Shards of Creation are rare anomalies of spiritual energy that occur in remote places within the Realm of Strife, typically underground. These anomalies date back to the formation of the Realm of Strife when the Realms of Origin were fractured by the demon’s corrupting influence upon the Third Creation.
The concept for the Shards of Creation was created in part by Chris Lloyd (Little Rock, AR) as part of his ‘Foot Knight package’ backer reward from the 2014 Realm of Strife Kickstarter Campaign.
There is no way to truly known when the first Shard of Creation was discovered, as these strange anomalies have been known to disappear without warning only to reappear years later, sometimes in new locations, and other times never appearing again. This makes them extremely difficult to study; however, Mages, Wizards, and other academics have spent a great deal of resources to gain as much information as they can. Most of the theories surrounding the creation of the Realm of Strife were developed based on these anomalies. It is commonly accepted that Shards of Creation represent small pieces of the Realms of Origin that were part of the original creation of the universe. These fragmented pieces act as powerful but unstable sources of spiritual energy based upon the Realm of Origin they belong to. While most recorded occurrences of Shards of Creation cite only a single source of spiritual energy based in one of the known Realms of Origin, it is not unheard of for two or more shards to exists in the same location. This can greatly increase how unstable an anomaly would be when shards of opposing powers converge.
Shards of Creation are naturally occurring, almost unheard of above ground, and only slightly more likely to be found underground. The smallest of them is undetectable except by those trained in the Spiritual arts. However, they can also be quite large, appearing as bright flashes of swirling light pulsating at random from a central point that is often described as a jagged shard of glass with an infinite number of faces. The size of the anomaly also tends to effect its stability, with larger Shards usually much more unstable. Therefore those who study Shards of Creation typically focus their efforts on smaller anomalies, some no larger than a speck of dust. Larger Shards of Creation are given a wide berth, for fear of being struck by the bursts of energy that all too often radiate out from them. Worse yet, as Shards increase in size even the most subtle manipulation can cause them to collapse in upon themselves in one final explosive release of energy. Thankfully larger Shards of Creation are extremely rare and are often sealed away or placed under guard to prevent any catastrophe from occurring.
While no one can claim to fully understand these anomalies, if a spirit user could find a way to tap into them they would theoretically gain access to a battery of spiritual energy that would rival even the mighty dragons. Most endeavors to do so have ended poorly, with power hungry Mages bursting into flames, being frozen solid, or even ceasing to exist all together. Because of the risk they pose, some attempt has been made by the more conservative Wizard orders to safeguard and protect Shards of Creation when they are discovered. It is even rumored that the Order of the Silver Wizard, based out of the Tower of Fraenor in the High Elven City-State of Cailhast, has designed a magical vault to contain a significantly large and unstable Celestial Shard of Creation located somewhere in the foothills of the East Gantinor Mountains.
Other more wild and unsubstantiated theories exist that the Shards could be used to create gateways or portals between the Realm of Strife and the Realms of Origin. In theory, doing so could prove disastrous, as it would require piercing the protective barrier believed to have been cast around each of the Realms of Origin by beings of the First Creation during the Downfall to prevent the complete unraveling of Creation. However dangerous this may seem, there are always those willing to push the limit, whether out of raw ambition, sinister intent, or foolish curiosity.
The true nature of Shards of Creation remains shrouded in mystery as does the impact they may have on the fate of the Realm of Strife, and all of Creation. In the rare event that an unwary adventurer should stumble upon an undiscovered Shard of Creation, they will be faced with a difficult decision: either to safeguard it from those that would exploit its power or seek to unravel its mysteries for their own gain.