Eyes of Koar
The Eye of Koar (or "Eye of the Drake" more properly) referred to the sphere that leads into The Rift. It was originally sealed with a dragonsbreath sapphire floating over an ornate pedestal. The artifact dated back to the end of the Ur-Daemon War, when the Arkati constructed the Drake's Shrine for the Emperor Drake to slumber. It was destroyed in the final confrontation with the Vvrael, which were contained by Terate, who trapped them within The Rift rather than sealing it. The Rift was not sealed because not all of the Chosen had been true to that end. "The Eye" may refer to the artifact or the portal itself, which the Vvrael wanted to expand to engulf the world.
The relationship between the Drake's Shrine and Koar is ambiguous. Eye of Koar emeralds are a special type of gem that can be found in The Rift.
Lorminstra
When the Vvrael were trapped in The Rift, Lorminstra appeared in the Drake's Shrine. She warned the adventurers to be careful with the Eye of the Drake, because it is a gateway to unknown worlds and the Vvrael still exist within it. "Many" had gone mad crossing its circles, which begs the question of how they had entered it, unless she was speaking of the Age of Darkness.
A young lass glances at the sphere.
A young lass says, "But..."
A young lass says, "The Vvrael still exist..."
A young lass says, "This sphere..."
A young lass says, "Leads to worlds unknown."
A young lass says, "Only the bravest and strongest should even dare attempt to enter the Eye of the Drake"
A young lass says, "Many have crossed the circles only to go mad"
A young lass puts a clear vaalin orb pendant in its black satchel.
A young lass says, "I will leave you now to explore this most magnificent Shrine. "
A young lass touches a large set of golden keys.
A young lass says, "Be careful through the sphere..."
A young lass curtsies.
A young lass just went north.
Behind The Scenes
The Eye of the Drake served more or less the same purpose as one of the Eyes of Utha in the I.C.E. Age, which was under siege by dark powers at the north pole of Shadow World. They were both floating gemstones over ornate pedestals, which was a Lord of Essaence style of gateway. The function of the Eyes of Utha was to seal the interdimensional rift, suppress flow storms, and separating the hemispheres so the world was not plagued with demons and servants of the Shadow. The relative absence of extra-planar incursions since the Age of Darkness may have been due to the Eye of the Drake, which has been suggested as an explanation for the major crises of the past few decades.
The Eye of the Drake was inaccessible for thousands of years due to the surrounding flow storms, whereas the Eye of Utha had a powerful essence barrier which most beings could not penetrate without killing themselves. This formed the Wall of Darkness in Shadow World, which does not exist in Elanthia. The Eye of Utha held the world on the edge of other realities, so that magic would exist but the world would not plunge into the chaos of pure essence realms. The corrupted Lord of Essaence Ondoval wished to destroy the world in this way, whereas the hybrid Essence Lord and Agothu Schrek wished the world to be sundered to the Outer Void. The Agoth was a collective entity, much like the Vvrael.
The following is an excerpt from the end of the Vvrael Saga that portrays "The Eye" itself. Terate is the analog of Ondoval and Schrek.
You hear the quiet whisper of a young woman, "The time is upon us my Chosen, the Rift tears at the very fabric of our reality..."
[Breach, Cavern of Ages]
The chamber's walls are modulated with the same large recesses that pocket the walls of the chamber to the north. Inside each, the red stone is polished to an indulgent surface that highlights the striations in the rock. On the cavern's eastern wall however, something went horribly wrong. The undulating niches are blasted into shambles around a central oval just behind a golden pedestal. There, the rock looks like it has melted, running down the side of the cavern in eddies of molten stone. You also see a golden pedestal with a flawless dragonsbreath sapphire hovering above it.
Also in the room: Lord Berr, Lord Beldin, Lord Jala, Lord Krackenstar, Lady Merry, Lady Nyte, Lord Terate who is lying down, Lady Heathyr, Lady Risper
Obvious exits: north.
Merry reaches towards the floating sapphire. It bobbles in the air as it evades her, rotating slightly.
Beldin seems to be trying to figure out how to turn a golden pedestal with a flawless dragonsbreath sapphire hovering above it.
Suddenly, the sapphire drops. Just as it is about to strike the pedestal beneath it, it stops, then slowly levitates back to its previous position.
>l at sapp
Amazingly, the dragonsbreath sapphire hovers in mid-air over a golden pedestal near the center of the room. It has been cut with precision, forming it into a perfectly symmetrical octagonal sphere. Colored a pale, watery blue, the stone bears no blemishes to mar its beauty. Tiny sparks play within its core, kindling a soft light that illuminates the room.
Before it can evade her, Risper grasps the dragonsbreath sapphire and gives it a good spin. It rotates freely in the air, quickly gathering momentum until it is nothing but a blur. A soft luminescence begins to emmanate from the spinning gem, bathing the room in light.
Without warning, the sapphire explodes with a brilliant flash, leaving you momentarily blinded! As your vision returns, you can no longer see the sapphire. Where it once was, a small nebulous sphere now hovers in mid-air.
Terate exclaims, "ha!"
Beldin tries to manipulate the sphere.
The sphere flares, sending brilliant blue sparks arcing across the room! As the sparks flicker out, you notice that the sphere has shrunk a little. The nebulous sphere pulses with a red light.
The sphere flares, sending brilliant blue sparks arcing across the room! As the sparks flicker out, you notice that the sphere has grown in size considerably.
[Breach, Cavern of Ages]
The chamber's walls are modulated with the same large recesses that pocket the walls of the chamber to the north. Inside each, the red stone is polished to an indulgent surface that highlights the striations in the rock. On the cavern's eastern wall however, something went horribly wrong. The undulating niches are blasted into shambles around a central oval just behind a golden pedestal. There, the rock looks like it has melted, running down the side of the cavern in eddies of molten stone.
You also see a golden pedestal with a nebulous sphere hovering above it.
>l at sphere
Glowing softly with a subtle radiance, the sphere hovers above a golden pedestal near the center of the chamber. Formed of a wispy cloud-like mass, it does not appear to have any solid structure. Looking into its depths, you can only see a swirling grey ether.
Terate watches from the shadows, his face stoic.
The sphere flares, sending brilliant blue sparks arcing across the room! As the sparks flicker out, you notice that the sphere has grown in size considerably.
The nebulous sphere pulses with a orange light.
The sphere swells with power, leaving the air crackling with static! As the sphere's flare subsides, you notice that it has grown quite a bit in size.
Black tendrils of anti-mana stream from the sphere! They wrap themselves about your body, chilling you with their touch. As the black wisps begin to fade away, you notice that the sphere has shrunk substantially. Suddenly, a bolt of radiant energy streams from the sphere! It strikes Heathyr square in the chest, sending her sprawling to the floor...
- Heathyr drops dead at your feet!
The sickening smell of burning flesh fills the air.
Terate laughs!
Terate exclaims, "It is the gateway!"
Terate says, "It is the way.. it is the Eye."