The Crystal Skulls
A Fragmented History
Long ago, witches were a thriving offshoot of the magical community. Despite great diversity, many witches lived very similar lives. They organized themselves into small family-based circles known as covens. Inter-coven relationships, based on well-established systems of trade and common rights, were generally peaceful. The history of this time is disjointed, passed down from generation to generation largely by oral tradition and rare text. Facts change depending on the witch currently retelling their version of history. The most commonly accepted facts are vague and have little root in anything substantial.
According to legend, there are six ‘pure’ bloodlines that stem from original 'Old World' covens. Each of the six came into possession, through unknown means, of Crystal Skulls. Artifacts of great power that set them apart from other families. The matrinames of these families are a hotly debated topic and few that make bloodline claims have any evidence to support them.
It’s commonly accepted that a rift between these powerful families ignited the spark of war that spread like wildfire through the whole of the witch community. As the infighting spiraled out of control, mages were establishing magical institutions of learning and organizing guilds for their communities. War and assimilation to the more stabilized mage community nearly exterminated both witch and coven culture.
The six crystals were used for generations by different members of their families until they were lost in the war and forgotten with the passage of time... Until the death of Valrae Baines-Older.
Turbulent Revival
The witch hysteria of Larket culminated in the public burning of the woman known to the community as The Red Witch. This act of brutality rippled throughout Lithrydel. The peace treaty between Larket and Frostmaw was cast into the very flames that ended the young witch’s life by Queen Hildegarde herself. The barrier that Valrae and Uma, Cenril’s mayor and fellow witch, erected to guard Cenril against the dark army of Kahran began to fade.
After the emerald crystal skull was presented to the leader of the alliance against Kahran himself, Lionel O’Connor, Uma formulated a plan to gather all six in hopes that the old legends of the combined skull’s abilities to raise the dead were rooted in truth. They would need to pull Valrae from her afterlife if they were to have any hope of restoring the barrier and defend the city. The mayor called a meeting for witches and sympathizers alike and offered a reward to those who could find the missing skulls.
Through adventure and trial the five remaining skulls were found and brought to Cenril. The founders of the dark artifacts, with the help of friends along the way, used them in the ritual that brought Valrae back from death. They proved worthy of the dangerous power and in the end remained the owners of the artifacts.
The impact of the crystal skull's reemergence can already be seen in the again vital barrier that glimmers over Cenril. What else their revival might mean has yet to be seen.