History remembers kings, wars, and empires. It remembers the rise and fall of civilizations, the building of cities, and the conquest of nations. But beneath that recorded history lies another story – one carefully removed from the collective memory of mankind.
The Primordial Era:
Nearly four thousand years ago, in the courts of the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt, two sorcerers named Petrichor and Pollux began to study the secrets of the human soul. Dissatisfied with the crude practices of wizardry and repulsed by the foul rituals of black magic, they sought something deeper.
Seeking isolation from the rival courts and occult traditions of their time, the two masters left Egypt and journeyed east. In the remote valleys of the Himalayas they established a hidden sanctuary dedicated to the study of the soul. There they founded what would become known as the Sanctum of Prostasia.
Through years of experimentation and discipline, they discovered a new path: the harnessing of life's own energy. They eventually named it Ki.
But their new practices, and the discipline of harnessing Ki, did not have a name yet. Petrichor and Pollux simply referred to it as spirituality – the act of turning inward and harnessing the energy of one's own soul, and forming a spiritual connection with the world beyond it. In the millennia that followed, these practices would come to be known as Ki Manipulation and Magicism – the Martial Arts of the arcane world.
Word of the Sanctum spread slowly but steadily across ancient civilizations. Scholars, mystics, wanderers, and seekers undertook long and treacherous journeys to reach the secluded refuge high in the mountains. Legend has it that among those who arrived first was a prodigy named Rasalhague.
Rasalhague absorbed the teachings of Petrichor and Pollux and expanded upon them in ways his masters had never imagined. His understanding of the soul surpassed even theirs, and together the three became revered as the First Masters of the Martial Arts.
Epoch of Ascension:
For nearly three thousand years the Sanctum of Prostasia flourished. Its disciples travelled across the known world quietly healing the sick, guiding lost communities, and preserving knowledge of the human spirit. But as the first millennium approached, the Sanctum's greatest strength became its greatest weakness. The knowledge it had shared with the world had not only inspired disciples – it had also inspired enemies.
Era of Fractures:
Without warning, a shadowy group began assassinating the Sanctum's spiritual leaders. One by one, masters and scholars were eliminated before the Sanctum could understand the nature of the threat.
By the time the truth emerged, it was already too late.
The attackers called themselves the Cult of Assassins.
Every one of them had once been connected to the Sanctum – either disciples themselves or students of former disciples. The very teachings meant to enlighten the world had returned in a twisted form to destroy their creators.
The war that followed lasted for nearly a decade.
By its end, the Sanctum of Prostasia had been shattered.
The survivors – Ki Manipulators, Magicists, and Mystics alike – could not agree on how to rebuild. Deep divisions formed among them, and from those divisions arose two new powers that would shape the hidden world for centuries to come.
They would come to be known as the Eye and the Order.
Era of Introspection:
Unlike the Sanctum before them, these new organizations chose secrecy over openness. The knowledge of spiritual energy was deemed too dangerous for ordinary humanity – whom they would come to refer to simply as plebeians.
From that moment onward, the arcane world withdrew into the shadows.
The Eye established itself in a hidden city somewhere within the vast wilderness of Siberia, where its members chose patience and observation above all else. They believed that the arcane world should intervene only when absolutely necessary.
The Order adopted a very different philosophy.
Rejecting the idea of isolation, its agents spread across the globe with no permanent stronghold. To them, balance could only be preserved through constant vigilance and decisive action.
Though both groups sought to prevent another catastrophe like the war against the Assassins, their opposing methods soon bred mistrust.
Disagreements turned into rivalries.
Rivalries turned into skirmishes.
And skirmishes eventually grew into open war.
Nearly five centuries ago, this war between the Eye and the Order devastated parts of the hidden world and even bled into the open world. In its aftermath, the Eye created a special initiative known as the Outsiders.
These operatives were tasked with maintaining balance beyond the Eye's secluded city. They monitored the Order's activities across the world and served as intermediaries between the Eye and the numerous independent Cults that existed outside both factions.
For centuries, the Outsiders maintained this delicate equilibrium.
Era of Disenchantment:
Then, in the early 1990s, a brutal warlord infamously known as the Basilisk rose to challenge the authority of the Eye.
The conflict that followed lasted many years and left devastation in its wake. When the Basilisk was finally defeated, the Eye sought someone to blame for allowing such a threat to grow unchecked.
Their judgment fell upon the Outsiders.
The initiative was dissolved.
In the years that followed, the consequences of that decision became increasingly clear. Without the Outsiders, the Eye struggled to maintain influence beyond its hidden stronghold. Negotiating with the various Cults of the world and keeping the Order in check became far more difficult.
The balance of the hidden world grew increasingly fragile.
In response, a new leader rose within the Eye – one whose methods were far harsher than those of his predecessors. Many within the organization feared his uncompromising rule, yet it was precisely this severity that held the fragile order of the arcane world together.
For a time, at least.
Until a certain bounty hunter began to stir up trouble...