The Scar

The Scar, also known as the Rent Where Gods Fought in older texts, was seared forever when the first great mages of two legs destroyed the ethereal portal known as Agxer Gxa Daruil (portal to the true beginning in Draconian) in the center of modern-day Therent. Named for the jagged pattern of forever blackened Earth the mages' spells left behind, the Scar spans more than 20 miles east to west and reaches two miles wide at its widest. Most sentient creatures avoid the Scar, as it is devoid of flora, and rumors abound of travellers who decided to brave the Scar never returning.

## History

### Agxer Gxa Daruil

In a time almost forgotten, only written in dusty tomes in the depths of the great Wizarding library at Umcher's Gate, a meadow filled the region now known as the Scar. For as long as history knew, a zigzagging hairline fracture in the ground spanning several miles made up Agxer Gxa Daruil, and it could be coaxed open to travel to the aether, and for ethereal creatures, vice versa. The fracture, roughly one centimeter across, typically emitted little light and absorbed all, giving it a pitch black appearance. In *A Commoner's Guide to Ethereal Travel*, a strangely flippant book dating back an estimated 3100 years, the unknown author writes of the fracture: "Unless you are blessed by Igxe's own luck, you'll need to pay a handsome sum for a wizard to accompany you to open *Agxer Gxa Daruil*." Historians conclude from this that the fracture, obviously a loose string weakness was also localized, aperiodic-opening portal for some or all of the stretch. No live examples of this combination have been discovered by modern-day aether scientists.

### The Stitching

Approximately 2900 years ago, a sharp increase in aether creatures emerging from Agxer Gxa Daruil led to a formal complaint written from "the common sentient" to the spellcasters of Umcher's Gate to help contain the creatures, who, while seldom malevolent, damaged settlements and killed innocents with their eclectic behavior, or sometimes by unfortunate collateral. The mages, often the target of suspicious eyes, agreed to aid, happy to have an opportunity to gain influence and favor with commoners. In what one mage writes as "our hubris", they decided to close the entire fracture rather than monitor and manage when creatures did emerge, as the complaint had requested.

A cadre of between 14 and 25 casters of various nature set out to "stitch" the fracture together. They positioned themselves in pairs along the miles of the fracture, and at a critical time of day (dawn or dusk, depending on the translation) cast an experimental group spell that had succeeded in closing manually opened portals. The spell emitted a white light that blinded at distances of at least 5 miles for more than half a day. (One account was recorded from a village at that distance that detailed an entire family going blind after trying to watch the mages work.) When the light subsided, the ground surrounding where the fracture had been was blackened, and it remains so to this day. The casters were never found, and so the exact reason for the Scar could not be determined. Scholars in Umcher's Gate attributed the effect to an aether being that tried to keep the portal open, whom they also blamed for pulling their casters into the aether. Some theorize that the spell merely took more power than expected and essentially vaporized the casters.

### Embellishment

After the Stitching, despite spellcasters' general consensus that an aether being caused the disaster, commonfolk either did not know or did not accept that explanation by and large. Instead, sentients explained the light as an intervention from a deity, commonly Illumiel for her association with light or Umcher because the portal was being destroyed in his name. The blackened area quickly became named the Rent, and sentients thought it as a permanent reminder from the gods never to reverse nature.

It was some time, between 5 and 20 years, before a recorded trip to the Scar. Until this no one knew that Agxer Gxa Daruil indeed had been closed, although some had suspected since no aether creatures had come in that time; however, other explanations abounded. When it was discovered, commoners concluded that not one but two gods had intervened, one trying to allow the spellcasters to succeed and the other inhibiting them, and fought it out over the duration of the blinding light. In this way, the region was dubbed the Rent Where Gods Fought.

Because of the mystery around what truly happened, despite the factual accounts from explorers of the new Rent, many spread fantastical stories about what resided there and what happens to travelers who dare tread on the blackened earth. For the generations alive during the Stitching, these stories were likely at least partly for entertainment, as one book from the era gives 10 inventive interpretations of the event and its aftermath.

By 2700 years ago, most writers identified the Rent Where Gods Fought as not only cursed but also lethal to all living things that tried to enter. This explanation incredibly persisted for 2500 years, despite many factual inconsistencies, and because of this very little is known about what occurred in the region during that time. Later analyses have not uncovered any significant event, though evidence of consistent animal inhabitation was discovered.

### Entering the modern era

In year 68 of Therent's Valdrin Dynasty, the widely regarded gnome explorer Baruppi traveled the area surrounding the Rent Where Gods Fought debunking the myth, using several props extracted from the Rent as proof and bringing those sentients brave enough to explore the blackened area. Her acclaim and convincing evidence brought widespread acceptance that the Rent was not dangerous and popularized the name "The Scar" as a replacement for the Rent, also in part to reduce confusion with the nation Therent, whose name originates from the Rent Where Gods Fought. Baruppi's discoveries of the Scar appear in three chapters of her (now) most popular book, *Seeing is Believing**.*

## Environment

The Scar stretches for 20 miles across a flat plain, surrounded by meadow. Its characteristic black earth harbors no vegetation, but it can be excavated to reveal its ash-like texture. At the edge, this blackened earth only goes down to a depth of 11 meters, although the clay below it also gives little opportunity for plant life. Some rocks and boulders are scattered throughout, occasionally clumped together by animals for shelter. Weather affects the Scar normally, though the black ground has been known to heat up enough to melt footwear during the hot months.

Hundreds of small, magical braids mark a zigzagged path across the Scar, one every 50 meters or so, which is theorized to be the line of the original Agxer Gxa Daruil. They cannot be moved via natural means and no caster dares attempt to cut them. Excavating beneath each reveals a simple, floating loop just a centimeter in diameter. The ease with which these were found suggests a lack of dust accumulation throughout history or recent erosion. Because of the dearth of information up until 200 years ago, scientists have no way to be certain which explanation is most accurate.