form, rulers across the land sought to forbid its use entirely. They banned the practice of magic and ordered the destruction of Zielite artifacts, including talismans and relics known to channel Mana.

This led to the Zielite Purge: a sweeping effort to erase magical knowledge and eliminate any object capable of harnessing Mana. The only exceptions were the Soul Menhirs — immense monoliths carved from pure Zielite. These ancient stones, once nestled near Mana Trees as powerful catalysts, were too massive and dense to destroy. Left standing in cities and public spaces as relics of a bygone age, they became silent monuments, symbols of a world that many hoped was gone forever.

Mana restrictions

Afterwards, Zielite became extremely rare and only available at the Manayir Academy, the only known place to allow the use of Magic. Druids and scholars from this Academy were quietly entrusted and forced to watch over the remaining Soul Menhirs, ensuring they were never moved or tampered with.

Still, legends speak of wild Menhirs lost to time, buried deep in forgotten wilderness where Mana may yet linger and of hidden talismans preserved by those few Druids who continue to practice ancient traditions in secret.

Kaore Storm

The wave of Kaore wiped out all Mana on the surface of Aemil, but it quickly dissipated as it expanded outward away from Aemil and into the ether. This left something strange and new: nothing. No magical energies seemed to have remained as, with so few Mana Trees left, Mana seemed unable to regenerate and start flowing again. Over time most people of Aemil began to see this as a blessing. Magic, in their view, had caused the great earthquake and the wave of Kaore that brought death and destruction everywhere. The absence of Mana began to be seen as a good thing, as it guaranteed the absence of Kaore as well.

Some people like the citizens of Tulimshar decided to shun magic from their daily lives. A belief began to spread that Mana radiation could be highly dangerous as it could remain in the body and degrade into Kaore. This view was contrasted by scholars of magic like Sorcerers and Druids, who insisted that Mana is necessary for life to continue evolving and a world without it would become still and unchanging.

Mana flows

But something unexpected occurred. Despite Mana Trees being gone, the Druids noticed that after some time the ancient Soul Menhirs - the first catalysts for Mana ever built - had began to glow again even in the absence of the trees.

In some unknown way, Mana started to slowly spread again into the world. This time it was much weaker than before, as it could not travel freely along the roots of the Mana Trees that once connected the whole of Aemil.

Today, Mana is limited to catalysts made of Zielite, the mineral from which Soul Menhirs were carved. It is the only known substance capable of harnessing pure Mana. Those who understand and embrace the use of Mana are generally divided between scholarly students of magic as a science, often called Sorcerers; and wise ones of ancient local traditions known as Druids.

As the last embers of Mana flicker in a world that still fears its return, a fragile balance holds. The age of rediscovery has begun. And with it, the potential for rebirth or collapse.