Darkspore

The Darkspore is an ancient and dark magical object which was once the heart of the immortal Lich King, Vekru Nom. He however fell in battle against the god Tek, who shattered his heart into 4 pieces. It is extremely powerful in the hands of Necromancers like Marek and Szorlok.

Overview
The darkspore was once whole, which gave a person who possessed it, limitless power. This power not only made a person immortal, but also allowed them to raise the dead and command the possessor. The power of such an artifact also rivals that of the gods themselves. It is possible to assume that such a powerful artifact must've been made from the gods themselves, as even the power of the gods was incapable of stopping the possessor. The only true way for the darkspore to be destroyed is the Hammer of Tek, which is what shattered it in the first place.

Even in it's shattered form, the Darkspore is capable of other things. One particular ability comes in the form of creating Ilystrium, which is extremely precious to the people of the land, including smugglers and thieves. If the power of a darkspore is made into drinkable liquids and possibly foods, can cause a person to become totally brain-dead. Those who wear pieces of it while pregnant will birth children who have taken portions of the artifact into themselves. Marek is a prime example of this as her mother wore this around her neck while she was pregnant, resulting in her being born with a club foot and possessing powers mostly affiliated with a necromancer. If the darkspore is destroyed, those born with portions of it's power will die with it.

A Quest For Heroes
The Darkspore had remained broken 21 years following Szorlok's attempts to use it before Gojun Pye and his fellow wizards stopped him. The dark item's four pieces were scattered by the wizards to the four corners of the land.

Szorlok sends his followers, led by the necromancer Kiskkumen, to raid the Temple of the goddess Ana-Sett to retrieve the first piece of the Darkspore. Caeryn, a priestess of Ana-Sett, escapes with the piece, but is captured by an ogre. She is rescued by her sister, Teela, a fellow priestess, and a team of would-be heroes that Teela has hired, led by Marek.

The Darkspore
Caeryn is determined to carry out her mission to take the first piece of the Darkspore to the Paladin at Sung Hill for safekeeping. She, however, is intercepted and murdered by Kiskkumen, outside of Hammerhead's Inn. Kiskkumen takes the first piece to Szorlok.

Dagen recovers the pieces of an owl figurine carried by Caeryn. He puts them together, and discovers that it is actually a mold. By pouring wax into the figurine, he creates a cylinder. Marek realizes that the cylinder is a print roller, which she uses to create a map. The map reveals the location of the second piece of the Darkspore in Mondiatha, the ancient city of the giants.

The piece had been taken to Mondiatha by one of Gojun Pye's fellow wizards. The wizard had sought out the dragon guarding the enormous treasure hoard buried there and allowed himself to be eaten while holding the piece aloft. The piece became the beating heart of the dragon and has kept the dragon alive, as Marek’s team discovers. Marek defeats the dragon and gains the piece, but the team gives it to Kiskkumen, who had captured Teela. Teela is rescued, but Kiskkumen escapes with the second piece, bringing it to Szorlok.

The Necromancer
The third piece of the Darkspore is found by Marek and an ilystrium smuggler known as "The Eel" deep in a Golgotian mine. The Eel takes the piece from Marek, but is killed by cave demons. Marek recovers the piece and brings it back to the surface, only to encounter Szorlok, who has captured Dagen and Teela. Szorlok tempts Marek to use the piece to free her friends, but Marek refuses and drops the piece. Szorlok takes the piece and escapes with it in the ensuing battle.

The Iron Crown
Marek and her comrades take the final piece of the Darkspore from Admiral Borlund Hess and hijack her War Wagon. At Gojun Pye's instruction, the Red Thorns (the adopted name of Marek's team) seek to take the piece to a place where the gods can protect it. Marek receives an oracle instructing the team to go to the Temple of the Owl beyond the White Waste. Szorlok, drawn to the piece, intercepts them there. The team escapes inside the Temple, reuniting with Teela, who has become the avatar of Ana-Sett. Ana-Sett offers to take the piece, but Marek decides to trade Szorlok the final piece of the Darkspore for the Iron Crown. Now with the final piece, the Darkspore is complete and gets absorbed into Szorlok's body. The team witnesses the rebirth of the Lich King Szorlok. Szorlok teleports away, while Marek and Dagen decide to seek out the Hammer of Tek in order to destroy the Darkspore.

The Godslayer
With the Darkspore complete, Szorlok had become more powerful than ever before. He had begun laying waste to the land with the aid of fallen soldiers, raised from the dead under his direct command. He called out to the gods that their followers were dying and as such, their powers were weakening.

Marek and Dagen go to Battlegrave to find the Hammer of Tek. They find Tek's shrine, but are unable to find his Hammer or a way to the Underworld. They are joined by Tella and Thane, who have been teleported there by Ana-Sett. In desperation, Dagen and Thane decide to kill themselves in order to recover the Hammer. In the Underworld, they find Tek, but are unable to bring his Hammer back to the world of the living, even after Teela revives Thane. Dagen decides to stay behind in the Underworld in an attempt to bring the Hammer back.

In the meantime, Marek has been teleported by Szorlok to his tower. Szorlok convinces Marek that her friends have betrayed her when she senses that Dagen has died. She blames the gods and agrees to join Szorlok. Teela and Thane are teleported by Ana-sett to try to stop them but are unsuccessful. Szorlok kills the gods with Marek's help, but then he turns on her. As she is forced to kneel before him, she discovers that the soul of Gojun Pye still lives within Szorlok.

Dagen realizes that he can still bring the Hammer to Marek through the Underworld, so he runs to Szorlok's Tower. As Marek weakens under Szorlok's assault, she is able to see Dagen, who instructs her to put on the Iron Crown and take the Hammer. She does this, and as Gojun Pye temporarily immobilizes Szorlok, she strikes the Darkspore embedded in Szorlok's chest with a mighty blow, finally destroying the Darkspore for all eternity.