VASTRALS, THE MAKERS

 

The Breaking was devastating to the inherently magical races, leaving countless millions dead or dying in the aftermath. Dark days followed this event where the very existence of once powerful races hung in the balance. Many withered and died, or worse, found ways to prolong the inevitable and thus fading into a horrific mockery of what beauty or nobility they once knew. But unlike so many others that suffered in those years following the Breaking, the immortal races of Mythren, however, remained largely unaffected by the loss of magic.

 

Among these immortal races were the vastrals. Long ago in the Age of Dominion, the vastrals were servants of the titans. They were animals given human-like form, vast intelligence, and god-like grace. These guardians were made from a variety of creatures—each granted a humanoid appearance while still retaining many of their bestial physical qualities. In time, the vastrals began to create their own followers, creatures of a similar form but one step further from their original divinity. After the Breaking and the difficult years that followed, the entire race was nearly lost, like so many others, in their struggle to find a foothold in the shattered remains. On the verge of extinction, those that survived were the first to feel the undeniable draw of power generated by the appearance of the Wheelhouse. It was the vastrals who first discovered the Wheelhouse and began to lay the foundations of what would later become the Twelve Towns.

 

Now, each of the Twelve Towns are inhabited by a vastral, simply called the Maker by the denizens who now populate the towns. The Maker dwells in a massive temple called the Cradle Sanctuary and it is here that the bandiar are brought to life. Though the physical body and consciousness are summoned by the mysterious magic of the Wheelhouse, it is the immortal breath of the vastral that awakens the bandiar. Because of this, the Maker views each one as an adopted child.

 

Like the bandiar, the vastral is bound to the Wheelhouse and more than any other, they understand the terrible truths that must be kept secret and the sacrifices that must be made.