Tales of legendary items of great power have been becoming more abundant in The Land. The frequency of young men and women venturing deep into the Vast Sea vowing to prove (or disprove in some cases) these legends continues to increase. It makes no difference that none has ever returned to tell their tale, others are quite sure they will be the one to succeed.
The legends are told as such...
The Land is not the original home to men and beast and The Land is not of nature. The Land was raised from The Vast Sea in order to become a new home when the old home had to be abandoned.
The old home was a great empire, ruled by powerful and magical men. The secret of the power and magic was held by certain items that the rulers possessed. The rulers consisted of four and each maintained possession of their item of power. Although each had specific supernatural abilities, as provided by the item they held, the true power was realized when all four combined their talents. The four were known as the Desra Khai.
The Desra Khai were not of man while possessing the magical items and could not be challenged by mortals. This, however, did not stop mortals from attempting to gain control of the rulers' special items. The promise of immortality and power was too great but the resistance was always doomed from the start. The Desra Khai had the power of magic but there was no amount of magic that could possibly hope to cleanse the corruption that was spreading among men.
With the passing of time, corruption grew and with this, men began to fight among themselves. The Desra Khai eventually formulated a plan to save the race from which they were born. They decided to sacrifice their power and immortality in order to allow their race to be reborn. To that end, they raised The Land from The Vast Sea. They collected newly born that had not yet been corrupted and located them in The Land. They nurtured them until they were able to live on their own in a peaceful new world. At long last, each hid their item of power in a location in the old world where only they would know. They went to The Land to be with their children until their passing. They taught the uncorrupt that The Vast Sea was impassable in hopes that they would never attempt to leave the Land and find the corruption of their ancestors.