1336 - The death of The Emperor

The Emperor , The Demigod upon the Throne, The Savior of Men, ruled the realm for hundreds of years, keeping the peace in the whole empire. He may have had an iron fist, but the whole realm was in order and there was no corruption upon the known lands. Justice and law were the defining terms of the time. No Necromancer, Lich, Undead or Fiend was allowed to walk the lands and cause disruption. The now forgotten dark forces of the realm were vanquished and kept at bay by the presence of The Emperor.
The Emperor has been dead for two years. The closest to him still mourn the great loss. A Council of the elite and the nobles now run the Empire. The identities of all the members are kept a secret to protect them from harm.
After the death of The Emperor, a strange presence is felt all across the Empire. Sickness, famine, and plague have become more common among the population. The smaller villages on the outskirts of the Empire have started facing more monster attacks, diseases, and other unexplained phenomena. These phenomena include children going missing, people found dead in their beds with no wounds on them, fires starting on their own and a long list of other strange occurrences. Racial tensions have become a real issue again, and distrust is rampant.
The Council currently has no real plan on what to do. The situation is at a breaking point; the people cry out for the The Council to aid them in their time of need.
Multiple villages have issued curfews and sent requests for more guards to be stationed there, but to no avail. Multiple bounty-hunting companies have cropped up all around the empire to help combat the monsters that wreak havoc across the countryside. The brave souls that are employed by these companies are known as Eradicators within the common folk. It requires bravery on the level of stupidity to go out in the night and hunt for these creatures. Multiple sightings of Ghouls, Skeletons, and even Banshees have been reported, but mostly the Eradicators deal with Zombies and Mutated animals. Something is corrupting the entire realm.
A few of the village Elders all across the Empire speak of The End Times. This refers to a prophecy now lost to time. Only its conclusion is known anymore; The Old Gods will rise again and use this world to create a new one of chaos and death.
Strange cults have become more common at the far reaches of the Empire, but it’s done behind closed doors. Rumours of blood sacrifices and other horrific activities keep the common folk in fear. Necromancy has raised its ugly head once more, since Zombies, Skeletons, and other undead creatures have been sighted on multiple occasions.
Now, more than ever is the time for brave heroes to step in and aid the empire, and the whole of the known world.