Chapter 13: The Dawn of the Vetruvians

Among the disparate groups who fled the Aestari Mandates was a band of pilgrims, visionaries, and explorers who travelled directly east. They discovered the lush and stunning coastlines of the continent of Akram.

They established the city of Kaero, which one day would become the capital of their new nation. The interior of the country was mostly arid desert, but moving down the coast they encountered the calmer waters of the reef-sheltered bays, and discovered vast nodes of copper, tin, iron, and other metals.

Amid the Dunes of Ma'or, they discovered subterranean sources of pristine water, erecting massive Pyramid Towers to extract the pure water from deep underground. They established cities like Tyvia, which became home to the finest weaponsmiths, as well as Pyrae and nearby Murani, which became home to the finest artisans and craftsmen.

Most of the Alcuin Loremasters moved to Kaero, setting up The Ostracon, a sister institution to the Seventh Sanctum. In time, the Ostracon became a prominent University and bastion of learning, the epicenter of academic and arcane knowledge on Mythron where the best and brightest scholars would learn from peerless Aestari sages -- respectful of the finite supply of crystal energy, but unfettered by the Aestari Mandates.

Despite the scarcity of water, Akram’s plentiful metals attracted the best Aestari craftsmen. The metallurgic arts flourished, producing advances that soon outstripped Aestari technologies. From among this new breed of craftsmen emerged one particularly brilliant Aestari: Atar.

With unparalleled speed, he swiftly ascended the Ostracon’s ranks, earning the titles of Grand Loremaster, High Artificer, and Prime Arcanyst. He was also a tireless explorer who would one day learn that Akram had as-of-yet undiscovered resources more precious than anyone could have previously imagined.