The legend begins with Vorlag Stonehand, a geomancer exiled for his unorthodox methods. He sought not to control the earth, but to *listen* to it. He believed Osterburg was built on a nexus of raw geomantic energy, a place where the very stone hummed with forgotten power. He established the first settlement, a cluster of rough-hewn dwellings built directly into the cliffs. The initial inhabitants, a hardy folk known as the ‘Cliffborn,’ quickly learned to harness the stone’s energy for simple tasks - heating, lighting, and even rudimentary defense. Vorlag, however, vanished shortly after, leaving behind only a single, perfectly formed stone shard – the ‘Heartstone’ – now enshrined in the central temple.
This period saw a dramatic increase in Osterburg's prosperity. The Cliffborn, guided by the ‘Stone Weavers’ – a secretive guild dedicated to understanding and manipulating geomantic energy – developed complex systems for water management, agriculture, and defense. They discovered a technique called ‘Resonance Shaping,’ allowing them to amplify the stone’s natural energies, creating shimmering shields and even animating stone constructs. The Heartstone became the focal point of this power, radiating a palpable energy that influenced the very landscape. Rumors circulated of battles fought with sentient stone, and of Stone Weavers who could ‘speak’ to the mountains themselves.
A catastrophic event, known only as ‘The Dissonance,’ plunged Osterburg into a period of decline. The Heartstone, overloaded with uncontrolled energy, shattered, releasing a wave of chaotic geomantic force. The Stone Weavers vanished, their knowledge lost. The city fell into ruin, its defenses collapsing, and its population scattered. The landscape itself twisted, forming strange, unnatural formations – the ‘Echoes’ – remnants of the Dissonance. The only evidence of this time is found in fragmented scrolls and the haunted silence of the Echoes.
Small groups of explorers and scholars, drawn by whispers of Osterburg's lost power, began to re-establish contact. They discovered that the Echoes weren’t merely ruins, but conduits for the raw geomantic energy. The current inhabitants, the ‘Stonebound,’ have learned to cautiously interact with these Echoes, attempting to understand their purpose and harness their power. However, the danger remains. The Heartstone’s fragments are scattered throughout the city, and the Echoes hold secrets best left undisturbed. The Stonebound now face a critical dilemma: will they rebuild Osterburg as a bastion of geomantic power, or will they succumb to the seductive whispers of the stone?
“The stone remembers… but does it judge?” - Lysandra Stoneheart, Scholar of the Echoes