Once upon a time, in the glory of the First Age, there was a man named Adamant Waterfall.

Adamant Waterfall was a chosen of the Unconquored Sun. Of the twilight caste, and heralded even among his peers for his flawless craftsmanship. An art he had devoted his entire being to, eschewing the sorcery and other scholarly pursuits so favored by others of his caste entirely.

Adamant Waterfall was a proud man. He would often take up people on their word as a challenge and he took a delight in creating something others had failed to make.

A great Lunar thief, who’s name has since been obfuscated from the annals of history, once entered into a challenge with him.

“Anything” or so the bet went “that the Lunar could lay his hands on, Adamant Waterfall could also fashion into an item of beauty”.

Time and time again did the Lunar return. And time and time again did the craftsmanship of Adamant Waterfall trump him. The rarest of gems, brittlest of metals, most elusive of liquids… all of these were fashioned into jewelry, art, buildings or even clothing.

The Lunar thought long on how to win this challenge and in the end he set out on possibly the greatest caper Creation has ever witnessed (or rather, not witnessed).

When he came upon Adamant Waterfall again, he triumphantly presented that which he had acquired: The very essence of shadows. The basic, paradigmic ideal of it. How he had come to possess it, he would not reveal, but the consequences were undeniable. Shadows became less. Not any less dark, nor any smaller, but simply “less”.

Adamant Waterfall was vexed and excited all at the same time. This was truly a challenge.

For a year he meditated in caverns deep beneath creation, never once knowing light. For another year he braved the Labyrinth of the Underworld, learning of darkness beyond simply the absence of light. For 3 more years he learned secrets of darkness, but these secrets and where he learned them are once again lost to history.

In the mean time the Lunar had safely stored the essence of shadows. Believing himself to be the victor of the challenge, and Adamant Waterfall to have gone into hiding in shame, he was widely acclaimed and respected for his accomplishments.

In the end Adamant Waterfall re-emerged after 5 years of isolation. He confronted the Lunar and told him he was ready to take up the challenge.

It took him a decade to craft the ring now known as the Adamant Band of Shadow, or simply The Shadowband. The conditions were painstaking. He could only work at night, during calibrations. He could not subject himself to light for the entire period. He had to spend the rest of each year in ritual and communion, cleansing and preparing himself for the next Calibration’s frenzied craftsmanship.

Finally, 15 years after the shadow essence had been stolen, the Adamant Band of Shadow was ready. Not much to look at, it was a finely wrought ring of pure darkness.

Stories claim that Adamant Waterfall buried the Shadowband deep beneath the elemental pole of Earth, entrusting the Mountain Folk to watch over it. Others that he threw it into the wyld.

Yet now, almost two millennia after it was wrought, the ring once again emerges in creation…