The Origin of the Shards

A little over seventy years ago, the smaller of the two moons, Jypra, spontaneously and explosively disintegrated.
The immediate effect was a mana-shockwave, causing a momentary spike in the mana level that blew outward from the explosion point, causing destructive spell effects all over the world. The moon broke apart, the debris streaming out in orbit. It soon caused a rain of material to plunge into Velyri’s atmosphere. There were months of increased meteor showers, and overall world temperatures rose, causing blistering summers and mild winters for a few years as the falling pieces of the moon burned up in the atmosphere, causing the climate to go haywire.
It also caused a rain of crystalline shards that covered the world. These didn’t burn up in the atmosphere, and ranged from being about the size of a grain of rice to about an inch long. People who picked up the shards sensed they had an intrinsic value, and searched around for more of them. Even animals sought them out: there were tales of crabs carrying shards from the sea onto the beach, and fish being found with collections of shards in their stomachs. Academics theorized that perhaps the crystals have some sort of ability to impart a mental compulsion on nearby lifeforms, although why this is so, and for what purpose, no one knows.
People collecting the shards soon found that the shards themselves were indestructible as far as they could tell. Dwarven forges couldn’t melt or shatter them; mages couldn’t damage them with arcane energies. Mages were able to determine that the shards were magical, but all attempts to analyze the magic contained within them gave ambiguous results. The lack of results didn’t stop them from trying, however.
Some people used them as coinage, some as religious artifacts, some as parts of tools, some as pretty baubles. They were, in fact, rather pretty, looking like slightly bluish quartz crystals with a very faint phosphorescence. Eventually, someone discovered that some shards would attach to other shards, and when that happened, wild magic erupted. The power and extent of these eruptions were based upon the number and size of the shards connecting together. Some effects were good, others were either bad or inconsequential. In some cases, it was only a flash of light; others might involve color changes of objects or people nearby; still others might have their hair fall out or grow uncontrollably. In some rare cases, objects nearby were destroyed or transformed into something else, or people were killed.
When people noticed the effects of combining the shards, they played around with mixing and matching shards, creating the Game of Shards. Rules varied from place to place, as the need arose. In taverns, bars, and other meeting places people would come together and try to fit their shards together, in the hopes that something would happen. Sometimes it did. The rules of the games emerged because people needed a way to peacefully trade shards, but as it turns out, the rules designed to prevent violence didn’t really work. Those actually playing the game seemed okay with losing their shards. Outside of the games, it was a different story. Violence followed the shards like a bad odor. People didn’t like giving up their shards; to many, the shards became an obsession. Many people would pay exorbitant prices for any shards they could get their hands on, and many others would hire thugs to get shards forcibly from others.
Once shards connected, they couldn’t be separated; they had become a single unit. The lucky people (in the eyes of those most interested in the Game of Shards) ended up carrying large conglomerations of crystal, in oddly shaped, random forms. And the more crystals someone had in one piece, the easier it was for them to find others with large pieces. The players, or perhaps the crystals, working through the players, somehow seemed to seek each other out.
This phenomenon had social and psychological effects. The subtle urges emanating from the crystal shards made travel more common, as people felt the need to find others with shards and see if any attachments could be made. Some rulers made diplomatic concessions as a way to make their borders more open, as the increased amount of traffic put pressure on the nobility. Even the poor, usually limited to a day’s travel from their home town due to expenses and feudal considerations, have found ways and excuses to travel farther.
Economically, there was a thriving trade in shards. People paid good money for them, and a lucky strike by some poor farmer could lift him and his family out of poverty if they could get past the allure of the crystals and sell their find. There are dedicated buyers and brokers for shards, who were either hoarding them themselves, or getting a significant cut for other hoarders.
Politically, things were starting to become unstable. The Tondene Empire was beginning to amass a military force large enough to attack other countries, something they hadn't done for decades. Neighboring countries, often long time allies of the much larger Empire, were beginning to get nervous. Uncertainty about the future was beginning to be felt by those with their finger on the pulse of the Empire, as no one really knew which way things would go. The Empire had been around for nearly 900 years, so there were a lot of old noble houses constantly vying for power and coin. But this buildup of the armed forces was something new; it wasn't the usual squabbling of ambitious barons and counts, trying to gain power for their clans.
Meanwhile, a religion had sprung up in the last few decades. Called the Church of the Awakening, it didn’t follow a specific god or set of gods, it was more about personal spirituality. Its primary message was about “awakening your soul” and “awakening your inner powers of the mind”. There were varying versions of this in different nations, but they were all more or less about personal enlightenment, which many people found very appealing. While they didn’t follow any specific deities, they didn’t mind if their followers did. It wasn't really about gods. It had been growing in power and influence, and were one of the largest patrons of the Game of Shards. In fact, each member was given a shard to wear as a necklace as a sign of their devotion to the Church of Awakening. Many of the Church leaders brag about how many shards they have collected, and urge their flocks to seek out those shards that they can. They have been at the forefront of many political issues surrounding the shards, and have been the leaders in influencing the nobility to keep shard economics unfettered by governmental control.

Manifestation

There used to be two moons, Kynett and Jypra. Then, in 802 AFE, Jypra blew up. This caused a spike in local mana, manifesting as a shockwave that propagated from the moon outward. Spells cast at the time of the shockwave's presence went haywire. In one case, a simple spell to start a campfire burned down an entire village and the surrounding forest for miles around.

Localization

It wasn't localized; the entire world of Velyri was affected.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane