Ordrill

The Staff of Time

Ordrill, the Staff of Time, is a perfectly formed onyx rod about 4 foot in length and 2 inches in diameter. At its base is a golden cap decorated with a spiderweb of lines, while its top is covered by a mythril dragon, bearing a brilliant green crystal orb in its open mouth. A silk cord decorated with ancient Arabic symbols is tied around the Dragon's neck. The symbols were used to denote time. The ends of the silk are tied around a silver pair of scissors fastened together by a single sapphire. Magically, the rod itself has no aura unless activated. Once activated, the rod will glow various shades of green. The staff does not project or reflect on the astral or elemental planes. On the chronal plane, the staff is alive. Instead of a solid onyx rod, it is actually a infinite number of small strands running between the golden cap and mythril dragon. Each strand has a small clear orb running down it length between the two ends. Each orb shows a rapidly changing picture. The dragon's head acts differently depending on where is the staff physically located. If the staff is currently on the prime plane, then the dragon's head simply swivels and looks about. However, if the staff has been moved to the astral plane, then the dragon's head roars a challenge to all on the chronal plane.

The Age of Darkness began when he who would become Mahid Ranul awoke the Ancients most terrible weapon. The engine at the lost city of Janeth Norr could move an area out of time. They would be thrown into the past just enough that they would never exist in time again. Using the engine, he moved the entire prime plane of Miranda out of time. As long as the engine continued to run - nothing could enter or exit this plane. This event marked the beginning of the Age of Darkness - when Mahid Ranul would rule all. Towards the end of the Age of Darkness, Mahid Ranul saw that soon there would be no place left to conquer and plunder. Without an enemy, his forces would turn on each other for the remaining loot and food. Since the plane was out of time, it was isolated from other worlds - so he decided to craft his own time travel engine.

With his own skills he took the parts left in Jareth Norr and constructed a small device to move a single person through time. If successful, he would build a bigger engine to move his armies through and rob the riches of the past. For over two hundred years he labored in the deepest bowels of Jareth Norr. During this time, the few surviving cities began to push his forces into a stalemate. Secretly they gathered their heroes near Mahid Ranul's home. Mahid Ranul had just finished crafting the device when 8 men and 4 women, who had bonded to the few remaining spirits on the plane, fought their way to his private chamber. The fight that ensued would have been told forever, had anyone left the city alive. Mahid Ranul, already weakened from creating the staff, fell before their combined strength. During the struggle the surviving parts of the engine that kept Miranda out of time were destroyed. With the death of Mahid Ranul the plane moved forward to its proper place - ending the Age of Darkness. However, only three of the heroes survived - and their bodies would not last much longer. Since they no longer had the strength to destroy the accursed staff - they used it to move themselves out of time, vowing to be its guardians for all time.

Ordrill has the ability to move one person only through the current past. It can move forward or backwards through time, but only if its the current time's past. It also needs something from the time to which it will travel if the owner needs and exact date or time. In order to accomplish this the owner will open a gate and move to the astral plane. The rod protects the owner from the devastating effects of the plane on the mortal body. From the astral plane the owner can use the rod to look throughout the past; however, because the rod shows the past very fast there isn't much room for error. When the rod is aligned to the proper time the owner activates its ability and is thrown through a tear between the astral plane and the prime plane of the destination time.