All was well before the age of excavations. As the digging sites for Starun extraction went deeper underground all over the planet, surface civilizations had their first encounters with Yrians, and also their first combats. Overwhelmed by the strength and speed of the subterranean breed, the first magical weapons were built. A collaboration between Craftsmirians and Technokrestians, they were the first weapons made of Starun-imbued Mithrall. Much stronger than the average weapon and also capable of energizing projectiles with different characteristics, the armies of Mithaurian became fit to resist combat against Yrians, and occasionally win.

Every step taken towards evolution made Myridian more dependent on Starun, which ultimately led to a frenetic extraction rhythm. Little did they know that Starun’s magical properties included maintaining the balance of the planet. It was one of the components that regulated the magnetic fields, gravitation, tides, retention of magma beneath the crust, and it also encapsulated a power beyond all forces known. An energy of putrefaction and destruction, righteously named “The End” by the Ancient Merids. The more they dug, the stronger “The End” got.

At first there were draught, loss of entire crops, waters’ acidity rise, tidal waves, volcanic activities… No one related those tragedies to the decrease of the ever shrinking protection Starun offered. Wherever “The End” struck, a cloud of poison and radiation remained, and the contaminated area could not be accessed by any other creature than the Yrians. Nevertheless, the dark energy corrupted them even more. They got stronger and more ferocious. Upon the scarcity of resources and constant attacks, conflicts between villages and clans terminated entire cities.

The Verge knew they were the only ones who could stop the imminent extinction of life. There were attempts to fight the end with magic, but it turned out that the energy of “The End” was immune to it. Then they tried equipping soldiers and engineers with Starun-imbued Mithrall armors , reinforced with magical protection and seals, but nothing could resist the radiation of the contaminated areas. Technokrestian engineers noticed, though, that the expansion of the end was related to a low concentration of Starun underground. They immediately ceased the extractions all over the planet and reported to the Verge that all Starun should be returned to the land in order to reestablish balance and recover the land. The idea was to somehow enter the damaged areas, locate the critical points of destruction and seal them with Starun. Enters Malthus, the Aluminous Sage.