All around them, the air was charged with energy. The spells of wizards and sorcerers, clerics and blackguards, and angels and demons clashed, shedding raw magical energy, spell results, and unnatural weather in equal amounts. The land was pulled apart - what was once a rich, fertile plain was turning into a blasted wasteland.
But in the center of it all, an oasis of calm prevailed. The few that had found sanctuary were huddled around the Orb. The area was small - twenty yards across at the widest point, and centered in a sphere around the Orb. But the clashing magicks, the bolts of lightning, the firestorms, all spent themselves as they got close, the energy draining harmlessly back into the Empyrean. It was risky to trust themselves to the Orb, as they couldn't use magic of their own, but it was their only way through the madness.
In the end, as the battle waned, and whatever victor their was took their prize, the small band survived. They waited for days, to be sure, but eventually they had to leave. They found that their haven was the last patch of life for miles. Everything else had been turned to dust.
An Orb of Grounding absorbs energy and funnels it back to the Empyrean. It can absorb energy instantly, but there is a limit to how fast it can disperse it. The orb will swell as it overfills, and rupture if it takes too much. A rupture destroys the item, and unleashes all energy at once. This has happened at least twice.
The last time, a crater nearly 50 yards across and 30 yards deep was created. Nothing stood for 100 yards in any direction - with the exception of a badly damaged quartz plinth almost 400 yards from the center, that would have been true for a quarter mile. Beyond that, what was a forest wasn't pulverized, but the heat was intense enough that it started to burn. With the intense flames, and the wave of air pushing out, soon the entire forest was engulfed in flames. It remains a barren wasteland to this day.
It is known that it happened at least once before that. In the eastern stretches of Halion, the evidence of just a such a calamity is still clear, although it is also clear that it happened many ages ago. The Great Crater Lake sits in the middle of a large basin - the crater itself is nearly half a mile deep, and is almost five miles across.
The Orb of Grounding warps reality itself, and funnels energy to the Empyrean. That energy can be fed upon, and wars have been fought over them.
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