The Canticle of the Broken Choir

In the beginning, before the dawn of reckoning, there was naught but the void—a formless and silent abyss, barren of purpose, bereft of light. From the Azure Dream, the realm of boundless potential, the First Choir did emerge, radiant and harmonious, ten in number, each a shard of the Eternal Song. Altheris, Aril, Aurelion, Kaelos, Khyra, Nyssara, Oryn, Tareth, Varek, and Zephyros—they were as one, yet each bore a melody distinct, an essence singular.¹ And lo, they beheld the void, and their hearts did stir with yearning. “Let us craft,” spake Altheris, “a world to cradle life.” And the First Choir sang the Aria of Creation, a hymn of weaving, that from the void there arose Eryndralis—a realm of skies untamed, oceans vast, and earth teeming with the breath of existence. In their hands, the winds danced; in their voices, the seas swelled; and from their footsteps sprang forth fertile lands.² For countless eons did Eryndralis flourish beneath their stewardship. The Choir walked among their creations, their forms radiant as the dawn. The beasts of the land, the creatures of the sea, and the mortals there all lifted their hearts in joy, united in a symphony of life. Yet, as their light grew, so too did it draw the gaze of a jealous shadow.³ Beyond the edges of creation, in the deep reaches of the void, the Endless Maw, known as the Hunger Without, did stir. From eternity had it reigned in dominion over the formless dark, and its envy burned hot as it beheld the radiance of Eryndralis. “What is this light that defies my domain?” it rumbled, vast and fathomless. “I shall devour it and return all to nothing.”⁴ Thus did the Maw arise, its form without form, its hunger without limit. Whole realms did it consume, erasing them as though they had never been. Lands were swallowed, skies turned to ash, and the creatures of Eryndralis were unmade, their cries echoing into oblivion.⁵ The First Choir stood as guardians, unyielding before its advance. “We shall not let thee unmake what we have sung into being,” declared Aurelion, his voice a blade of light. And so began The Song of the Shattered, a war waged across the span of centuries, the melody of creation clashing against the discordant howl of the void.⁶ But mighty though the Choir was, the Maw was boundless, and their strength waned. In the final hour, as the Maw’s shadow loomed to engulf all of Eryndralis, the Choir gathered in unity. “We shall weave a binding greater than the stars themselves,” said Kaelos, his voice steady as the earth. “It shall cost us all, yet it is the only way.”⁷ Together, they sang the Binding Melody, pouring their divine essence into the prison that would hold the Maw. The void recoiled, ensnared by threads of light and shadow, locked away in a labyrinth of its own nothingness. Yet, as the prison closed, the First Choir shattered. Their forms were unmade, their voices silenced, and they became the Broken Choir.⁸ In their unmaking, they left gifts to the peoples of Eryndralis. To mortals, they gave the Aegis Tongue, a spark of divine thought that endowed them with reason, will, and the power to shape their destiny. And to the world, they gave the Ten Currents of Magic, fragments of their divine essence that mortals might wield to protect their realm: Aeromancy, Terramancy, Pyromancy, Hydromancy, Electromancy, Luxmancy, Vitamancy, Animancy, Psychomancy, and Chronomancy.⁹ And though their forms were no more, the Broken Choir remained in spirit, their sacrifice woven into the fabric of creation. The Azure Dream, their celestial home, upheld a place of reverence in our skies, a sacred reminder of the beauty they forged and the cost of its defense.¹⁰ In temples adorned with their silhouettes, mortals gather to sing hymns and recount the Song of the Shattered, that the memory of their creators might never fade. Statues of the Choir stand against depictions of the Endless Maw, their poses defiant and resolute, a testament to their courage and love for their creation.¹¹ To follow their example is to embrace their virtues: to create with boundless vision, to defend with unwavering resolve, and to sacrifice for the greater good when called upon. For it is said that the echoes of their song still guide mortals, whispering through the winds, the earth, the fire, and the waters: “Even in the face of annihilation, unity and sacrifice may preserve the light.”¹²

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