The Present Campaign

The Present Campaign takes place 500 ABA, civilization is still recovering from the Cataclysm. No longer in the golden age, the last surviving continent of Argos is still being rebuilt, and without the presence of the Titans civilization is more vulnerable than ever. And with the threat of Chaos re-emerging, an unlikely team is tasked to investigating a mystery that could could either continue the recovery of civilization, or end with the destruction of Elura.

## Introduction

Eons before civilization, there came the Titans; impossibly powerful entities that came from the cosmos and landed upon our world. Powerful though they were, four stood out that wielded enough strength to bend the very nature of the planet to their will. When they came to the First People, they were seen as gods. These four beings came to be known as the Priarchs. There was Detro, the god of the earth. He was the patron lord of all that is might and courage. There was Théos, the second oldest of the Priarchs. Théos was the queen of prosperity and light; of the four, she was the most pure and the most good. Ceris was the youngest of the Priarchs; God of the skies. Of her siblings, she was the most fun. Finally, there was Noros, the god of the stars and wisdom. Noros was the oldest and most powerful of the Priarchs. It is said that he is more ancient than time itself. The Titans adored those who came before and with their help, the people of the ancient world had unending prosperity and life flourished. Through the Titans, the First People were able to construct great cities and inventions so complex it would take a lifetime to understand. It was paradise.

Yet, like all good things, this Golden Age would not last. Millenia into this time of paradise, there appeared the one true enemy of the Priarchs; a being so wicked that it rivaled the power of the strongest Titans. He was Nathwin, the god of chaos. It is said that Nathwin is not of this reality, but a creature from an unbearably twisted dimension known as the Plains of Chaos, where vicious monsters and demons of unknown power call their home. Nathwin was an eater of worlds determined to spread his corruption to all corners of the Universe. Eventually, he found our home. The Priarchs tried desperately to stop him, but not long after he arrived, Nathwin had corrupted countless Titans and ancient people until he had an entire army of his own taken from our world. What followed was a great and terrible war of impossible proportions for the good of all.

At the end of it, there was nothing. The final battle resulted in the end of nearly all life on the planet, leaving only a single continent remarkably untouched. The Titans were all but extinct. The Priarchs had managed to subdue the terrible Nathwin, but in doing so, they had exhausted much of their power and sealed themselves away to keep his might imprisoned. The mountains of ruin became their tomb. The Cataclysm turned the planet into a barren wasteland that is now called the Perish, leaving only Argos, the one continent that survived.

Thousands of years later, civilization began to rebuild without the awesome power of the Titans. Many have forgotten the tale of the ancient world. Most only know the Titans and what they represent, never knowing their story of origin and how they saved the planet from certain doom. They may be gone, but their influence and power still remains. Nathwin’s corruption left a scar on the world. The descendants of those under his spell became known as the Nathadorians; a people whose appearance has been twisted by the grand master of darkness. The leaders among their ranks were the Lords of Chaos; sorcerers endowed with the divine chaotic power of Nathwin himself. Those who clung to the light forged what would become the Vendai Order, a brotherhood of warriors sworn to fight the forces of Nathwin by wielding the might of the Titans.

The Vendai and the Lords of Chaos have fought endlessly throughout the centuries, tipping the balance of power again and again. Finally, at the end of a brutally long skirmish that would be remembered as the Battle of Argos, a grand army led by the Vendai met one of the largest Nathadorian hordes ever assembled. At its helm was the infamously powerful Chaos Lord, Valroth. The fighting continued for days with no end in sight. On the seventh day of the battle, after slaughtering hundreds of Vendai warriors, Valroth was finally slain. Only by the concentrated force of every Grand Master of the Vendai Order was he destroyed, leaving his body nowhere to be seen. With their leader gone, the Nathadorians surrendered. It was decided that the clans were to be separated and their people were to be banished to the far North Eastern region of Argos that is known as Nathador, to pay for their crimes against those of the light.

Valroth’s demise meant the extinction of the Lords of Chaos, as he was the very last one. 500 years after the Battle of Argos and all is quiet. Some Nathadorians have attempted to reintegrate back into the rest of the known world, wanting to leave the dark deeds of their ancestors behind; though not without great scrutiny. The Vendai police the regions hoping to extinguish any and all remnants of Nathwin’s influence on the world. Some members of the Order have grown weary with little to fight, though many hold fast to the belief that chaos will return and that they must always be ready. In recent years, Nathadorian cultists speak of venturing out into the Perish. It is their belief that Nathwin is still there, trapped under mountains upon mountains of rubble, waiting to be awoken to finish what he had started more than 10,000 years ago.