The Severance

### The Cosmos

The history of the world is shrouded in mystery. It's said that those with any 'true knowledge' of events preceding the **Severance** preserve that information in hidden texts that are closely guarded and very few in number, if any even exist at all.

The Severance was a moment in time that something drastically changed in the cosmological make up of the multiverse. Something happened that caused various connections to planes to sever and shift, leaving whole worlds and various planes of existence in ruin. Some were mass extinction events, others were strange shifts that altered the world in bizarre ways. Some lost all connection to the elemental plane of water and became a barren desert scape. Others were flooded by it... Some saw the roiling flames of the plane of fire scorch their entire world, while others lost all connection to its warmth.

All of this is theorised by those that understand the make up of the cosmos, those that have travelled it and seen what was left behind, the highest of scholars and wizards that have delved into the secrets behind what happened centuries ago. None feel they have come close to the finding what caused this event, the closest theory is the **The War of the Tenth Sphere: The Theory of Separation** by once child genius James Colberton of The Consortium.

One particular plane of existence known as Vari, was impacted in a different manner.

It's not known why or how, but at the time of the **Severance**, every single **Human** or half-human on the plane of Vari simply vanished. Entire kingdoms were instantly silenced, leaving behind grand settlements that gradually fell to ruin or were claimed by others left behind. It is theorised that other races vanished too, but there is very little evidence to support this except for the existence of the Creationforged, their Creators and the possibility of the existence of The Percipience Leyline.

**The Severance** continued to impact the world for approximately three years, during which time Vari experienced significant earthquakes, massive forest fires, flooding and other disastrous events. The world changed significantly during this time, mountains shattered, new mountains grew, entire oceans spilled into newly created gorges in the landscape, ocean beds rose to the surface and entire kingdoms fell into the sea.

### The Void

Shortly after **The Severance**, something else reached the plane of Vari. Something now known as, The Void.

The void tore open rifts that reached into Vari and began to tear away at life forces and energies, creating chaos across the world. The void's endless hunger threatened to consume everything, unfathomable monstrosities poured from void tears into all realities and began to consume everything they could. Like plagues of locusts they spread, destroying everything in their wake, reducing all living matter they touched to ash. Although the Void was seemingly endless, champions of She Who Remembers drove back the darkness to its sources within the void rifts. The druids of the Verdant Sphere then sealed these ruptures, preventing the darkness of the void from returning in the manner that it did. The Verdant Sphere are ever watchful, with the endless task seeking out Void Tears to seal them as soon as possible, as the Void endlessly seeks to open its way into the world and consume what they regard as "The Life Mother". (aka Vari, The World itself, Nature, Life.)

### The Dangers of the Wild

As time goes on, as The Life Mother continues to suffer from the void's incursions, Monsters and beasts of the Wilderness grow increasingly dangerous, Void entities lurk in the darkest corners of the world, and venture out into the wilds often, and have even been seen stalking villages and farms near the largest cities. The only place that is "safe" from such threats is behind the high walls of a major settlement, where the might of local city guard and the various notable factions keep the population protected, but living behind these walls often comes with a price, such as high tax rates, or conscripted guard service. Each city has different governing laws.

The seas around the mainland are considerably dangerous, as dark entities lurk in the depth of the waters waiting to consume those that dare to cross their path. The most dangerous waters are those to the north, the colder the waters, the more likely one is to come across a twisted beast of the void, or other nefarious entities that lay in wait.

### The Resplendency

Life went on without Humanity, until their return exactly 800 years later. In that moment, now remember as **The Resplendency**, recorded as a strange gold and silver shimmer filled the sky, it appeared as though angels were descending the heavens as silver humanoids glimmering in radiant light floated down. As the beautiful light faded, it appeared that humans had simply returned to the world. Some records of this event paint it as a horrific moment of dark entities appearing out of the shadows. Others simply state that the humans were not there one moment, then simply "were" the next.

Most that returned were unable to remember their past, but that they had lived here and come back. Others had faded memories, like dreams just out of reach. Many were slaughtered for their sudden frightening appearance out of nowhere, some were accepted by the populace of the Main Land, while others banded together for survival in the harsh wilderness.

### Present Day

Now, approximately a century later, Humans are a comparatively rare sight within the world of Vari, viewed with suspicion by some and wonder by others, the mystery surrounding their past intrigues almost everyone. Many Humans wish to live a simple life, while others wish to search for answers. A complex web of political intrigue keeps the various cities and factions in check.

## Character Creation

**Adventuring Parties** are a common way in which various discoveries are found, as ruins are explored, creatures hunted and the past is slowly uncovered. Some wish to study and learn from the past, to ensure that mistakes are not repeated, others say that the secrets of the past should remain that way, to prevent dangerous knowledge falling into the wrong hands.