Shard

Magic-saturated fragments of another world, dragged through the Void. They alter and twist everything they touch.

Description
Shards are pieces of Ferros, burned to glass and touched by the Void. They can be anywhere from a few milimeters to several meters across, and carry a proportionate amount of raw, primal magic. A patch of Tainted Land will often have one of these shards at its heart, fueling the corrupted magic that forms there.

Creatures
Most of the powerful, unique creatures in the world originally formed around one of these shards. The sheer amount of power is easily enough to animate organic matter and grant it will. These creatures can sometimes be mistaken for fae, but are entirely separate, as without their shard core they would fall apart.

Shard creatures are almost invariably hostile

Lands
The shards chiefly cause change, often of a dangerous nature. The Tainted Lands are almost always formed by the influence of one or more of these shards, as are enchanted forests and floating islands. These places always have a surplus of magical power, making them an important resource for mages as well as an extreme danger.

Mages
Being in close proximity to a shard can begin to affect the mind and body of a mage, as with anything else. It is no recommended to approach or handle raw magic of any variety without protection

Disposal
While the shards themselves are near-impossible to destroy, they can be contained. Any magic-blocking substance or ward is enough to prevent a shard from altering its surroundings