Overview

> *Mankind is mud given glory,*
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> *Glory is virtue, God given,*
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> *To act against those of sinning,*
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> *and live forever in sonorous story.*
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> -Unknown, Archaic
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The world has existed since time immemorial; the Chroniclers' Guild believes it has always existed in a cycle of climax and catastrophe, civilisations rising and falling with the passage of time. The people of each new cycle start humbly building on the ruins of the last age, rising up to great heights until the next great catastrophe falls, wiping out all that was built and most of its people; leaving those that remain to start over.

Ruins remain of past civilizations which can be found scattered across the land, cities abandoned to be reclaimed by nature or disappear and reappear with the mists, temples buried beneath earth or sea, citadels encased in ice or fire, even the foundations of many modern cities hide the ruins of old which lie beneath, and some civilizations only remain in epic tales and myth.

The oldest myth, that which tells of a great evil who took the world to war against the gods, and the aftermath in which the gods having won a costly victory had to build the world anew, is common across all places, and recorded in the Chroniclers most sacred text, the Empyrean Epitaph. Each civilisation also retells its own stories, of the virtuous deeds of prophets, heroes and saints and the Gods who favoured them with gifts and wisdom; such as they survive in books, carvings and paintings preserved in ruins and artifacts, or that which is retained through the song and story of oral tradition. These myths often inspire many to search out and investigate ruins, some seek the truth of the myths, enticed by treasure or the thrill of adventure, for others the ruins hold a religious significance, and organisations and states will seek out powerful artifacts rumoured to lie within to turn the tide in their next conflict or serve them in some other way, this is especially true across Brivernia.

The Stormward continent of Brivernia has a rich tapestry of landscapes, from glacial plateaus of mountain tops to saltland flats, fiery volcanic wastes to treacherous tidal marshlands. The people who inhabit these lands have had to struggle to survive, and it is not always the environment they struggle against.

The Midius Kingdoms have had a long history of conflict, but in recent times the southern kingdoms though they remain adversarial have managed to broker a tense peace between the three centres of power in the region: Silvandur, Diadunon and Montalder. The Northern Kingdoms were unified some years ago by the force of will of a single person, but a new ruler in the north has since taken the throne and they have been swift to take action to further their grand desires for the burgeoning empire.

It is said that fae magic runs in the blood of the Saliou royal family rulers of Silvandur; Rozen le Saliou knows how to play the game, having unified three other kingdoms under her banner, but her reign is nearing its end and new challenges face her son who is primed to take over. Refugees from the north are putting pressure on the border towns, and as they continue to move south through the woodlands tricksy fae are having their fun with the unwary travelers, and reports of something altogether more dangerous stirring in the deep of the forest has everyone on edge.

Although the King of Montalder has absolute authority in theory, by convention decisions are made by the Dailguilde (a council of the kingdoms guild masters) they act to ensure that Montalder is the best at two things: trade and naval power. As the waters of the last catastrophe receded they weathered away the earth revealing ruins of ages past, and still more lie hidden in the shallow waters around Montalder. Rabble creatures now inhabit some number of ruins, though have mostly been little more than nuisance pests recently they have become bolder, and the Dailguilde have been forced to take more affirmative action.

The Theocratic Kingdom of Diadunon mostly holds itself apart from the political wrangling of the other kingdoms; it has darker problems. A little less than a day's journey duskwards stands St. Fionn's Wall which runs from coast to coast and is manned all seasons to ensure that what lies beyond does not threaten the people of Diadunon Every so often something unholy slips through, perhaps that is why the people serve the Gods with such fervor, in the hopes they will be protected from the horrors in the *black nights*.