I’ve mentioned the Valley of the Summoners more than once, and I think the title is quite explicit.
However, it’s important to dedicate a few words to it and give it some interesting development, considering that it is the protagonists’ base of operations and one of the central locations where the events of the plot unfold.
In the article about the Enären Network, we discussed the importance of the Valley regarding the Plane of Magic. I have so much to tell you about this sacred place, but I can’t spoil anything, so I’ll do my best to share what you’re allowed to know without ruining the story.
About the Valley
Let’s talk about the Valley today before we get into its history and how we arrived at this point.
As the headquarters of the most powerful Summoner guilds on the world of Khäria, it’s a focal point of attention across the planet. However, not just anyone can access it.
One of the key features of the Valley of the Summoners is that no one can find it unless they are already part of one of the guilds. Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration because, if that were truly the case, there wouldn’t be any Summoners.
It’s more accurate to say that the Valley is protected by a series of spells and enchantments that keep it hidden from the rest of the world. Around it, and throughout the surrounding mountain range, compasses go haywire, and a thick fog blocks visibility, obscuring the sky and making it impossible to navigate using the sun or the stars.
For travelers and merchants, there are two passes to cross the mountains: one to the north and one to the south. In the middle lies the Valley, near the city of Actubrión.
In fact, the third mountain pass leads from the Valley eastward to Actubrión and westward to the ruins of Tinvarión, though this path is known only to the Summoners. Many tales speak of explorers who got lost and never returned, while others claim that the Valley doesn’t exist at all and is merely an invention of the Summoners.
The Valley itself is vast, with a circular topography that fascinates those who study its geography, lush with vegetation and brimming with life, adorned with the ruins of a strange city that once existed. Massive stone towers rise here and there, like sediment columns holding up the sky that covers the Valley.
Numerous rivers cascade into the Valley, converging in a mythical lake of tranquil waters.
At the very center of the lake, on a small islet, stands the legendary Temple of Ascension, where the initiate Ethereants perform the ritual and oath that officially make them Ethereants, both arcane and spiritual.
Stories claim that the Temple predates the creation of the guilds, adding an aura of mystery to it. We’ll talk about the Temple another day, I promise.
The Summoners and Their Valley
Life in the Valley of the Summoners is directly tied to their magical training, with plenty of space and resources for the four main orders: Wizards, Ethereants, Druids, and Corsairs.
The most numerous orders are the Wizards and Druids, and their members have chosen various spots within the Valley to call home. Huts, villages, small farms, quiet towers—each Summoner chooses their own lifestyle.
The crops are mostly managed by Druids, many of whom also inhabit the forests of the Valley. The thickest of them, called Turmäiur or Türma’s Sanctuary, houses colossal trees and is considered sacred to both Druids and Summoners alike.
The Wizards are the largest order and are scattered throughout the Valley. The path to Tinvarión to the west is where the highest concentration of Wizards can be found, with one of the order’s main Towers of Wizardry. Another is located in Actubrión itself, outside the Valley, and serves as the primary political headquarters for the Wizards.
One of the most striking structures in the Valley is the Ancestral Castle, headquarters of the Ethereants and home to another Tower of Wizardry. Officially, the Corsairs also have their base here, though they are the most fragmented of the four orders, leading a more nomadic and mercenary lifestyle (hence their name). The Castle is a unique work of magical engineering, built with architectural techniques and enchantment processes that have been lost over time.
Clearly, we could dedicate entire pages to Turmäiur, the Towers of Wizardry, and the Ancestral Castle. For now, we’ll leave it at that.
As mentioned before, these four orders are not the only ones in existence across the worlds. Summoners from other planets and races often make pilgrimages to the Valley to connect with its great magical influence.
However, in recent years, due to the war against the Nordüri of the north, these pilgrimages have decreased, if not ceased entirely.
The Valley in the Past
Today, the Valley of the Summoners is licking the wounds caused by the prolonged war with the Nordüri, compounded by the agony plaguing both the Ethereants and the Corsairs. The Wizards have lost a significant portion of their political power, and the Druids have taken advantage of their natural isolation to withdraw even further.
But it wasn’t always this way.
The history we know of the Valley of the Summoners begins during the period known as the Great Darkness, named so because, as the stories go, the worlds were plunged into such an all-consuming darkness that it devoured everything, destroying nations, countries, cities, civilizations, and entire cultures.
Our beloved Valley was not spared from this period, which theoretically lasted for centuries and left no records other than countless stories, myths, and tales of terror.
What we do know is that the Summoners, and the Valley itself, played a central role in ending the Great Darkness and took on the responsibility of restoring the worlds.
Thirty centuries have passed since then, and we can say that the recovery was slow and gradual. There were times when great nations arose to overwhelm their neighbors, only to be stopped by the quiet influence of the Ethereants and Corsairs, or by the diplomacy and politics of the Wizards.
The most influential power after the Great Darkness has undoubtedly been the Ordolite Empire, dangerous only to itself and capable of self-regulation thanks to its nature as a nation of nations.
The Summoners, and by consequence the Valley, have been victims of persecution and discrimination repeatedly. In the current period, there have been five Great Inquisitions, of which the one in the 9th century set Actubrión ablaze, the one in the 13th century nearly managed to enter the Valley, and the one in the 18th century nearly brought about the total extinction of the Ethereants. Put a pin in that, because it’s interesting to explore the Great Inquisitions in detail.
The history of Actubrión is also tied to the Valley and the Summoners. Before the inquisitions, a crusade orchestrated by the Taräni of Gaùntral in the 4th century nearly wiped the city off the map. The Taräni had reacted to an attempt to enslave them by an emerging power that had nothing to do with Actubrión or Khäria. The people of Gaùntral responded with a horde that ransacked countless cities. Another event we could discuss, known as “The Day of the Wolf.”
Dark Magic and Thirst for Power
As you might imagine, the Valley itself has not only been home to protectors and restorers, but also to nefarious figures who have caused chaos and pain across creation.
Power corrupts, something you’ve surely read or heard, and in the case of magic, we’re dealing with real power. Who hasn’t dreamed of moving objects with their mind or casting flames from their hands? If you had such supernatural abilities, what would you use them for? No one knows what lies in a villain’s heart until it is revealed.
The Day of the Wolf, the Inquisitions, and the recent war with the Nordüri are certainly not the only conflicts the Summoners of Khäria, or Summoners in general, have faced.
The Ethereants and Corsairs have narrowly avoided total extinction numerous times, not without reason: hunting down and stopping corrupt Summoners is part of their daily work. Wizards die of old age because they spend their lives buried in books and studying magic, while Druids pass away as elders in the forests due to the isolation we mentioned earlier.
I’m not saying there aren’t Wizards and Druids who share in the sacrifices that Ethereants often make, because there certainly are. The school of the Warrior Wizards is one example, or countless Druids who seek to stop the villains wreaking havoc on the sacred creation of which Türma, ethereal guardian of nature, is the overseer.
From the Valley, and from every corner of the worlds, there is a constant threat that a Summoner might believe their powers allow them to dominate others.
This is why, in the Valley of the Summoners, the state of alert is permanent, the training is constant, and the responses are immediate.