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After Rhein’s death, the Fountain was placed in Rhein’s Keep, where it remained under the protection of his House for several generations. However, when his House, too, came to an end, possession of the Fountain became an open question. The other Houses feared that a power struggle between themselves would break out over its ownership--and furthermore, that such a struggle would be the doom of them all.

So they began a strict tradition of binding the Fountain to the House of the most recent Water Dragon. Whenever a new Dragon was found, that House would become the new keeper of the Fountain, even after that Dragon passed away.

Certainly, this was not a perfect system, either. Some Houses only got to keep the Fountain for a few years, while others held onto it for centuries. But the disputes that the tradition instigated were minor by comparison to what might have been. Arguments, rather than fights. Resentment, rather than bloodshed. And it helped that all of the Houses made sure to enforce the tradition aggressively, knowing that eventually, their own descendants might get a turn.

Then, one day, a great battle took place in the lowlands of Luugh, involving then-Water-Dragon, Cristina Zabat, and then-emperors, Isaac and Unso. As a result, the continent of Luugh gained four new lakes and seven new rivers.

And the Fountain was destroyed. Reduced to fragments.

Afterward, repair efforts were attempted, of course, but progress was never made. Over time, however, the fragments were themselves discovered to still harbor a modicum of the Fountain’s power. Individually, they could each enhance a servant’s power. And the more one collected, the greater the enhancement would become.

But only for the Water Dragon.

It was a consequence of its destruction. Where before, the intact Fountain could empower any Rainlord, now the fragments would only work for the divine inheritor. It had never been clear why that was--and in fact, it had almost escaped their notice entirely, as the fragments were thought to be totally inert until Mercutio Garza came along. And by then, many of them had already been lost.

Once that information had been learned, the Rainlords began sending out expeditions periodically in search of the fragments. And it took many years, but their efforts bore fruit. They nearly completed it, managing to collect ten of the fourteen total pieces.

But then the Redwater Uprising happened.

And the Day of Clear Sky. The day when the Mohssian Empire laid siege to Red Lake Castle and nearly extinguished the entirety of House Redwater.