The Last Barek Staff
A Master and their Disciple's bond
Those holding onto the oldest libraries dedicate their lives to expanding it. So many workshops, so many places of power swallowed by the Flood. So many strongholds we now have to purify...Vestanark Dest Barek was the holder of a prestigious High-Morknar library that saw the light of day at the earliest days of Daygrasp. Its creator took part in the Grishnakian wars, providing the weapons that would prove decisive in the success of the Daygraspian conquest. The "Barek" runes are known and still used among the Grishnakian army as powerful elemental weapons. While Vestanark themselves were barely able to escape before the Dark Flood swallowed their city, someone had to stay behind to buy time for everyone. Someone who desperately needed a weapon powerful enough to keep the Flood away.
Left behind
As the current holder of the Barek library, Vestanark dedicated most of their time to researches around runic weapons: How to make them more efficient, more polyvalent, and how to hide runes in places where they would not deteriorate as fast as on the outside. Their staff was the prototype of a new generation of polyvalent weapons, potent both in close and ranged combat—sharp wind gales for those who step in too close, and beams of heat for the distance. Thinking that they still had years ahead of them, Vestanak did not transfer their lineage to their disciple. Thus, when the Flood came knocking on their door, they had to make a tough and quick decision. Since losing the Barek library was not an option, the young apprentice had to be the one using the staff while everyone else escaped. Thanks to their sacrifice, the whole region was able to be evacuated on time and reached Hope's end. Both the apprentice and the staff got swallowed by the Flood. Years later, Vestanark Dest Barek invented the first water staff used by Flood Divers. They then proceeded to ask for a group of divers to be sent to investigate what happened to their hometown, and hopefully retrieve their apprentice's body, which was accepted by the Spire of science. The divers came back, after a few weeks of exploration, unable to step anywhere closer than 3kms away from the city. The staff, swallowed by the Flood, gave it plenty of runes to draw power from. Vestanak's city was the first Flood Stronghold discovered by Morknars, leading to the theories around the Eye of the Storm.The old Barek kept looking back. We could see a huge light coming out of our home, raging into the skies. It kept burning for so long that we thought that they might just be able to win.
The light was still burning when we crossed the mountains. Who knows for how long it held.
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