Essence Sublimation

Aqueducts carry the great irrigating waters from the mountain lakes. The waters flood seeds with growth. Stocks raise from spreading roots that leech pull essence from the soil. Kernels spill from heavy heads as hand sift the mud for bounteous treasures. Fed to mills to grind, the kernel are crushed to powder. Folded to dough, baked to bread, and lathered with butter, the essence is consumed. As the soldier lays dying in the field, the bonding essence spilling from gaping wound, so is the circle complete. But House Aknelith broke the circle.
The origins of the soul has always been a mystery. Clerics, striding the deathchains, have noted subjects have recalled another plane where there was an absence of material. Known as the "Plane of Death", the accounts beg the question of the state of essence. Students of House Aknelith pursued an answer to the question, binding magical tethers that pull essence from the object. It was found that the students, regardless of their ability, failed to retain the gathered essence. Notwithstanding, the object did not recover the lost essence.
When the Drest families approach the King to expand trade, they proposed a venture using engines. The King assigned the development of the technology to the Advisor Dar'den. As development for engines accelerated, House Aknelith found that their studies would help bolster their standing in the Council of the King. The arcanists pursued the sublimation of essence to power the devices.
The creation of the Nostarian initiated with the attempts to extract essence from soils and minerals. When operated, the Nostarian failed to extract essence. Continuing with the experimentation, they decided to use a rat that had been wandering around the the cellars. Here, the Nostarian continued operation until ceasing moments later. When the arcanists went to retrieve the rat and assess it's health, there was no life left. When touched, the rat crumbled to pieces. The arcanists, intrigued, repeated the experiment and found similar results.
While functional, the engine could not be operated for a meaningful duration. To remedy this, arcanists attempted to store the essence into material. The procedure extracted the essence from a rat and then attempted to restore the essence to the rat. While the essence did seep into the material, the inherent entropy resulted in loss.
Finally, there was a breakthrough. A material, known as a Tibik Stone, is typically used in the amplification of arcane will. When a Tibik Stone was placed in the device, there was no reaction. However, containing essence within the Tibik Stone yielded a similar operational duration, dramatically reducing the entropy of the storage device. However, these Tibik Stones became unwieldy. Energy would arc periodically from its surface. Handling the saturated material became dangerous.
Suddenly, word of the Nostarian spread. A device that harvests essence and stores it for use in engines. The transmission of energy would facilitate new technologies that would change the world. But not everyone was enchanted by the device.
Messengers came from countries imploring the King to destroy this new technology. Except from Mustanir who was interested in obtaining the technology. The King of Mashangist was divided by his advisors. As the Council of the King expelled the messengers, the kingdom began looking inward. The council conferred months. The council was broken when scouts reported the accumulation of armies from Isfa and Gamjuit. At once, the King decided that the city must defend its sovereignty. The call to arms led to the "War of Dying King".
The war led to the destruction of Mashangist. The shattered aqueducts and abandoned houses surround the sundered castle. The war ended as the King ordered the execution of House Dar'den and House Aknelith. While several members of House Aknelith managed to flee from the city prior to the war, the remaining members and House Dar'den were offered as sacrifice to establish the treaty. Any reference to the Nostarian was destroyed, the devices dismantled, and everyone endeavored to forget. The House of Lords was established to police Mashangist to ensure no memory of the Nostarian would be refound. From the ruins, Mashangist would rebuild.