Long ago, only the Gods existed, each an incarnation of one of the ten elemental forces. Each God created for himself an elemental realm and denizens to populate that realm. Most of the Gods were content with this arrangement. However, Guroth, the strongest God and master of Earth, proposed that they combine their powers. First, the Gods created a world that was a combination of all the elements: Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Nature, Light, Darkness, Storm, Ice, and Death. The Gods were pleased with this new land and its inhabitants. However, Guroth pressed, they had only mixed their powers, not truly combined them. Guroth suggested that they fuse their elemental energies. This was done, but the outcome was of an evil nature.
They had created Shadow, the strongest element, one that seeked corruption and death. The consensus was that this power must be locked away, and hidden in the newly created world. A gem was forged to contain this evil, and buried deep underneath Reptoran, the new world. All was well for many thousands of years. Unfortunately, the Burvaks and Dwarves, both mining races, came across the Shadow Crystal. It was sent to the mages of Xaltrir for examination, and soon the relic was placed in a mountaintop temple.
Most of the travelers to the temple were content to merely look at this gem, but one wizard took it upon himself to study the crystal and learn its secrets. The wizard became extremely powerful in the shadow magicks, which corrupted him and turned him against the people of Reptoran. Belatedly the Gods, concerned with their own realms, became aware of this menace. They aided the king of Reptoran as he ventured to the mountain to combat the wizard. In the battle that followed, the once dormant volcano the temple was on awakened, and erupted mightily.
The king could not contend with the powers of the wizard. Finally, amid showers of fire and ash, the fallen king raised his sword to attack the Shadow Crystal. His last action was a powerful swing at the crystal, which shattered. Immediately the shadow energy, no longer contained by the gem, joined itself with the other source of shadow - the wizard. The stress of the energies flowing into him was too much, and the wizard fell into a coma.
Guroth took this opportunity to imprison the wizard deep inside the earth so as to never harm the people of Reptoran again. The shards of the crystal fell into a ring of lava around the now destroyed temple, which cooled to solid obsidian. Each God took a piece of the crystal to their own realm to prevent the reunion of the elements in the future.
Many peaceful millenia passed. The inhabitants of Reptoran had no way of knowing that the wizard was slowly attuning himself to the shadow power now within him. Finally, he awoke with a tremendous burst of shadow energy. The earth tore asunder as the shadow energies made their way to the surface. Tunnels and passages were carved underground, and strange monsters came from those tunnels.
Many heroes have tried to stop this threat but all have failed. Now you must face this evil and destroy it, before all of Reptoran is lost...