Eye of Proteus

An ancient and powerful artefact, the Eye of Proteus was used by the Triumvirate during the Chaos Wars to create the Kris Dagger for Indrani, their demon general. A temporary alliance was formed between Twilight and Aegis, to seal Indrani in the Demon Planes and as a result, the Eye of Proteus was given to Twilight, who then withdrew from further involvement in the war. The Eye of Proteus later resurfaced in the hands of Valnurana and Sartan.

Valnurana and Sartan used the Eye of Proteus to create a vortex to drain the power of the Darkenwood during theWar of the Divine Child, forming the Fissure. Upon discovering that Sartan's scheme involved the kidnapping of the divine child of Eris and Aegis, Valnurana stole the artefact, promising to use it to help free the child.

Using the unique power of the Eye of Proteus to combine the powers of Their respective realms, the Patron Gods of each city created artefacts in each city of comparable power to the Fissure. As such, the remaining five Fonts were formed: Ashtan's Well of Chaos; the Fontis in Hashan; the Icerune Crater of Cyrene; the Cauldron of Infinity in Eleusis; and Daybreak's Mirror in Shallam. Each of these could produce a warrior who, being born of the same power that bound the divine child, could weaken the power that held him.

After the War of the Divine Child, the Eye of Proteus was hidden, only to be mysteriously discovered by Dawn and Gladius, the remaining members of the Luminai. They were found preparing it upon a lonely promontory of rock on the Shastaan coast, where they attempted to use the Eye to cleanse the realm of a Chaotic Taint that had been inadvertently unleashed by Eris during an experiment that backfired. Despite warnings from the Gods that the Eye would be destroyed and their lives put in danger if mortals used it, they concentrated their faith upon the artefact, seemingly succeeding in their efforts. Light spread across Sapience, lifting the Taint.

However, before the Taint was completely banished, the Eye faltered and fell into the sea. What remained of the Taint coalesced into a diseased cloud that lashed out at each city in turn. In response, the Fonts previously formed in each city produced a powerful Guardian that repelled the Taint. Finally Dawn, who had been broken and drained by her previous efforts, used the last of her energy to summon the Phoenix and bond with its spirit, before chasing the Taint deep underground. As a reward for her devotion and courage, Sarapis granted Dawn the gift of immortality, and she became Mithraea, Goddess of the Sun.