Ancient History

In the Time Before the land was comprised of powerful wizards, goddesses and gods. They shaped the land to their will, built structures of immense power and magnitude. They had command over the fabric of the world, but they were not all powerful or all knowing. Their spells were performed in groups, and as a society. One wizard only had command of a small part of any given spell. As their society expanded and wizards became more and more focused on only their own part in the grand inscriptions they lost sight of the whole of their work. When a spell turned dark (by accident or by manipulation from within) no wizard felt that it was their fault, they were only a small cog in the machine. And yet more and more harm was coming to their world through their spellwork. They were afraid of their part in it, each person intending for good, but without the ability to see anything beyond their own small part.

When the Final Wizard arose many claimed he was not of this world, he was a powerful outsider who saw an opportunity. He could see the pieces of the whole and he could guarantee the people that he could keep their spells on track. He would be the overseer of spells.

The story ends like many do, with this greatest of all wizards corrupted by power, bending spells to his whim and his benefit. In the end he was the one that the moon goddess struck down, destroying him and destroying the old world. Magic scattered across the world, remnants of the Final Wizard's power. Remains of castles and artifacts remain to this day.

The first society to reform were the People of Stone, the builders of the great castles of Kio. Not much is known about these people. They warred for a time with the SunRock people (who still exist north of Kio), and also likely fought amongst themselves. The large scattered castle ruins suggests a fractured society.

In the Pepperlands humans survived the Moon Fracture, but records have been lost over time, or changed through oral tradition. This region of the world is also rife with scattered stone castles, and an agoraphobic people who stay locked up inside their castles. Even farming is done by mages in huge vertical tower-fields. The wars of these cities are numerous and magical in nature. Theoretically the People of Stone and the current humans of the Pepperlands were related.

Sators are theorized to exist purely through magical means, evolving in the wilds and coming to exist in the shells of old societies. They were the ones who first discovered the Mirror Plague. As they explored old metal ruins created by wizards of the Time Before they found demons within. These demons spread what is known as the Mirror Plague, their flesh becomes warped and mirrored as the disease progresses, and spreads by staring deeply into the eyes of their victim. In late stages it is said that the brain becomes reflective, which is why the infected repeat phrases endlessly, pacing, and never changing their routines. Their thoughts reflect back off every part of their brain, becoming more and more minimized and repetitive, eventually leading to death.

The Mirror Plague keeps the people of the Pepperlands locked away, and is a large reason why so many parts of the world remain unexplored. The Mirror Plague had not been found on Kio yet, but it is the reason why the research team is so insistent on cautionary exploration.

The Calling Stone is the other large continent of the world. It has an almost entirely human population, but they do not have sea travel and the only known point of contact with them is the SunRock people, who do not like sharing culture, and do not spread much in the way of information. (Ask me about The Calling Stone on tumblr if curious, there's story here but it's not related to Kio and likely inappropriate for the audience due to dark themes).

### Guilds

Notable guilds include

Farmers
Light Magicians
Traders
Artists
Soldiers