Mighty heroes and foul necromancers, great deeds and vile acts, and much more are recorded in the legends and lore of the world of Mystaris.

The Flame of Illean.

Illean was left as an baby on a farmer's doorstep, wrapped in swaddling clothes with a birthmark in the shape of a flame on his right hand.

One day in the depths of winter, Illean strayed from the paths while searching for a missing sheep. Lost in the unforgiving mountains he saw a strange, dancing light. He followed this light to the gates of the abandoned mountain fortress of Vulcos. The boy followed the light deep inside the fortress until it led him into the presence of a Fire Demon.

The Fire Demon told Illean he could choose any of the hundreds of bright gems set in the wall of the cavern. The boy immediately went to a large, dull red stone that burst into flame when he removed it from the wall. The Fire Demon tried to stop the boy leaving with this glowing stone but Illean walked calmly past him, the flaming gem glowing softly in his cupped hands.

Illean.

Illean was an orphan raised in the mountains of northern Tarkania. As a young man he became lost in the mountains but returned bearing a huge dark red gem that burned softly when held in his hand. The stone became known as the Flame of Illean. The local villagers started deferring to Illean, asking him to pass judgement in disputes. When the local lord died without an heir, Illean was declared the new ruler.

At the time Tarkania contained many small kingdoms and city states that fought amongst themselves and suffered from the depredations of pirates. Within a few years Illean forged an alliance of coastal states. His alliance organised a navy that kept the shipping lanes safe. Later he led an expedition that conquered the islands that were the pirates' bases.

By the time of his death, almost one hundred years after he found the glowing gemstone, Illean was the ruler of an empire that spanned the coast of Eastern Tarkania. The Flame was buried with him, but when his tomb was reopened centuries later the gem was nowhere to be found.

Nephos.

The embodiment of corruption, this evil demon seeks to purge the earth of the life he hates. He is known as the Lord of Plagues, as his presence on earth is heralded by the outbreak of virulent diseases. He is aided in his task by the Corrodin, elemental forces created by Nephos to do his will.

The Rod of Oranti.

Around 2000 years ago the Illeanic Empire ruled most of the continent of Tarkania and all the nearby islands. Then there emerged from the ocean armies of Deorsar, a reptilian race, who quickly conquered the coastal lands and drove towards the capital city of Illean itself.

The empire was saved by the Priestess Queen Oranti, who forged a magical rod that rendered the lizardmen helpless in its presence. Even so, Oranti spent the next twenty years eradicating the Deorsar from her empire. On her death she ordered the rod to be broken into four parts, each part to be hidden by the priesthood in a different place.

The empire, ravaged by war, did not long survive Oranti's death, civil war achieving what the Deorsar had failed to do. While many have searched for the Rod of Oranti, the artifact remains hidden from mortal view.