Introduction

  In the beginning, the world of Terrestria was ruled by elemental chaos. The primordial titans of the 4 elemental planes wrought havoc, seeking destruction of all living beings. Then, the protean creators arrived, bringing order upon the world. They created intelligent life, and granted it the divine gift of magic to fight against the titans. In turn, the creators recieved power, form and purpose from the acknoweldgement and worship of mortal beings, and eventually became the prime deities we know today.   A conflict amongst the gods led them to fracture into 2 factions: The Prime Deities, who stayed on the material plane to aid their creations, and The Betrayer Gods, who were defeated, and banished to other dimensions, or planes of existence.   Intelligent life soon organized into societies, advancing their knowledge and power using their divine gift of magic.   Societies flourished, power grew, and technology advanced to the apex of possibility. Mountains were levitated for the construction of flying sky cities, arcane constructs were created to automate all aspects of mundane life. Humanity sought a higher purpose. Many mortals sought to challenge the gods themselves, and one individual suceeded in doing so. Killing a god and ascending to take their place. This was the age of Arcanum.     It is not known exactly how the calamity began, but mortals somehow suceeded in breaking the betrayer gods from their extradimensional prisons. Legions of devils, demons and otherworldy aberrations descended upon the prime material plane, led by the betrayer gods. Gruumsh, Bane, Torog, Tiamat, Tharizdun, Zehir, Asmodeus and Lolth overran the world of the prime deities with their malevolent armies.   Primordial titans were released, mountain ranges crumbled, continents shattered, cities were struck from the sky raining flaming wreckage upon the endless legions warring across the land. The world was obliterated in a 300 year long war between the gods.     But the prime deities prevailed, once again banishing the betrayers, and also themselves, from the material plane, in an event known as the Divergence, which ended the first Epoch of the world.   And, from the shattered remains of the apex of civilization in an age long past, societies once again rose to reclaim this new world. Fragments of the past now lie scattered across the world, deep within dungeons, protected by powerful guardians, or locked away in buried fragments of the ancient sky cities. Many seek to learn the secrets of the past and once again advance to the height of civilization that was achieved the age of arcanum. The age of adventure has begun.   Welcome, to the 4th age of Terrestria.     The year is 815 PD, or post divergence, as we find ourselves in a land divided by terrain and political power.   The Continent of Ostensia is home to 3 primary civilizations. On the Western shoreline of the continent, colonies from nations across the Malevian Ocean are beginning to expand, entering into conflicts against each other and pushing into the Boundaries of Xha'krell, a smaller, insular nation nestled in the Marrow Valley amongst the Gravenguard mountains.   The marrow valley consists largely of desolate wastelands, but civilization has managed to find a challenging way of life within the marrow valley, living off of the sparse oases and hunting the monstrous creatures which stalk the wasteland. Not much is known of the inner workings of Xha'krell's political structure, only that it remains united under an organization known as the Crimson Concord. Scholars believe that all evil forces during the calamity came from this region. Recently, rumors of a terrible plague ravaging the nation of Xha'krell have begun to circulate amongst its neighboring regions, leading them to cut ties, further ostracizing this already insular state.     But most importantly, and where our story begins, are the 7 Realms, forming the Sovereignty of Kyloria, which encompasses the entire Eastern half of Ostensia.   This vast and diverse territory streches from the northern border of the icy wastes of Cryos to the tropical shoreline of the Menagerie Coast.   This land is divided between seven noble houses, each charged with governing their realm. Those 7 houses being: Vysoren, Devo'sa, Sarcaryn, Gallach, Blackwater, Hardt, and Ryndarien. While these houses have so far succeeded in presenting the illusion of a cohesive kingdom, on the inside, each house has their own interests and conflicts which have lead to a complex web of brewing tension.   Perhaps the most important of these seven houses, or at least, the most widely recognized, currently makes its home on the Eastern shore of Kyloria's midlands, in the metropolitan city of Capitol. There, sitting on the Aureate Throne, is the head of state, Sovereign Yuriel Ryndarian, and his wife, Ghadana Vysoren.   Under the rule of king Yuriel, currently in his 47th year, you are mostly left to your own devices. The crown takes only a tithe of what you earn and produce, you follow its laws, refrain from worshipping evil deities, and bow to the noble family governing your region. In return, denizens of the realm are protected from supposed evils, chaotic horrors and monstrosities which lie throughout the wilderness and within the wastes of Xha'krell to the west.   But tensions begin to brew under watchful eyes of the Aureate guard.   The wood elves of house Sarcaryn continuously have their sacred forest homes threatened by the industrious hunger of expansion, which knows nothing of the elven reverence and respect for nature. Many elves do not formally swear fealty to the Sovereign, or even recognize the political boundaries which have been colonially imposed on their native territory.   The rumors of a plague ravaging Xha'krell have many fearing it could spread throughout the 7 Realms of Kyloria, and despite the promise of protection made by the crown, citizens are dying from monster attacks along the nation's roadways, and sometimes from direct attacks on less fortified cities.     Piracy has begun to take hold amongst the island archipelego's of the Menagerie coast, leading to a decline in maritime prosperity, or an opportunity for those willing to pursue a pirate's life. Other strange phenomena have lead to mysterious disappearence of ships, rumors and songs of krakens, sea hags, and other supernatural seafaring dangers spread through the taverns amongst the coastline and archipelago.   The mountain dwarf nations of House Gallach are digging deep into the earth, infringing upon the vast network of caverns known as the underdark which permeates the entire world. They may soon begin to unearth untold horrors and otherworldly abberations which have long laid dormant beneath the earth's surface.   Amongst these challenging conflicts, the Sovereign fights to maintain prosperity and control across Kyloria, and we find ourselves in a critical time for this nation, where rising conflicts and tension have lead many factions to seek the help of mercenaries and adventurers, which presents an unique opportunity for many people. People like you.     But our story starts much simpler than all of that. Beneath this tangled web of tension, in the northern regions under the rule of House Hardt, stands the city of Orfrock.   Orfrock was founded on a highly fortifiable position: A glacial crag and tail topography, with a river splitting around the rock. This natural defensibility lead Orfrock to develop into an important political center for House Hardt, as it currently houses the Jarl Galdric Greymoore, of House Greymoore, which rules the geographical region of the Rinexus Swamplands.   Orfrock is also a major export centre for lumber, as wood chopped from logging camps within the Boreal Frostweald is floated downstream to lumber mills in Orfrock, which is then processed and shipped down river to Aureate Bay for export. Many people in this city work as River Drivers, an extremely dangerous job which involves jumping between logs floating on the river and dislodging any built up lumber which gets stuck. Many people lose their lives to River Driving, and River Drivers are often well respected and well paid for their skill.