“On the isle of Myrra long before the Guths came to this part of the realm, and the land was peopled by Umbriges and Fzalts, there was discovered a peculiar artifact in the ruins of a great city that once sprawled across the northern shore. A large crystal point, glowing faintly and emitting a ghostly tone was taken from a large coffer otherwise full of dust.

It came to be discovered that this crystal was possessed of an otherworldly quality, having the capacity to allow its wielder access to the afterlands and the sprits therein. Furthermore, a practiced handler could learn to exist for a time with one foot in the world of the living and the other foot in the realm of the departed and of spiritual kingdoms.

Indeed the crystal’s etheric double hung like a shadow next to it, sometimes visible and other times a sort of vague misty form. This anomaly, wherein the etheric aspect of the thing was partially in the physical world, is believed to be either the cause of or a side effect from the artifact’s magical effects.

Great insight and advantage, along with dark and terrible powers could be coaxed from the gem stone and the worlds it exposed the user to. Some tried to conceal the power of the mineral, but word of its secrets spread to the far corners of the island and even beyond.

The thing was sought, coveted, and fought over for many years, bringing devastation to the isle and its people. First one faction, then another took possession of the artifact and ruled for a time, but the nature of its power was too mysterious and unpredictable for any to wield successfully for long.

The warring of noble houses left the economy in ruins and the landscape scarred and littered with the corpses of those slain in battle. To the horror of the king and the temple priests, after a particularly bloody battle on the Sihragon Plateau the dead left on the battlefield rose and took up defensive positions throughout the upland, claiming it in the name of a powerful shadowlord who sought an estate in the material world.

The grim and grisly tale of this plateau and the fate of those who lived upon or travelled across it for centuries to come is but one of many horror stories arising from the greater narrative of the Gemini Stone, as this unholy, crystal artifact came to be known. The Wizard Born heard of these happenings, and the Finders were sent to collect the stone and contain its magic, for it was too potent for a commoner to safely possess.

Taking unkindly to the interference by the Wizard Born, many on Myrrha sought to frustrate the efforts of the Finders, and some even attempted to repel them through force. Yet another great battle was waged, this time between the Finders and the interns of the shadowlord.

Barely victorious and nearly causing the destruction of the stone, the Finders retreated back to their island with the artifact. A large shard, broken away during the fighting, remained on Myrrha and was received by the leaders there as a gift of providence.

The Brotherhood of the Shard was founded to keep the relic safe, and the sorceress Valessnya took a sacred oath, witnessed by the dying Keeper Hilnstrom, to see that the shard was never used for ill and would always be employed to protect the island and its people. Since that time a female descendant of Valessnya has fulfilled the role of the Sovereign Sister in Solitude and watched over the shard of the stone, ready to use it for its sole purpose should the need ever arise.”

–  Ishius the Compiler, ordained scribe, History of Three Islands