The 13 Keys

It is said that Lucius Ferrum proved to be to powerful to be defeated, even by the greatest Magi of the time. Thus the only way to contain his power was to seal him behind a barrier with 13 Keys, one forged by a mighty Mage of a different school of Magic. The vicious battle and complexity of the magic killed many of the 13 Mages, with most of those surviving severely weakened. According to legend, the Keys were scattered and hidden so that Lucius would never be able to return and exact his foul will upon the world again.

Summary

The exact identities of the 13 Magi said to have created the keys is unknown, although there are many rumours and stories of who they may have been. Only three of the Key makers are known with any certainty:
Creator of the Key of Storm - Arch-Mage Suhor the Great - Magi of both Air / Storm and Life. Son of Surosi. Killed in the process of the battle. Location of the Key is Unknown.
Creator of the Key of Nature - Xasana - Considered the greatest Magi of Nature of all time. Xasana led her armies of Magi, non-Magi humans and beasts alike to help defeat Lucius Ferrum and his "Bringers of Glory". Died as a result of the battle. Legend says her body sank into the ground and a tree grew in her place. Location of the Key is Unknown.
Creator of the Key of Heavens - Anorus the Proud - Magi of Heaven. An ally and friend of Suhor. Helps to defeat and imprison Lucius Ferrum. Becomes Arch-Mage following Suhor's destruction. Wipes out the royal family of Kushar in an attempt t cement his direct rule. Fought with various Magi schisms. Deposed and murdered by a mass non-Magi revolt led by the common fisherman, Syed. Location of Key is Unknown.

Historical Basis

It is difficult to say, thousands of years later, how much of the story is true and how much has been mythologised. Some folklore historians have suggested that there was certainly a massive battle between a powerful Mage, upon whom Lucius Ferrum was modeled, against a powerful alliance of Magi and non-Magi. Such historians tend to agree that the battle ended with the destruction of the powerful Magi however, arguing that no Magi, no matter how powerful, could survive for thousands of years of imprisonment, nor could be so powerful that this was the only solution to dealing with them.
A number of materialist historians dismiss the story entirely, stating that the battle was little more than a conflict between two powerful Magi, Arch-Mage Suhor and a Magi off whom Lucius has been based, ending with them destroying one another. This was followed shortly afterward by Anorus becoming Arch-Mage and trying to dominate the land and being overthrown and killed by Syed, sparking the Magi purges. The Historian Malik Alamaa has suggested that the myth of the 13 keys emerged as a way for people to cling to the idea of Magic, which had been essentially wiped from the world in the brutal purges, with only a handful of Magi remaining on the outskirts of society.
A handful of rather eccentric historians believed that the myth is entirely historically accurate, and wrote extensively on who the other 10 Key creators may have been and where the keys may have been hidden. A number of these historians were later executed as Magi sympathisers however, and their works destroyed. It is unknown if any of these rare histories survived these later purges.

Spread

The basic Myth of the 13 Keys has an oddly far reach, existing in some form or another in just about every corner of the world.
Some point to this as evidence of its truth, but most historians view this as simply being evidence of the interconnections of societies through trade, an idea put forward by Hanmer c'Meshert.
Malik Alamaa's concept of the story as a way for people to cling to the idea of magic and to process the purges has also found wide appeal in academic circles. Srahen Kain even married the two concepts together, suggesting that slight variations of the myths may have evolved independently in different areas following the purges, but steadily became more formalised as it was spread and retold by travelling merchants, arguing that the myth travelled and was popularised with news of the actual purges.
Nyeret Ankar has challenged this narrative, suggesting that the myth of the 13 Keys spread and became popular before the purges, although he agrees that merchants helped spread the narrative and that the purges led to a resurgence of interest. Ankar argued that interest in the Myth of the 13 keys derives far more closely from simultaneous fascination and fear in the 13 schools of Magic themselves, with the story creating Lucius as the manifestation of the uncontrollable destruction of all 13 schools of magic, and then trapping him through the efforts of 13 keys, one from each of the schools of Magic. Ankar suggested that the idea of "Magic locking away itself" represented the efforts by Magi to limit the destruction of their powers, with the keys being lost representing the Magi purges. Finally, Ankar suggests that the fear of the possible return of Lucius as a manifestation of non-Magi fears of the return of Magi.
Ankar's works are considered Heretical is some areas of the world, and some copies have been burned, but his work is accepted in others, particularly as it ultimately viewed the 13 keys as just a story, and copies of the original remain in use.

Variations & Mutation

Local variations of the myth tend to have the creators of at least on of the keys coming from the local area. There are over 1 000 supposed creators of the Key of Fire, reflecting its commonality as a school of magic, over 700 supposed creators of the Key of Ice, over 500 supposed creators of the Key of Earth and over 300 supposed creators of the Key of Life.
The Creators of the Keys of Hell and Dark tend to be assigned to local demons, bogeymen or villains, with the stories often reflecting how evil Lucius was that even villains needed to unite to defeat him. Local famous Vampires and Necromancers tend to be credited with creating the Key of Undeath, with over 1 500 supposed creators. A number of Vampires and Necromancers have actually personally claimed to have created the key of Undeath over the millennia, and a number have shown them off publicly, but these are almost universally regarded as fakes designed to play up the Vampire or Necromancer's power and Prestige.
Oddly enough, there are hardly any stories about the Creators of the Key of Creation. Some stories suggest that the local Creator God himself (or occasionally herself) manifested to create this key, although this is generally viewed as little more than a superstition among backwards farmers.

Cultural Reception

The Myth of the 13 keys tends to be viewed as more important on the edges of society, where there is more likely to be interaction and conflict with the remaining Magi. The myth is viewed as absolute truth on the isolated frigid island of Malaa, where many Magi fled after the purges.
In bigger cities and more safely non-magi areas the myth is generally viewed as little more than a children's story however.

In Literature

Numerous books have been written about Lucius and the 13 Keys, often varying due to culture and location. Indeed every culture seems to want to have the great final battle take place on their own territory, yet wants to insist that Lucius was not one of them. Lucius is almost always assigned as being a member of the main national or local enemy of the time.

In Art

Numerous works of art have been created showing both the defeat of Lucius and the creation of the 13 keys. Many of these were destroyed in the Magi Purges and in subsequent purges as heretical, yet a number have been preserved by more free-thinking wealthy individuals in positions of sufficient power.

Date of First Recording

The story appears to originate from some 2500 to 3000 years ago, although records remain sketchy and unclear. The Myth became quite well known and established after the Magi Purges.

Date of Setting

The events of the legend supposedly occurred some 2600 to 3000 years ago, some time before the Purges of the Magi