Davenport Expedition

In humanity’s long distant past the old gods appeared to mankind with an offer of faith in exchange for power. Thus the first mages were born and the Deadic Wars began. Across the ages Gods fought over Old Earth, using human pawns to wage their wars. Their battles left the world scarred and barren, fearing extinction humanity fled, and from the crucible of the old Earth they spread across the stars, guided by their surviving gods. They settled many thousands of far off planets, using the magics of the gods to alter themselves to survive in a number of strange new worlds. Thus were born the Dwarves, children of Ilur, goddess of earth and gems. The Elves, children of Arcana, the Mists and the space beyond space. The beastfolk, children of Naat and Maracordia, and of the many spirits of nature itself. And demonkin, the cursed children of Tor. Over thousands of years humanity spread, claiming more and more of the empty cosmos for itself.   One of the worlds humanity would settle on was Duosalagarius, second planet of the star Salagarius, named Kasataria after its first Terrestrial Lord, Kasatarius the Anointed of Thaal. The Thaalean Mandate ruled over the system of Salagarius with the justice and benevolence embodied by their god, and the world would become a hub during humanity’s reunification, seeing species from across known space gather and mingle as one. For nine generations the descendants of Kasatarius ruled over the world which bore their father’s namesake, some ruled with kindness and grace, and were loved by their people, others grew lazy and corrupt, and the axe of revolution would swiftly find their heads. The last Terrestrial Lord of Kasatarius, Lady Shavon Darathaal, would give her life in an effort to save her people on the day when the dead rose from their graves and usurped the land of the living.   The five Necromancer Lords, disciples of the life god Naaralyth and funded by the political adversaries of the Thaalean Mandate, struck at the world of Kasatsrius, raising an army of the dead to sow chaos across the mainland. The denizens of Kasatsrius called upon Thaal and the gods which they had pledged their faith to to shield them from the undead, but a few scant months into the war, the gods suddenly fell silent. Humanity fled the mainland, using the ocean as their final barrier while priests and sages tried desperately to uncover what had happened. With the mist gates inactive, the gods silent, and more and more children dying at birth, Kasatsrius fell into a dark age, much magic was lost without the gods to guide humanity and the myriad of arcane systems which supported humanity began to fail, causing yet more desolation.   It has been 200 years since the fall of the Old Homeland, as the natives call the primary landmass of Duosalagarius, and humanity is just now returning to pick through the ashes and uncover what has happened to the gods and the rest of the cosmos. Despite being abandoned centuries ago, the Old Homeland remains filled with treasure, ruins, and hoards of undying abominations. Lady Helena von Davenport, noblewoman of the house of Davenport, former lords of the Drakenfang Valley, has come into information detailing a lessening of the undead forces in the region and has funded an expedition to return to the Old Homeland. Following months of careful prep the group has departed Portempest on a warm spring's eve making their way towards Northport. Though faced with a long journey, they have been given ample time to make it across the Drakenfang mountains before winter. The members of her expedition may well be the first living humans to set foot upon the Old Homeland in nearly 200 years.