Power In Chains

There was a dark chapter in Vitallian history when magic was outlawed across much of the realm. It began in the north, where the Dwarves, long-attuned to the Runik Stone, declared a total ban on magic within their kingdom. Their decision was rooted in fear: too many monarchs had fallen to forces unseen, killed through spells, oneiromancy, astral projections, teleportation, and other unpredictable means. Unlike humans and other races, dwarven magic was bound to craft and essence, limited and traceable. This imbalance left them feeling deeply vulnerable.

To combat the threat, the Dwarves founded the Runik Knights, an order dedicated to suppressing rogue magic. Their influence spread quickly, and one by one, the monarchs of the mainland adopted similar prohibitions, eager to secure their thrones and eliminate hidden threats.

But what followed was catastrophe. The wave of prohibition struck the continent like a plague. Without a unified way to define, regulate, or understand the layers of magic, kingdoms turned to suspicion and fear. A brutal witch hunt ensued. Mages of all kinds, scholars, healers, conjurers, were exiled, hunted, burned on pyres, or executed without trial. A few monarchs resisted this descent into barbarism, and tensions flared, though open war was narrowly avoided.

The Kingdom of Rose rejected the bans entirely. It became a haven for fleeing mages, a bastion of magical freedom. Yet this stance came at great cost. Diplomatic ties shattered. Alliances collapsed. Trade and support dwindled, plunging Rose into an era of painful austerity.

When the age of prohibition ended, new treaties were forged, meant to protect mages and reintroduce magic into the world. But nothing returned to what it once was. Though the Runik Knights were disbanded, magic was reinstated under strict conditions. In times of war, plague, or unrest, these restrictions only grew harsher. Magical permits, protective enchantments, and monitored usage became the new norm. Monarchs remained ever wary, knowing that as long as magic persisted, no throne was truly secure.

Eventually, an agreement was reached between Rose, Esgolithon, and the kingdoms once complicit in the Mage Hunts. The Runik Stone would be used not to destroy magic, but to contain it.

Dwarven runemasters traveled the world, embedding protective sigils into the foundations of keeps and castles. These runes suppressed magical activity within their bounds, halting astral travel, dreamwalking, conjuration, even telepathy. Though the enchantments are not eternal, they brought a new kind of peace, one built on restriction, not trust.

Today, the legacy of that era lives on. Some kingdoms issue permits. Others impose harsh laws or total bans. Magic has survived, but in shackles, forever altered by the dark pages of history.