The following is taken from a speech Historian Halbad'zaran gave during her recent guest appearance at the Prism Unveiling Event.

Take a deep breath. Slowly exhale. In your nose and out your mouth. Do this three times. One. Two. Three. Now hold it.

Right now you are probably feeling good. Your lungs are overly saturated with oxygen, so you can hold for longer than you're used to. Yet, there is still that nagging sensation in the back of your brain. The longer you hold the stronger that sensation. That feeling is how the Harmonium work. At first it’s nothing, but slowly their pressure builds. Join us. Sing with us. Harmonize. Breathe.

Keep holding if you can.

Three hundred years ago the world almost fell to Mechanus and the Harmonium during what we now call the Harmonic Wars. First the resistance was staggering. The world stood against them. Mechanus and the Harmonium pushed and we held.

Until we turned blue we held.

The Harmonium thought to take from us our free will, and we responded in turn. Those who could stood against them. New Gods arose out of this struggle. Currently, they reside on the new moon Xel’Anulus, but at the time they were mere men and women who simply chose to fight.

And we held.

Your lungs are probably burning now. Your vision begins to tunnel. The darkness slowly edges in, and all you can see at the end of that tunnel is the face of an Aleph begging you to harmonize. To breathe. Most of us did in the end.

Exhale.

When we finally won, and took our first gasps of air, what did the Gods do with the remaining Harmonium? Showed more kindness, and more restraint than I could claim to have in my heart. Perhaps, that is why they are Gods, but that is a discussion for a different time. The Gods showed the Harmonium mercy. Embraced them with love, and compassion, and gave them a second chance. Redemption. The remaining Harmonium members were dispersed around Xelanus and allowed to keep their beliefs, but over time they were tempered by their loss and influence from other cultures allowing them to merge successfully with all people.

During the war we lost the souls of many, but we lost more than that. The Crystal Sea drained into the Artorian Wilds. The Four Horsemen rode their path of destruction across Mechanus leaving it to fall into the astral sea. At the same time, the Bishop fell, along with his sister, The Rook, and a handful of ancient titans. Now the Astral plane has dissolved into a pile of dust, dirt, and the belongings of a God known as The King, Rell’Ovan, and his Queen, Cor’Elia who once resided in the Library with no doors. They sit upon a mound of debris. A massive throne of bits and things collected from across all realms and places

Careful if you wish to travel to the Astral Plane, without Xel’Karik’s thoughts holding it together, and the constant threat of planar storms, you can easily get lost without a clear picture of where you wish to go. It is said that those who boast a great intellect can manage their way around the Astral Plane at a quicker pace. Which may be handy if you are seeking Bel’Draksik and Bel’Aegi, who can be found in their respective areas, though they are a bit more secretive. You will know you are getting close various mechanical aspects, or the growing of various flora, respectively.

With Mechanus gone the world was finally set free, but with this new found freedom came chaos. The Hawke accord was the first boundary we pushed. Mages had access to unfettered power. The Corporations quickly took advantage of the situation. An arcane rush exploded, with each Corporation started to snatch up any and all magic users they could get their hands on, with or without the mage’s consent. The common man once again under the oppressive thumb of powerful magics, they started turning to paid protection. Militias, and empires started to form, as small battles played out. Every side trying to claim what the others had. The world was on the verge of another war immediately on the heels of the Harmonic Wars. One that would rival the Zarain Wars in the history books.

The King was madden by this. All was his, and they were ruining it.

The New Gods, sensing this unbalance, brokered a deal with The King and Queen. Reinstate some of the rules that were once there. With the Queen’s help we were given more knowledge without letting us get to a point where we would start to be too dangerous, to ourselves and others. The world once again was capped in level, this time at level 10,and through Cor’Elia’s blessing we are able to accomplish more with our mortal lives.

With new laws placed onto the plane, limiting magic, the Corporations where once again forced to use their heavily funded R and D departments. Technology advanced at a brisk pace. Marut Armored mercenaries, Golden Assassins, Bask-Tech Drop Soldiers - the battles took their toll. Each new invention out did the last. Airships became liabilities as more tricks and weapons were brought against them. The Silenni thrived as water based ships, slower but more reliable, were able to move around the world with less threat. Large personal hedron vehicles allowed for faster land movement, and distribution of resources. Though, the Vith Rails always were considered too important by all parties involved, and were left alone.

A new player enters the field. Balanced Engineering entered the scene with a splash. Their Nixian androids upset the balance between Golden and Ammon. With a third company creating androids, now that the Jekwin contract was no more, the other two no longer held a monopoly. The three corporations brokered a deal amongst themselves: before an android is given a body, the soul must be willing to move forward with accepting a role in the world, though never one preset by the companies involved. This made them citizens, they are given bodies but not places, and they can work for themselves. In all respects they are like any other life form.

Taking a part of creation with her, Evry wandered the world. Eventually taking of residence in the Artori wilds. Having been doused with the Crystal Sea the Wilds were ripe for the power of the heart, and quickly it begin to take effect. Ar’Tephik, smaller creatures of shadow and light that called the Wilds home started a form of metamorphosis. Growing into what we now know as the Artori, plant like humanoids that uses moderate telepathy but for the most part communicates with song.

"Just remember that even gods can be brought low, and even lowly mortals can do great things. One day, once your body has grown past light and void, you will need to head out into the world and find your own way. And someday, your siblings will follow."

"The First Light was our beginning. You, me, uncle N'enoth, it's up to all of us to make sure we all have a chance to enjoy our life until the First Light comes again. Until the next beginning."

The Plane was now open. In the city of Core-Junction a gateway was created, lead by the Last Axiomite Elmod, the planar markets of Sigil where opened so that all may profit. But this openness has its own consequences. Now that there is no Heiromantic magic to seal agreements one key contract has been dissolved - the Arkani Sacrifice. Xel’Dorik is no longer locked away.

This new openness, and these new threats have created a demand for a new form of protection. One that all people could agree on. The Corporations all agreed, they would all pay into a single pool and fund a single group that was free from all corporate ties: The Xelanic Seekers. With the rights and abilities to operate anywhere the new Seekers find themselves traveling to every plane, and every world to protect the universe from any threat. Heavily equipped with the newest tech, and with the blessings of the L’vats the Xelanic Seekers are our first line of defense. Those who excel in the Seekers can find themselves being recruited into a more elite unit, known as the Astral Knights.

Blessed in the waters of the First world has allowed the Astral Knights a reprieve from the Rules that the King has set forth onto all beings of Xelanus. The Knights are free from the concerns of the material plane, as they leave those issues to the capable Xelanic Seekers, the Knights focus their attention on threats left over from the fallen Titans or other extraplanar threats. Their judgement and opinion are highly regarded by all creature from all planes, as the Knights carry the weight of the last Axiomite, the Primarch of Gears Lost. Though, they do refer to the Seekers or the Watchers when in their jurisdiction.

At the End of the Universe waits the Knight, Bel’gallows. He waits for Xel’Dorik. His endless vigil is something I am thankful for every day. And we can not forgot those who have chosen to join him. The Watchers, the chosen of the Rook, stand shoulder to shoulder with the Knight fighting back against Xel’Dorik and his attempts to get back into the world and destroy it. New Watchers are selected from the ranks of the Astral Knights.

Once, the Knight was simply a man, one who lived for others, and tried to save anyone he could from pain and suffering. At some point, he was marked with Xel’Dorik’s poison. The taint affected his body, and his soul. The Knight fought against Xel’Dorik from within and much as he has from without. Eventually, the poison started to affect Bel’Gallows. Though the Holy Axe of Finality, the Watcher Sergei was able to remove the corruption from the Knight, but along with the poison the Knight also lost his arm. Weakened and battered the Knight continues his watch.

Xel Dorik knows he is too weak to try and all out attack against the Watchers. The planes that stand behind them lend power and strength to the magics keeping Xel’Dorik out, and so it tries for more subtle attempts. Launching a small strands of its power like invisible wisps from a spider web, meant to catch and corrupt souls and creatures. Most are directed to the material plane, though occasionally they will hit one of the outer/inner planes and cause vast amounts of damage as creatures mutate or become Xel Spawn.

On the material plane it creates a different problem, as sometimes it can lay dormant until the being affected comes within a power source or dreams a source that triggers the wisp. Sometimes the strands simply kill the host creating a Xel Spawn form their body. Other times it uses the host as portal, opening and letting through small bits of Xel’Dorik itself onto the plane. The spawn can take various forms and abilities, and luckily with the prevalence of weapons on the world, most can be stopped, but the longer they survive the bigger and more powerful they get, the more powerful the more area they can corrupt and the more strands Xel’Dorik can launch into the material plane.

These new attacks have people and companies scared. We are creating a new branch of Seekers. Built to deal with these incursions by Xel’Dorik. Like Seekers they will still help with standard issues and conflict. Built with Bask Tech, armored with Golden weapons, funded by Ammon resources, they will be tasked with understanding the spawn, destroying them, preventing incursions and more so, eventually ending Xel’Dorik. So that once again we may breathe.

Welcome to Prism.