Starforge

The Starforge is an extremely large and extremely powerful circuit of the Magestream, located underneath Parafia, the second-largest island of Sevaliara. Though it is significantly diminished in modern times due to the disapperance of magic from the world, it is still powerful - and also highly dangerous and unstable, for it is not imprisoned within a crystal as is the norm, but rather it exists in a pure, unrestrained form. It is only kept in check by a gargantuan magical containment device wrought almost entirely of Mageglass, which compresses and stabilises the circuit into a torus, similar to the effect of strong magnetic fields upon plasma. Exactly how this containment device works is completely and utterly unknown.

The compressed circuit, even in its modern diminished state, requires darkened glasses to view directly, burning a blindlingly bright shade of purplish-white with hints of crimson. It emits significant UV radiation, which is presumably the cause of the heavily tanned skin of all those who worked on the Starforge, and the darker skin tone of Parafians as a whole compared to other Saverians. The circuit also emits significant alpha and beta radiation, which is safely contained within the torus by the magical containment device, but the gamma radiation is another matter; whilst the device insulates the island of Parafia above against the gamma radiation, it is only capable of partially containing the radiation actually within the torus, exposing it to those who go into the Starforge. The level of radiation is not enough to cause acute radiation syndrome (radiation poisoning), but with prolonged exposure it can lead to a significantly increased risk of cancer, which is undoubtedly the cause of the high prevalence of cancer amongst Starforge smiths. Smiths who had worked for decades in the Starforge also frequently reported having a diminished sense of taste and smell, which may be related to chronic radiation syndrome.

The Starforge refers both to the Magestream circuit itself and to the containment device which restrains it and enables it to be safely tapped into without causing a catastrophic magical cascade. The Starforge was a vast reserve of magical energy, but it was almost exclusively used for the purposes of smithing; skilled plasma mages could channel the circuit to turn their magic into a tool to produce pieces of unmatched sturdiness and beauty. All the islands of Sevaliara were renowned for their smithing, as a combination of their magic and their long lives (allowing them to accrue experience) made them exceptional in this regard, but the smiths of Parafia who worked the Starforge were considered peerless by the Saverians themselves - quite literally the best of the best.

There are historical records of the Starforge being used as a weapon, but the only instance which has any significant degree of detail is in the Battle of Parafia, when Warmaster Bonebreaker assaulted the island after having already conquered Fesora and Alafésa several years prior. Bonebreaker was slain in the battle, along with many hundreds of his soldiers, by King Colien Ulthanas of Fesora, who channeled the devastating power of the circuit. The power would kill Colien, melting him from the inside out, but it is written that he died with a smile on his lips despite the agony, as he had taken revenge for the despoling of his homeland. There were also plans to use the Starforge as a weapon during the War for the World if the Cosmovores ever succeeded in landing on Sevaliara, and a pact was made between the seven Kings (which would only become public knowledge long after the war) that if their islands were overrun and there was no hope of victory, they would destroy the containment device, causing a magical cascade which they estimated would obliterate the entire archipelago.