Crescent

## A note on the history of Crescent

Throughout our recorded history much has changed regarding our perception of Crescent. After The Skyfarers (Referred to in common as "Himmelfarerne") broke the cycle of rebirth, the Void was banished from our borders, opening a path to the "Dark Side of Crescent". Their tale is fully documented during the Age of the Seasons.

When the Skyfarers vanished without a trace in the year 10109, and the Black Fleet suddenly made its move, it became the destiny of a small group of adventurers, the crew of LS Kongle (The Evergreen) to save us from certain doom. Their destiny is to do battle during The Rise of Garth.

In addition, due to the splintering of time caused by the Castellan Maere event, there exists an entire timeline where the fate of Crescent is yet undecided.

**Quick links:**

* Regions and places in Crescent
* Characters in Crescent
* List of all Crescent sessions

## Crescent Pre-Sundering (0 - 10077)

The world of Crescent is a strange place, inhabited by all races found in the Forgotten Realms. As a result of a great war between ancient gods, the earth was almost destroyed ten thousand years ago. What remains are mainly islands in a treacherously wild sea, and one single mega-continent where the majority of the landmass is contained. In the south the world has been torn away completely, leaving only floating islands traversed by flying airships. The planet was once round, but now only half remains, and on the “dark side” of Crescent different planes of reality coagulate  to form a dark abyssal void, seldom traversed by mortals.

Genesis: The pact between the God King Winter and Gyevroo of the Void.

Dominant religions: Every race holds different theories as to the origin of the world, and as to what caused the sundering of the earth, but the majority believe it to be the work of ancient gods longs since dead or gone. Most worship a Pantheon of Gods closer to their realm of existence, as stipulated in the Forgotten Realms.

Racial enmities: Humans are the dominant species of Crescent. They get well enough on with the other races, yet the elves begrudge them their expansive nature, and are more hostile towards humans on Crescent on account of having warred with them four centuries ago, than in other worlds. The dwarves have long since lost their glory, and there are many more surface dwellers on Crescent than in other worlds. Halflings, Half-Elves, Gnomes, Drow and other lesser races are treated the same in Crescent as in regular worlds.

**Major regions and their inhabitants:**

The Garden in the North - Elves and humans

Anchorage (Blightheim) - Humans (Elves, Dwarves, Half-Orcs, Tieflings, Gnomes)

The Imperial Expanse - Humans (Elves, Dwarves, Half-Orcs, Tieflings, Gnomes, Halflings)

The Fields of War - Gnomes, Dwarves

The Caverns of Gloom - Dwarves (Gnomes, Halflings)

Mellow’s Wood (Aos Sí Msitu) - Elves, Drow.

The Borderlands - All races

The Void – None known to man

The North Sea: The main attraction in this wild region is The Garden in the North, a large, isolated island surrounded by tall, snow covered mountains, harbouring a glade of eternal summer. A small settlement, Ørgard, is the only sign of human and elfish civilisation in this remote region. Smaller ice-covered islands scatter the region, home to many strange creatures and monsters.

The Mega-Continent, knows as Gulgamesh plays host to a variety of landscapes, cities and cultures. Chief among these is the human led Empire, called the Blight by the elves, ruled by the child Emperor Chalastain the Third, Lord of Anchorage. Anchorage (Blightheim) is also the name of the capitol, a huge, sprawling corrupt city in the northwest secretly controlled by two warring factions: The Thieves’ Guild and The Keepers. The Thieves’ guild’s name is relatively deceptive, nowadays they steal a lot less than they influence how the economy of the Empire is run, in lieu of the corrupt leadership, ensuring that humans remain the dominant species in Gulgamesh. The Keepers of Balance are a zealous cult, who believe that a celestial war is brimming, and that all mortals have to pick a side between good and evil, preferably good - but a sub-cult of The Keepers seeks instead to bring evil to the forefront, believing the celestial forces of good are not necessarily what the world needs.

Surrounding the city of Anchorage is a region simply known as The Imperial Expanse. Smaller villages and settlements connect to form a powerful trading circle, supplying Anchorage with foods and goods from the surrounding woods and plains. This region covers the majority of the continent, filled with both minor and major cities and villages, many with their own cultures and religions – yet all recognise the authority of Anchorage.

Beyond the settlements to the south lie The Fields of War, remains after a conflict between the elves and humans, a muddy and gloomy no man’s land that stretches until Aos Sí Msitu’s green borders. The weather here is unpredictable, forever damaged by the battles waged between human and elfish wizards four centuries ago. Brave and/or desperate dwarves and gnomes make their homes beneath the surface, building what they can from the polluted earth. In some instances the hate embedded in the earth results in a poisoning of the mind, turning some dwarfish settlements evil, with gnomes proving to be more resilient.

In the east Crescent’s dwarven population wages a constant and bitter war against rock giants for the remnants of world’s mountains and caves. This region is known to most as The Caverns of Gloom. Most dwarf settlements are nowadays on the surface, many swallowed up by the Imperial Expanse. To make matters worse many a royal dwarven house has been wiped out through the conflict with the giants, legendary Paragons almost a myth. The dwarves are therefore no longer considered to be a dominant species in Gulgamesh. Many work in Anchorage as smiths or artisans, drowning their dreams of mountain halls in piss poor mead at Tiefling run taverns.

The southern part of the continent is covered in tropical forests where most elves make their homes. This jungle-like expanse is called Aos Sí Msitu by the elves, or just Aos Sí. However it is known to most simply as Mellow’s Wood, pertaining to the Wood Elf who led the charge four hundred years ago against the ever-expanding Empire, successfully halting mankind’s advance on the forest’s border. The Emperor took him prisoner, but eventually released him due to the extreme political tension between elves and humans in the capitol, and the realisation that the enmity between the races had to be defused. Mellow still lives, yet is rarely seen even amongst his own people. He is considered a folk hero amongst all elves, and ushered in a new age of elfish pride, meaning few live in Anchorage - the majority residing in the swampy dank forests of Mellow’s Wood.

Beyond Mellow’s Wood lies what is simply known as The Borderlands. The world here has been destroyed in the battle between the old gods, and all that remains are a few chunks of rocks, magically kept afloat by the Wizards that inhabit the area. Below; a ten thousand feet drop into darkness. Each wizard resides on a so-called ‘Lighthouse island’, where they study the fluctuations of magic between dimensions. These eccentric hermits welcome refugees, adventurers and others who seek to escape the confines of civilisation aboard their islands, creating small self-sustained villages populating the floating rocks. Travel between these settlements is managed by airship, and while the wizards never interfere with each other, their people often make war upon each other. They compete for the most fertile islands and fend off attacks from the darker undergrowth of Mellow’s Woods, where the Underdark spills out into the Borderlands. Drow raiders, and sometimes more sinister entities, venture out at night in search of the magical portals the wizards covet.

Beyond the Borderlands lies the sinister Void. A dark expanse, where gateways and portals to other planes of existence litter the space. One could travel here by airship, but few are ever seen again that venture this far. In theory one would be able to sail all around to the northern hemisphere, where the seas cascade into the dark from beyond The Garden in the North’s icy perimeter. But even the wizards of the Borderlands fear the void, and the beings that dwell within…

## Age of the Seasons - 10077 - 10079

A brief period in the history of Crescent, yet without doubt its most crucial phase. Age of the Seasons spanned only two years, in the time after Crescent had become an industrious and (mostly) civilised world. The age of prophecy was at hand, and all the orphans mentioned in it were gathered together on the Garden in the North, by the Keepers. After a number of adventures the group titled themselves as the Skyfarers, though mostly referred to in common as "Himmelfarerne".

The Skyfarers slew their forebears, the children of Summer and Winter, and toppled the corrupt God King Winter from his throne. Encountering Gyevroo himself, they turned him down. Refusing to allow the world to be swallowed by the Void in exchange for immortality. Aided by the mysterious Gealach/Moon they banished the avatar of Gyevroo, saving the world from its imminent doom.

## Crescent Post-Sundering - 10 080 - 10109

**Dawn of the Dark Side**

31 years have passed since the Sundering almost consumed Crescent. The old world survived mostly unscathed, but is in turn plagued by an endless Autumn. Its people depressed as famine slowly spreads, crops failing to adapt to a world without seasons.

Many were those who decided to seek fortune, glory or simply a new life in the New World. When the Void vanished thousands of airships were flung together in a wild dash to settle what would soon become known as The Dark Side of Crescent.

The New world disappointed. A handful of mountain tops stretching above a poisonous fog meant only the most hardy and desperate stayed. Eking out a living in small communities miles apart, the settlers embraced what they could find, hoping that a new world would mean a new start after the calamity that almost consumed their previous homes.

For a while, that dream held.

Last year, the heroes of old: some of them rulers of men and dwarves, others shadows of their former selves - vanished en route to Ohran Vorrd, the ancient citadel of the wizard Vorden. The response was swift and futile.

The dwarves, under guidance of King-Elect Tharom sent their best fliers, soaring over the clouds. Never to be seen again. Emperor Chalastain, distraught at the disappearance of his wife, promised a bounty of 10 000 gold to whoever returned his beloved to him. Many were the seekers. Few were the finders. And nobody has managed to keep count of how many orcs, half orcs and bastards vanished seeker their former Grand Master. Numberschool is a quieter place for it. And the Bells of Damon Holg sound in mourning every day.

A year later most have given up. Life is too fragile in this world to dwell on that which has passed. Instead new rumours abound. Whispers of a dark force, airships painted black, amassing around the forbidden isle most know only as “The Nest”. Some claim to have seen a wood elf sailing at the helm of such a ship, surrounded by beasts whose names are not uttered at night. Others claim to know his name. The Empire and its allies remain silent. Anxious in face of a new unknown force on their doorstep.

This is The Rise of Garth.

## The Rise of Garth - 10110 - ?

This chapter of Crescent's history is forever frozen in time.