Long ago, magic was nothing more than a folk practice used to make life easier. Magic practitioners could create fire for lamps, conjure water to tend to their crops, or heal injuries and illnesses. However, in the continent of Lumiria, magic practitioners became known as sorcerers who had but one goal: bring magic to greater heights. Through sorcery, magic could conjure crops in any type of land, machines could be crafted in mere moments, and the very weather could be altered instantly. Alas, centuries of large-scale magic use broke the world, as spells of great power altered the world’s climate to a terrifying degree. All weather conditions existed in only extreme highs or extreme lows. Droughts could last for decades, hurricanes for months, seasons either blew by in an instant or dragged on for decades.


    Survivors were few and dwindled with each passing year, until one group of sorcerers known as the Kashaph-Or set out to preserve as much life as they possibly could. They traveled in search of as many surviving humans as well as edible plants and animals and brought them to the land of Lumiria, which had fallen into a state of eternal winter. The Kashaph-Or guided their caravan through perilous conditions, using only as much magic as necessary to defend themselves from the various creatures that had made their home in such harsh conditions. Packs of frost wolves often surrounded the caravan at night, but attacking them with fire magic killed the more ambitious ones while frightening the rest. Settling in caves proved to be treacherous, as they were home to slumbering giants, who upon waking would either attempt to devour anything that moved, splattering the white cave floor with bits of red. To prevent this, members of the Kashaph-Or would draw magic from the ice around them and freeze the giants in place, giving the caravan time to escape. Whenever white-winged griffins emerged from their hiding spots to try to pick off a straggler or two, the Kashaph-Or would alter the wind’s path, sending them crashing into the ground or a nearby cliffside, or create a swarm of ice shards that stabbed their eyes or clipped their wings.


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    At long last, they came upon a safe enough place to hide; a deep ravine that could provide coverage from the griffins while also being composed of terrain too dangerous for frost wolves or giants to climb down. The Kashaph-Or drew upon the power within the stones and shaped them into stairs that led deep into the ravine, and soon enough the entire caravan was safely at the bottom. They then cast a spell that froze them all in a great block of ice, designing it so that the ice would only thaw if the climate became more stable.


    The caravan remained frozen for five hundred years, until one day, the ice began to melt. The land around them was still largely covered in snow, but there were far fewer blizzards and there was even a brief summer season. The Kashaph-Or used the smallest amount of magic possible to create a heating device in the shape of a dome, which emanated enough heat to keep everyone warm without upsetting the balance of the region.


    While they began this journey with benevolent intentions, the Kashaph-Or were self-serving in their quest to bring survivors to safety. The ability to use magic to protect people made the Kashaph-Or more powerful than the civilians who were not sorcerers. This gave them the most control, wealth, and status. As a result they chose to reside in the innermost part of the city where it was safest. Those who were not sorcerers aspired to exist as close as possible to the Kashaph-Or so that they too could be protected. They began as their aides or servants, and eventually they too gained wealth of their own, although were never able to surpass the Kashaph-Or. Those who did not work directly for the Kashaph-Or were forced to live on the cliff sides of the ravine, farther from the heated center of the city and the protections it provided.


    The settlement eventually grew into a small city known as Eveniyr, and as far as anyone knew, they were the only humans left in the world.