The Western Mysteries

Factions vie for what's left of humanity. Infrastructure has fallen into disrepair, making any human settlement insular and prone to takeover by show of force. Trade has largely discontinued, and lessons learned from previous generations have been lost. In these days, city states seeking to expand their power do so either by aggression or migration into unclaimed land. New Orleans, the largest city in North America, pushes westward. The first scouting party, led by Richard Einbar, was a complete failure.   The reason for his failure was a deadly one. An invasive plant species, one called by the name of Fleur de Colline, seems to posses an uncanny intelligence not unlike that of a great hivemind. Furthermore, without hands, it instead relies on magic to do anything. It has so developed its magic that it is wholly alien to man and his experiences. This is in spite of Man being very familiar with magic itself. Just before the great calamity, evidence of a forgotten era in man's history was starting to emerge. These bygone peoples were especially proficient in magic, but used neither writing or drawings to leave records, preferring instead to inscribe their thoughts with beads.   As the calamity dawned, man was getting to know how to read these beads, what stories they told, and began learning about the people of these forgotten empires. As they learned, they also learned about the final key player of this tale: Valorfey. Known within the beads as. 'courageous spirits," modern man began learning how they worked and even how to summon. But man cannot keep a good thing the way that it is, and a vast proliferation of usage of these Valorfey caused the downfall of man. Once worshiped as gods, devils, monsters or tales, these beings of black magic proved that they were still capable of putting men into awe and in fear.   With this looming in their minds, our heroes go forth from New Orleans to uncover more about the Fleur De Colline. The only thing giving them pause is a dire warning from Hadessah's father, Richard Einbar, "The Valorfey are unable to overcome it. I only ask that you come back with your soul."