Though perhaps one might expect more of such a legendary and famed item, the Shattered Eye appears as a quite plain gold and silver amulet inset with a large onyx gem. Though appearing as something luxurious to any peasant, it is something that most nobles and royals would scoff at. There is nothing particularly pretty about the Eye, and when one holds it they notice a certain weight beyond what it should have.

When taking a closer look at the amulet itself certain things become more clear.

This is particularly true of the large onyx gem in the center of the amulet. Upon close inspection, it becomes obvious that there are half a dozen hairline fractures all throughout the gem, each so small that they are almost impossible to see with the naked eye.

Along with this, there is an odd sort of effect within the gem itself. When peered at for long enough time one can almost catch the wisp of a face floating through the gem, a hint of how the item was created.

The Shattered Eye is an extremely powerful item that in essence allows one to 'ignore' the normal rules of magic.

Within the world of Arethil, magic has a price. Depending on what a mage is attempting to do they must always ensure that the price is paid. The cost is different for every school of magic, and factors in many different variables, but there is always a price. When one holds the Shattered Eye however that price is not paid by the mage, but the Eye itself.

Every spell cast, every invocation used is funneled through the Eye itself. The artifact takes the price upon itself and allows the Mage to essentially ignore the cost of their spells.

This of course is not without consequence. The Eye doesn't ignore the cost of magic, instead it takes it upon itself. The magic that is put through The Eye puts stress on it, and as more magic is used fractures begin to form within the great onyx gem. The more magic one uses, the larger and the more frequent the cracks within the gem. Eventually, through overuse, the gem will shatter.

It is impossible to say how long the Eye will last or how much of a price it can pay, but so far it has survived several millennia.

The Shattered Eye was created during the fall of Valen, a remnant of the ritual that made the city the ruin it is today. The amulet was not the intended effect of the ritual, but was instead a byproduct of its completion.

As many scholars have concluded, the ritual that brought Valen to ruin was a complex spell which intended to directly draw power from life itself. More simply put, the intent was to allow the mages of Valen to bypass the cost of magic by leeching small amounts of innate strength from everyone in the city. In theory it would've given the mages a near unlimited well of power to draw from.

Of course, the ritual did not go as planned.

The mages of Valen succeeded at first, drawing strength from the residents of the city and pooling their power into the center of the ritual. Soon a well of magic energy began to form, and the mages celebrated their victory. Yet as they cheered, something happened.

A cascading echo stretched out from the well of magic, a desperate hunger formed of pure power. The ritual exploded in size and proportion, and the mages lost control. The well itself reached out, and the ultimate price was paid. The mages watched in horror as what they had created grew far beyond its intent, and within mere minutes the ebb of power from the citizens of Valen turned into a flood.

Life itself began to drain from the city. Men, women, children; all of Valen was consumed as the well desperately clawed for more power. The mages attempted to break the ritual, stop the its growth, but in their folly they only managed to ensnare themselves.

The well whittled away their strength, ripping their control of magic away from them before slowly taking what life they had yet to live. In a final desperate act the Arch-mage lashed out, not in an attempt to destroy the well, but to bind it.

Somehow, someway, she succeeded.

An intricate lacework of magic bound the well of power to a small amulet carried by the Arch-mage. Yet for the city, it was far too late.

Valen lay empty. There were no corpses crowding the alleys, no bodies that told of a slaughter. Only empty streets and houses, lives that were snuffed out and dragged into a horrid abyss. This was how the Shattered Eye came to be formed, a reach for power that should not have been.

"I walked those streets. I was just a peddler then, not really a merchant. Had a few things on my cart that I thought would sell good. A few books, some Elven silks from Fal'Addas... some other stuff that I knew would fetch a good price in Valen.

The trip usually took a week or two through the cliffs. Valen was always an isolated city, survived that way I guess. That was what made trading there so good, something common in Alliria would be rare there. I made runs there four or five times a year. On that one though... that one...

I couldn't explain it.

Everyone was just gone.

No bodies, no blood, no footprints... nothing. They were all just gone. There was still food on the tables, goods in the market, just... no folk nowhere. It was quiet, so quiet.

I don't know what happened to them. I don't know what it could have been. I'll admit that... well... I was just a peddler then... but I saw opportunity. I took what I could before I left. I turned a nice profit from it, I'll say that now. I don't know what that makes me, an opportunist? A grave-robber? I reckon it doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things.

After I got what I could I headed back to Vel Anir. The city was always close with Valen. No one believed me at first, but eventually they sent some scouts.

Not sure what came of it, but after a while I began to hear the rumors. A city abandoned, a palace found empty, an entire people gone in a single night. I still wonder what happened. I don't think I'll ever know for sure.

A few months after I saw a Dreadlord during a stay in Vel Anir, one of them battlemages they train so well. I asked him about it... the fucker just smiled at me. He said it was "hubris"... whatever the hell that means."

The Amulet of Ale-beard