The Vault of Arcturus

Not many actual facts are known about the Vault of Arcturus. It serves as the archetypal goal of many legends of greed and adventure and is commonly believed to be fictional. The well-studied believe a different story.

Countless centuries ago, a great many kingdoms lived in relative peace in Myrin and Casamon. All of that changed when the Vault appeared.

What stories speak of the Vault of Arcturus all agree that it fell from the heavens. A group of powerful adventurers was chosen to investigate the vault and its contents. These ill-fated explorers would come to be known as the Architects. What they found within the vault is hotly debated, but is known to have been some powerful source of magic.

When word got out of its contents, a war broke out for control of the vault. The victors lorded their prize over the other kingdoms and came to be known as the Despots. The Despots converted the Vault into a treasury and used the source of magic within to fuel a neigh-impenetrable shield around their capital city. They wielded their invulnerability as a weapon and ruled the continent unchallenged for 10 years.

The other kingdoms, most of all the architects, grew weary of fighting and sought to end the Despots' regime once and for all. They came up with a plan: they would mount a full-scale assault on the city while the Architects (who were most intimately familiar vault) would sneak in and disable the barrier.

The night came and the Architects snuck into the city with relative ease while the armies gathered at the borders. The architects quickly discovered that they could not simply disable the powerful magic and would instead have to seal it within the vault. In an act of desperation in the 11th hour, the group found a way to activate an ancient enchantment tied to the vault. Their spirits were ripped from their bodies and were made to seal the doors of the vault, a portion tied to the doors and another portion tied to their personal arms, which came to be known as the Tools of the Architects.

The sealing of the vault sealed away the vast majority of the Despots' material riches and cut their shields off from the fuel source, leaving them defenseless. The arrogant Despots had not prepared for an invasion and their capital was razed in a single night. The Tools were collected and distributed as war trophies while the Vault was buried and forgotten about.

The story of the Architects was not widely told and the significance of their tools was lost to history. The Tools themselves were scattered, hoarded, or outright lost, and are believed to be the key to re-opening the vault, wherever it may lie.