Taluntain's Staff

In a dark corner of Old Vailia, far from the influence of civil society, stories tell of a school constructed for the training of wizards in a very small and obscure niche of magic long forgotten by the rest of the world.

High master of the school was an elven mage known as Taluntain, who became aware of a growing problem - the aura cast by the school's particular magic was like a beacon to the unsavory creatures of the surrounding area. Marauding trolls from the nearby moors assailed its walls regularly. The high master resolved to take action, and in his study he crafted a fearsome staff to incinerate the trolls.

As much as that seemed important at the time, the demanding and short-tempered Taluntain soon became preoccupied with other uses he'd discovered for his staff, namely in the punishment of unruly students, and that would become its predominant function in the ensuing years.