With the world shattered, travel between allods became impossibly dangerous, achievable only through portals or immensely powerful spells. Each allod remained bound to its Great Mage, their magic the sole force keeping the land from vanishing into the Astral abyss.
However, this power came with a great cost: a Great Mage could never leave their allod, for if they did, their spells would weaken, and the island would begin to crumble into nothingness. To maintain the allods indefinitely, the Mages took on apprentices, training them to one day assume their role. Yet, the lifespans of the Great Mages are so unnaturally long that there have been only a handful of known successions — for most, the master remains unchanged, holding their allod for centuries.

Despite the efforts of the Great Mages, the allods are not eternal. Their existence is tenuous, threatened by two ever-present dangers:

The death of a Great Mage — If a Mage perishes before passing on their power, their allod is doomed, vanishing overnight into the Astral’s embrace. The loss of meteoric iron — The only known substance capable of repelling the Astral, meteoric iron is an essential resource for every allod. Should its reserves be depleted or lost, the allod would gradually disintegrate, eroded by the hungry void.

Because of this, the exact number of surviving allods is impossible to determine. Some may thrive for centuries, while others may vanish without warning, lost to the depths of the Astral — just as Sarnout itself was, long ago.