'Merging Circles'

Andraous (Discontinued)    Natural Laws and Events    Magic      'Merging Circles'

The knowledge of the 'Ancient Ones' has been lost for many thousands upon thousand of years, however in recent years there has been a race to relearn their secrets for one's personal benefit. Some of these lost secrets however, are best to stay lost.
The 'Merging Circles' were large arcane circles filled with intricate runes and special gems. The 'Ancient ones' would force a slave/prisoner onto the circle with some kind of creature and then using a ritual the two creatures would be forced into one body, producing a new creature that was clearly half humanoid, half beast. If these creatures could survive they would be be used as slaves, for example, the Centaurs were used to assist in farming and moving goods. They had the power of a horse and the intelligent of a humanoid, making them more efficient that either parent creature.

Utility

These circles were an important tool in A.O. society, for with them one could create hybrid slaves that were personalized for any task one needed. These hybrids would collectively go on to be known as the Chimeras, and would include folk such as the centaurs, Fauns, Satyrs, Merfolk, and Harpies.

Access & Availability

Most A.O. Ruins have one or two of these circles located somewhere in them, however the knowledge on how to use them has been lost to time, until recently.

Discovery

This technology was first discovered by the 'Ancient Ones' in their attempts to make themselves smarter, stronger, and more. At some point they discovered how to create 'Merging Circles', and while the physical outcomes where less than desirable, they quickly adapted it to produce specialized slaves. When the world's magic levels crashed they were unable to gather enough magic to keep using the circles, so the knowledge on how to use them was lost to time. That is, until the 'Descendents' figured things out.