The Faded Light Wiki

*"Meluc, Mana, Soulstuff, Mantle, Blood, Power, it matters not one wit how you think of it. It doesn't even matter how clever you are in your Craft, not really. When the sun sets and you're far from the Wards of your House? The only thing that truly matters is how much you've managed to scrounge for yourself. Shall we find out?"*
- Thamus Arre, Oathsworn to House Yassir

## The Faded World

The continent of Tar stretches all the way from the Southern Oceans of Malgreve and Palga, to the frigid wastelands of the North. It is a vast and desolate land, with hundreds of miles of barren deserts, howling tundras, and imposing mountain ranges separating those nations struggling to carve out a place for themselves. Yet carve they do, building mighty empires for themselves with fire, blood, steel, and Craft.

Such a violent history does not lend itself well to the long term survival of nation and state, and within every budding empire lie countless ruins of the nations, city states, and kingdoms that came before. Many of these ruins have names, and people who still know the names of those who came before. Many more do not, eroded monuments to civilizations lost so long ago that they are not even legend. Potent magics still infuse these ruins, for those brave enough to hunt for them, long forgotten Craft of protection and war.

Tar is a continent of haves and have nots, where the boundaries between magic, wealth, and power are so blurred as to be non-existent. Nations rise on the power of their Craft, and fall when their sources of magic are depleted. Much of the land is not arable, earth or water poisoned by wars fought so long ago that no one alive recalls who fought who, and it requires monumental investments of Craft just to pull crops from the land and fish from the rivers. This creates a vicious cycle, the lands of one region drained of life and vitality to fuel the agriculture of another.

### Sundevalda

Saddled up against the Southwestern flank of the far larger Kryat Arcaneocracy, it is principally the strength of the Great Houses that has kept the lands of Sundevalda from falling to spellplague, political intrigue, military conquest, or demonic invasion. The Arcaneocracy's own internal squabbles and political rivalries have been of great assistance, for even with the combined might of all the Great Houses unified, it is unlikely that they would keep Sundevalda free from Kryat dominion for long if they faced the undivided attention of the greater nation. Such freedom is hard earned, and both the countryside and the people of Sundevalda have paid a heavy price for it. Much of their land is a fetid ruin, destroyed by Kryat plaguecraft, or simply drained of life and vitality by the Oathbound of the Great Houses drawing in power. Many of their cities are charred husks, burned by spellfire and eroded by cursecraft, with almost none walking the streets but the dead.

Yet the Great Houses have endured, and about them the people of Sundevalda have clung desperately. It has been twelve years since the last serious Kryat incursion, as the Arcaneocracy has been forced to contend with their neighbors to the West. Alliances have grown with the Merchant-Necromancer fleets of the Duun'Rath, bringing foreign ships and trade to Sundevaldain ports. Cities still remain, some untouched by the war, others scarred but still standing. Among them, the mightiest has always been Yosthaven.

### The City of Yosthaven

The seat of power of Sundevalda, Yosthaven is a city of sharp contrasts and even sharper truths. Many blocks of the city still lie in ruins from the seemingly unending struggle against the Kryat Arcaneocracy, a microcosm of Sundevalda itself. Strange curses prowl these shattered streets, twisting and warping those who dare to scavenge there. Others are bustling markets, densely packed residential apartments, or thriving centers of industry and commerce. The people of Yosthaven are a study of opposites as well, the wealth and Craft of the Great Houses highlighting the desperation of the teeming masses. Not to say that the common folk are devoid of joy. Like all Sundevalda, they are a fatalistic and determined people. Generations raised under the threat of annihilation by their Northern neighbor has led many to fatalism, but even those are sure to squeeze every last ounce of pleasure they can from the hand they have been dealt

## The Craft

The foundation of every Great House, the backbone of every empire, the Craft permeates the world down to its very core. Those without it eke out a meager existence, slaving away for the rich and powerful, scavenging upon their scraps, or simply starving to death. Those who possess it in great abundance are more than mortal, able to escape even death through the power of their Craft. It is not a matter of some innate or blood born gift, all are capable of wielding Magic, and even the most downtrodden man does. The strength of one's Mantle is currency, to be bought, sold, and traded among one's peers. Yet the magic each mortal soul binds into its Mantle on any given day is a small a weak thing, able to sustain little more than the most minor of workings. True power takes deals with eldritch beings, pacts with forgotten Gods, or the bloody sacrifice of lives. Magic always comes at a cost, and the powerful guard the secrets of how they acquired their great wealth jealously.

**Navigating the Faded Light:**
* Factions: The Great Houses
* Geography: The Known World
* Glossary: Words Forgotten
* Magic: Mantles of the Craft
* Players: The Oathsworn
* Races: Of Blood and Kin
* Setting: The City of Faded Light