Around this time, the Arcane deity created the lumendras to provide light in the darker underworld realms and aid afterlife spirits. However, many slowly became depressed due to their gloomy environment, while others’ upbeat personalities became a nuisance. They clearly were not a good fit for the underworld realms, and the Arcane deity decided it would be best to drop them off in Faia, so as not to disrupt the balance of any overworld realms. With hundreds of lumendras in tow, the Arcane deity brought them into Faia, and was shocked at the state of the realm. The three others were immediately called in, and they realized with horror that all eight keystones were gone. Creating new keystones required immense power; power that the deities were not willing to spend just yet. They immediately went in search of the ruptours, which were nowhere to be seen.

Everything the ruptours had built up had been shattered in the war. Survivors of the war and wither corruption were scattered all over Faia, mostly hiding in what remained of their bases. They did their best to explain what happened to the deities, although they did not really know what happened. The deities figured that the wither entity was feeding on their light to corrupt them, and decided the best course of action was to remove the glow on their tails.

Even so, it was too dangerous to let them fend for themselves while the wither entity was so powerful. The thought of life in the wasteland Faia had become wasn’t all too appealing to the ruptours either. With the deities’ help, each ruptour collected an item important to them. In most cases this was jewelry, as most other possessions had been lost to the war. The deities sealed all remaining ruptours away in these amulets and scattered them across Faia, hoping this would preserve the survival of the species.

With that done, the deities turned their attention back to the problem at hand. They had temporarily left the lumendras in a withered forest clearing, and upon returning to them, found that the area around them was back to normal. Bewildered, the deities quietly observed for a little longer and saw that wither dissolved from the light and heat of the lumendras’ lantern lures. They were not sure which factor was actually melting the wither away, but this information was enough. 

At this point, the wither entity was too powerful even for the deities to defeat. In only weeks, it had taken over most of Faia and trapped an endless supply of spirits to possess over time. Taking down the wither entity would have to be a gradual process, and the first step was to reclaim territory. The deities decided to begin bringing in species that emitted natural light and heat into Faia. They called them the lightkeepers.

After the lumendras were settled in, the deities brought in candle noodles and tortuvinas. Each emitted light and heat in its own way; candle noodles through their flames, and tortuvinas through their mist. The lightkeeper species’ natural light allowed them to stay safe from regular wither spirits, and also destroy the wither around them. After some consideration, the deities removed the bubbles around the islands and created one universal atmosphere and seasonal system across Faia. This ensured the new Faians could travel between islands with ease, unlike before.

The deities helped these three species build up their villages and settlements, making sure to teach them the importance of lanterns, torches, and similar luminous or heat-emitting objects. After the deities decided they were stable enough to keep developing on their own, the new Faians continued to build villages of all kinds that allowed an economy and civilization to flourish across Faia. Many creatures that had survived the wither came running to these settlements, seeing them as safe havens in this once-dark world. During creation, the deities also implanted a natural desire to explore in each of the three species, which led to the creation of the Adventurer’s Guild. Expedition teams from the guild routinely set off into uncharted islands, marking newly explored territory with lanterns and torches. Slowly but surely, the lightkeepers took back more and more territory from the wither entity for their own. Faians continued to develop, and life in Faia blossomed once more.