The World
Discovering the Past
Welcome to the land of the Ancients; beware what they’ve left behind.
Once, this continent was home to the most advanced of human civilizations. Now, their ruins and their relics are all that remain. When mankind finally settled its shores once more, they found a wilderness fraught with peril … and yet, for the bold, there were godlike treasures and ancient mysteries to discover in the world left behind by the Ancients. Two centuries have passed since humanity’s rediscovery of this forgotten continent, and their settlements now dot the land. Their influence continues to grow, but every bit is hard won and must be defended.
To the south, the Kynda have declared themselves rightful inheritors of the Continent, and continue to push the borders of their forest slowly north. In the west, rumors persist of a subterranean species encroaching into human territory – tales of people being stolen from their beds and dragged underground haunt the people of the western reaches.
Even within mankind’s numbers, bitter rivalries and factionalism threaten to bring disaster. The noble houses of the capital jockey for power, while a navy of upjumped pirates plague the rivers and eastern coasts. The cultists of Kamarua make their horrific sacrifices and grow in power upon their secluded isles. Hope runs low for a peaceful future, and the wise know it's only a matter of time before conflict swallows all.
The Continent is a place of danger and wonder in equal measure. Who will come out on top for control of the fallen Ancient’s legacy?
Calliopsis and the Cataclysm
Calliopsis was once the seat of mankind’s resettlement effort upon the Continent. It’s university was the forefront of scientific endeavor, though their works were a dull imitation of the remnants left behind by the Ancients. From this bastion mankind sought to reconquer a wilderness. Art, philosophy, and science flourished. After one hundred and fifty years, Calliopsis stood as a testament to what humanity’s grueling labor could achieve.
Then, it exploded.
The cause of the Cataclysm, as it came to be known, remains hotly debated the continent over. It has been fifty years since the city, university, and its people were lost. In the wake of their destruction, the greatest suspicion fell upon the Disciples, who had ever fought with the University over the scraps left behind by the Ancients. Still others blamed the scholars themselves, claiming they ran afoul of powers they shouldn’t have meddled with – and were destroyed just as the Ancients were before them. Whatever the origin of the blast, the destruction left the always tenuous control of mankind’s domain stretched to breaking. The chaos that followed saw Disciple conclaves raided and burned, mass emigration to the northern Scar City, and the rise of Kamarua the Prophet from the city’s ashes.
Scar City
Fifty years after the Cataclysm, Scar City has usurped primacy of place as the Capital of Man. Though lacking the grandeur of Calliopsis, it enjoys the distinct privilege of still existing. Built into a gouge in the earth, the city is well-defended and serves as the seat of military power on the continent. The sprawling warrens of this massive settlement buzz day and night with activity, and the nobles of mankind play out their intrigues and maneuvers in the halls and palaces of the city.
Three houses stand primary amongst their peers; House Scar, the military leaders of the city and the eponymous founders of the fort the capital once grew out of; House Taravino, savvy traders and the backing power behind bringing the Xanthe Fleet into the fold. Their fortune eclipses their adversaries, and their holdings across the continent provide an endless stream of revenue and relics; and House Delca, whose network of spies and informants seem to lurk around every corner and in every room.
The Factions
Disciples
The Disciples are reclusive keepers of relics and students of the world that came before. Their conclaves dot the Continent, though many of these once-vibrant centers of scientific reflection now lay empty and emptied. Hoarders of relics from the poorly understood ancients, the Disciples have long found themselves the target of unscrupulous treasure hunters, would-be tyrants, and overzealous hobbyists. When their Order began to decline after the Cataclysm, the Continent experienced a flood of relics looted from fallen conclaves.
The Disciples that remain have broken into two broad camps: those who counsel total seclusion from the Continent and its affairs, and those who view the Cataclysm as a call to arms issued by a dying world. Masters of ancient mysteries, the Disciples are capable of employing artifacts from a different age to devastating results.
Kynda
In the dense forests of the southern continent lie the lands of the Kynda. These wood-skinned stewards of the forests and rivers have long regarded the other races of the Continent with suspicion. Hiding their true numbers in the densely wooded Endless Forest, the Kynda guard zealously against human intrusion from their watch-perches amongst the canopy. Over the years, the Kynda have slowly expanded their borders ever-northward.
Alongside their smaller Kynda brethren reside the Keepers, massive animate trees born from the bodies of the Kynda seedlings. Though not every body gives rise to new life, those who are reborn stand tall as prodigious defenders against the encroaching hordes of the Continents would-be settlers.
Xanthe
The Xanthe fleet was once the scourge of every merchant who sailed the eastern coast; today, their protection ensures the lines of trade on the Continent remain secure and prosperous. The enterprising Admiral Lyosh saw opportunity in the chaos of the Cataclysm and struck a deal with House Taravino to legitimize his band of marauders, killers, and pirates into the first true continental navy.
The Xanthe of today bear little resemblance to the bandits of their origins. Cargo holds once filled with plunder now carry grain shipments and medicine. Weapons that used to terrorize now protect, and the pirate’s flag has been replaced with the King’s Tri-flower.
Despite recent decades spent in legitimate enterprise, the Xanthe are ever-battling against the specter of their own bloody history. This public unease is made worse by elements within the fleet who look back at the old days and vocally yearn for their return – chief among them, Lyosh’s daughter Inneste.
Pyroclasty
When Caliopsis fell, many who sought to understand the calamity came under the sway of the eminent scholar-turned-sage Kamarua. In the ashes of the University, Kamarua traded his podium for a pulpit. Claiming he had been blessed with visions during the Cataclysm, he preached a great homecoming for those brave enough to join him. Uniting those he could bring under his control, the burgeoning Pyroclasty decamped the ruined campus and relocated to the isle of the Volcano.
In its shadow, they have mastered their sacrificial arts. A passionately devoted people, they revere Kamarua as the Volcano’s chosen prophet. With his guidance, the Pyroclasty continues its march towards the Final Scouring: the day they will all finally delve into the magma of their God’s mouth and be reborn as His chosen instruments upon the Continent. Until that day, adherents are fed to the flames in a steady trickle as Kamarua demands and to support machinations they know nothing of. From their sacrifice, powerful magic and elemental beasts of fire are born.