The Seal

"In the end, we can only speculate as to Nemot Lansaire's true intentions. Perhaps it was simple nobility, the belief that he really was saving the world. Perhaps he saw something during his audience with the World Soul, and plucked this outcome from a multitude of poorer alternatives. Or maybe it was spite.The gods feared him, and took so much from him out of that fear. Perhaps the Scourge was the ultimate act of vengeance against those that tried to destroy him, and very nearly succeeded. I had the dubious honor of being perhaps the single person who knew him best,and even I cannot say with any measure of certainty. Whether he doomed us, saved us, or merely prolonged the inevitable, we may never know. Only two things are certain: Nemot was - is my friend, and he has sealed not only the sky, but all of our fates with it." -Huron, the Living Archive

The end of the age of Calamity and Miracle was marked by a spell. An act of magic unlike anything witnessed in history, a harmony so all-encompassing that it disjointed the entirety of the World-Song, causing a twelve year spellplague after it's release. This immense magical outburst has come to be called the World-Spell, or the God-Scourge. It was, and remains, the most complex single piece of magic ever wrought, by a mortal or otherwise. It's effects are here broken down into two categories: Immediate and Lasting.

Immediate:

The Sealing originated from a convergence of Laylines far from modern day Sableheim, a place near the center of the vast region we now call the Frenzied Wilds. It's effects were perpetuated by magical refactors, scattered in convergence points across the Material Plane and it's reflections. The original composition of these refactors was said to be material foreign to Saheim, but after their use they were transmuted to simple fractal glass. How the Atma'ancer and his followers obtained this material, like so much else about him, is unknown. The purpose of the World-Spell was seemingly simple: expunge any and all celestial energy over a certain threshold, and seal it away in it's native plane. This encompassed, of course, any being with a piece of the Immortal Soul, but wisely excluded those whose heritage was partially divine/fiendish. As a side effect, the sealing took with it all magics whose intensity crossed a certain threshold. This classification of spell was known as "Primal Magics", though their exact nature and variety remains a mystery. It seems a concerted effort was made in the years following the Scourging to track down and eliminate knowledge relating to the execution of these magics. Whether this was out of concern for the danger posed by such powerful forces, or as a means of preventing tampering with the Sealing Spell, is still debated.

Lingering:

The lasting effects of the World-Spell are less mysterious, as scholars have had many centuries to study the Sealing Enchantment. Many attempts have been made to replicate or unravel the Seal, but as of this entry, none have come even remotely close to success. In fact, a facet of the Seal seems to be a powerful psychic will that confounds those who attempt such feats. Those subjected to this will exhibit muddled thoughts, short-term memory loss, and occasional headaches for a period of one to three weeks before returning to their normal state without any memory of the attempt they made to act upon the seal. The Seal places what can be best described as a funnel upon the divine energies flowing in and out of the material plane and it's echoes. Many scholars describe it as a "Keyhole", a small gap in an otherwise locked door. Through it, the gods still influence the world, though their direct presence on the material plane is rare, and usually through the lens of a mortal avatar. Inhabiting such an avatar places them at great risk, though this knowledge rarely stops those who are determined to personally tour the world they had been exiled from.

Manifestation

The Seal manifests visually, as a large, luminescent symbol high in the sky. It's exact altitude seems fixed, though it is difficult to determine, though it is higher than any mountain on Sableheim. The Seal shifts visual attributes slowly but regularly, varying in color from solid white to dull gold to pale blue seemingly with the seasons. It's luminescence is akin to a half-moon on a moonless night, and thus is nearly imperceptible during the day. The symbol itself is roughly a circle, elaborate and ever shifting. It's constant characteristics include circles inscribed with smaller symbols reminiscent of those representing each of the Outer Planes. Four large rays of light of various lengths shift slowly but steadily around the circle, reminiscent of shadows around a sundial. At the center of the Seal is a complex array of shapes and lines that are ever shifting, ever changing, every unknowable. The geometry is entrancing if looked upon directly, but confounds any attempt to establish a pattern. More precise terms describing the nature of this...nexus are difficult, due to the confounding nature of it's constant motion. Mirrors which are reflecting each other can be used to replicate the dizzying effect, but cannot fully imitate the real thing.

Localization

The Seal seems to be attracted to Sableheim, and remains roughly constant above it. Why the Seal is tethered to this land, when the original casting was so far away, remains a mystery. It shifts positions within Sableheim fairfly regularly, but does not ever stray so far as to leave it's borders entirely.