Kinfire

Kinfire

In simplest terms, kinfire is pure, condensed magic, capable of immense power. Its origins are a mystery, retold in myth after myth. Though it was once plentiful enough to be shared among the peoples of Atios, kinfire is now rare and impossible to reproduce. A war, stretching over a thousand years, was fought for its control, and many have died in the pursuit of kinfire.

Not long ago, the Darkness, a mystical storm that has the power to surround and transform anything within it, struck the lands of Atios for the first time in three thousands years. Kinfire proved to be the only thing that could keep the Darkness at bay. The kinfire burning in the Great Lighthouse of Din'Lux is believed to be the last original kinfire flame and the only weapon against the Darkness.

Origins of Kinfire

The true origins of kinfire are unknown, but rumors, beliefs, and stories abound. According to the Temple of Ziva, kinfire was gifted to a group of elves living in the region north of the Great Sea by the goddess Ziva. Ziva saw that the world was covered in darkness—greed, selfishness, and violence. She brought kinfire to Atios as a light to combat that darkness and to heal the world.

Most scholars insist that kinfire must have been developed by scientists and magic-users long ago using ancient knowledge that has somehow been lost. Others believe that a very powerful sorcerer created kinfire by channeling magical energy into precious gems.

One story, spread mostly through children's books in the Berian Empire, tells of a blazing rock that appeared in the skies over Atios. It descended like a star falling from the heavens until it landed in a brilliant blast that could be seen from everywhere in Atios. The force of the impact left a massive hole that became the Great Sea and shattered the rock into hundreds of crystals. These crystals were imbued with a magical energy so powerful that they burned with an inexhaustible flame. The inhabitants in the area who collected these fiery stones called them "kinfire."

Characteristics

Kinfire is a flame that burns bright white and shimmers with an array of colors at its edges. At its core is a crystalline structure, a mass of glowing, iridescent crystals. While a kinfire flame does not release any smoke or heat, it can cause severe burns when touched and can be extremely dangerous.

Those entrusted by the Temple of Ziva with the care and tending of kinfire flames are known as Flame Keepers. Flame Keepers closely guard the secrets of pure kinfire. Even the scholars of Dwar Fell, who spent centuries experimenting with kinfire flames, were not able to replicate it and did not fully understand its properties. In the years since the Darkness returned, scholars have continuously requested that the Temple hand over everything they know about kinfire. But to this day, many ancient texts remain locked away and accessible only to Flame Keepers.

It is believed by some scholars that kinfire must require some kind of fuel to continue burning, but only the Flame Keepers know the truth of this. Distrust for the Temple among outsiders has led to wild rumors that the Flame Keepers sacrifice living people in order to keep the Holy Flame alight. But most dismiss this as nonsense.

It has become evident that kinfire seems to gain power from strongly felt communal emotions. Many ceremonies performed by the Temple of Ziva are aimed at provoking strong emotional responses: participants enter a state of trance, either crying or laughing madly. For the faithful, these ceremonies are cathartic, even therapeutic; they offer an outlet for the extreme emotions aroused by the sudden return of the Darkness.

Kinfire Embers

Flame Keepers have the ability to extract embers, small pieces broken off from the mass of crystals at the core of a kinfire flame. The specifics of this process are unknown to lower ranked members of the Temple. The supply of embers is heavily controlled by the Temple and are typically only taken for use in religious items, such as kinfire lamps, or for use by the Scholars' Circle. These embers, depending on their size, are used to light smaller lighthouses in villages outside of Din'Lux or in to create revenants and kinfire lanterns. The Scholars' Circle is also known to have a supply of embers to use in the development of new tools against the Darkness.

Kinfire embers are small crystals broken off from the core of a kinfire flame. They are dark in color with an oily, iridescent sheen and have a glow emanating from within. Breaking or splitting an ember will extinguish the magic within, leaving behind a blackened, worthless stone.

Due to their immense power, kinfire embers are extremely valuable. The Great Lighthouse of Din'Lux is heavily guarded by both City Guard members and Flame Keepers. The Scholars' Circle, however, has reported more than one theft from their supply of embers housed somewhere within their guildhouse.

Applications

Effects Against the Darkness

Kinfire most notably provides protection against the Starless Nights (otherwise known as the Darkness). Its magical glow is able to hold back the storm, keeping the Darkness at bay. Kinfire lighthouses, first constructed thousands of years ago, can provide protection to a sizable region. During the Great War, however, nearly all of the original kinfire lighthouses were destroyed. The Great Lighthouse in Din'Lux is the last of these still standing, making the city of Din'Lux the last refuge against the Darkness.

Using Kinfire Embers

Flame Keepers are capable of lighting a smaller kinfire flame by using an ember—a crystal taken from the core of an original kinfire flame. Flames burning from embers are far less powerful and produce a much smaller light. These weaker flames can be used to construct a lighthouse, but are only able to protect an area the size of a small village. Lighting one of these smaller lighthouse requires an elaborate ceremony that is usually performed by the Hierophant. A procession carrying a kinfire ember leaves the city on foot, singing religious hymns. Upon reaching their destination, priests perform a series of blessings upon the site. The Hierophant then speaks the words of an ancient ritual, igniting the ember into a kinfire flame.

Embers can be used to light small flames for other uses, including kinfire lanterns and revenants. While kinfire lanterns are only capable of protecting a few individuals when surrounded by the Darkness, they have become an essential tool for Seekers. Likewise, the flame burning within a revenant, known as their "core," only protects the revenant themself.

Magical Energy

Kinfire is an inexhaustible source of magical energy. Scholars have used kinfire to bring departed souls back from the dead by attaching their spirits to metal shells. These beings, called revenants, are powered by a kinfire core that will, in theory, keep them alive indefinitely.

At the start of the Great War, every pure kinfire flame in Dwar Fell was either reduced to mere embers or taken away by the Luminated Alliance. This left the scholars of Dwar Fell with only embers and no pure kinfire flames. Despite this, they were able to develop a large number of magical weapons, devices, and medical procedures that harnessed kinfire's magical energy. The war, however, eventually dwindled their supplies.

Kinfire also attracts the souls of the dead, which seem to flock to its magical energy. Seekers, who wield kinfire lanterns, sometimes report seeing visions of spirits they once knew in life. These meetings are unlikely to be pure happenstance; it is believed that the souls of the dead can recognize their descendants.

Effects on the Body

Long ago, kinfire was abundant enough that a group of human scholars in Dwar Fell experimented with ingesting it in a variety of ways. When done safely, it was discovered that ingesting kinfire led to a longer lifespan along with other beneficial physiological effects. In Dwar Fell, this practice was known as Communion. Over the course of a few generations, many of the humans in this region had taken part in Communion, leading to the evolution of dwarves.

Kinfire has become too limited in supply for further experimentation, so the effects of kinfire on orcs, elves, and other beings is largely unknown. There were some scholars in Dwar Fell who attempted to modify Communion to make it effective on an orcish body, but these attempts are believed to have all failed.

The Temple of Ziva

The flame that burns in the Great Lighthouse of Din'Lux is known by members of the Temple of Ziva as the Holy Flame. The Temple of Ziva is a deeply conservative organization. To them, kinfire is to be revered, not studied. In the past, any efforts to experiment on kinfire were seen as a desecration. Recently, however, the Temple, led by Hierophant Selen, has granted access to kinfire to scholars in the hopes that they can develop ways to protect the city against the Starless Nights. This decision has been questioned and protested by many, but it has also resulted in the creation of kinfire lanterns and revenants.

While not all members of the Temple are insistent on the sacredness of kinfire, many consider recent uses of the flame to be a desecration of Ziva's gift. These individuals are particularly appalled by the existence of revenants and blame the Hierophant for sharing kinfire with the enemy (see The Great War).

The Holy Flame burning in the Great Lighthouse of Din'Lux is the last original source of kinfire and is believed to have been gifted to the elves by the goddess Ziva. Flame Keepers, who tend to the Holy Flame, are specially-trained members of the Temple of Ziva. When the Hierophant of Din'Lux agreed to allow scholars to study kinfire (in the hopes of learning more about the Darkness), some Flame Keepers resigned their posts in protest.

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