<div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: times new roman;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><em>The S p h e r e of the Black Mage</em></span></span></div><br/><br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 10pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: times new roman;">        As legends go, this one has been largely forgotten by most of the dwellers on this plane. It has been four centuries, as far as the wisest and oldest amongst them can count since the world began to die. Back then, before the black mage (whose name has long since been lost) disappeared and before his great sphere fell, the world was an impressive place. Their technology had defeated most any diseases, had extended life, the facades of their buildings white and gleaming in the magenta sunlight. They could have gone into space, but the people were not interested so much in reaching for the stars. There was war, but whenever you have people together there is always war. These were people who had become quite enlightened. Their cars hovered above the ground, their houses lit up at the recognized sound of their voice, and their war machines were some of the most impressive forms in the whole sector. But something happened...<br/><br/>        Sadly there are no tales of what occurred, only idle speculation that has dwindled into supposition and finally resignation as the years marched on. The black mage had been a man who had mastered the mystical forces on the planet. Truly, this plane had some powerful ley lines and he built his tower on a nexus in the far Eastern lands. If he was a sociable creature back then, no one can say, there are some stories surrounding him, but like the decaying planet around you, much of their details have faded. He had some dealings with the great councils on the planet, acted occasionally as a wise man or soothsayer depending on what was needed at the time, but largely the black mage was left alone. Alone with his sphere. This sphere was an object of immense power as you'll come to understand. It's precise powers are not known to those other than the black mage himself, but we do know that it had something to do with the <em>integral balance</em> of the plane. When he disappeared, he must have been handling it because it fell. And when it fell, it took the world with it.<br/><br/>        You could say that it all happened through a series of unfortunate events if it pleases you. There was no horrific war, no biological illness or even a great cataclysm that destroyed the world utterly. Things simply began to go <em>wrong</em>. The sphere's resounding sound as it struck the floor high up in the mage's tower was the death knell for the world. Even four centuries later, the world is still a dying place, with many people preparing for what they understand as their ultimate demise. <br/><br/>        Now those people that are left have largely divided themselves into clans and tribes. The once glowing cities are no more, nature has reclaimed her hold on much of the dwellings of man and all that is left are the shells of what used to be.  Not all clans are clans because they are family, though by now they are all connected somehow. Tribes and clans do not like to be near one another and most of them have developed specialties that have allowed their cluster of peoples to survive. Not all of the peoples on the plane are human either, there are dragon kind who often disguise themselves as men and women if they wish to, and there are eldar (or elves as you might know them) whose knowledge of the ley lines and mystical powers is still the greatest in the land. Technology is long gone and people survive by mastering trades that make them valuable to other people. The monetary system relies heavily upon trade as money is quite useless. Some tribes live near areas with wildlife and have mastered hunting, while others live in areas where the grounds allow them to farm vegetation. <br/><br/>        Now for the hope. As part of the legend, there are those that have said that someone, somewhere would be born with the ability to travel to the tower. Not just any person can do it you see, because the tower is not visible to all, and not just any creature can handle the sphere. These chosen individuals would travel far East in hopes that one of them would be "the One" that could right things. As you've likely gathered though, that has yet to happen. Up until a century ago, most tribes sent an individual out, now many of them don't bother.<br/><br/>        In the next post you will read short summaries on the tribes available, their lands, and therefore choose what you want to play. It will also contain other details that you'll want to read over. </span></span>