Valerium

    I, Johanes, master trader and explorer, can in frank honestly say that I have travelled all across this great land of Valerium and seen it all. I have traveled to mysterious continents and visited hidden people. I have traded with the nobles of Tahiva, and bartered with the peasants of Inara. I have stood outside the ethereal walls of Volkinof, the hidden city, and begged for entrance, and have also prayed to spirits in the Jahimo Alliance to bless my sword. I have explored the high reaches of Meladin and made friends with the Draconai, and traversed the Bogs of Kushat and made enemies. I have stories enough to tell my children's children for years and more. Oh, this glorious land of people and monsters, and those that lie somewhere between, how it shines. It is full of powerful empires in an eternal struggle for more, full races of beings who fair boggle the mind, of creatures of myth and fantasy, and beings of mysterious powers. And through this diverse land that is so full of vastly different cultures, remains a truth at the core of it all. No matter were I brought my goods, no matter who I traded my wares, all beings, at their core, remain the same, far and wide. The child grumbles at the parent, the poor and unfortunate curse their lot, and the powerful always strive for more power. Beings gossip, fight, fall in love, and have their hearts broken. And always, a being longs for something new from a wandering trader; a new spice, a new knife, a new ribbon. No matter their circumstance, a being almost always tries to better their life, or that of a loved ones, even if only in a small way that comes at the cost of a fraction of a copper. No matter the life, in this great land, or where one hails from, a being always dreams.

— Memoir of Johanes