Welcome to Arkadia
Welcome to Arkadia - a world of new relationships among diverse people!
The Cataclysm
Arkadia is a world recovering from a cataclysmic event commonly called "The Cataclysm". About 150 years ago, the largest mountain peak at the center of the realm (called "SkyTop") exploded in a volcanic eruption, killing all of the inhabitants within and around the mountain, and wiping out the dwarven clan of SkyTop, the undisupted superpower of the realm. Left behind was an enormous caldera between the four quadrants of the realm that were previously separated by mountain ranges and kept isolated by the interposing SkyTop dwarves. The second major power, the great lich-queen Heket-Batar, took her undead army from the southeast quadrant of Arkadia up through the newly formed caldera and headed north through Northern Barrier Mountains. She magically pulled the lava flow to follow her all the way into the Frozen North (called "The Burn"). Once the dust settled, the caldera was revitalized by the great druids of Arkadia and stood as the best way for easy trade and travel between the newly connected realms. And so it became disputed territory as each of the major powers vied for its control.
The Crossroads Compact
Recently, the major powers of Arkadia have pulled back to deal with internal matters, leaving the caldera ungoverned and lawless. But the Crossroads of the World is too important to a recovering Arkadia, so the major powers established a 25 year treaty called "The Crossroads Compact": the caldera would be an independent entity governed by representatives three of the major powers equally: Elladrel, home of the elves, Honoro, home of the beastfolk, and Dracaryx, home of the dragonborn. Thus began a golden era for the caldera as artists, craftsmen, scholars and refugees all descended upon the caldera looking for a safe home and a fresh start.
The Situation Today
The caldera's golden era is the bright spot in an otherwise worrisome situation. Each of the major powers is dealing with internal struggles, the details of which are not clear to commoners.
- In the northwest forests, in Elladrel, the great elven houses continue to vie against each other for position and status, and visitors to the Secret Ways are bringing back disturbing stories.
- In the northeast hills, in Dracaryx, a schism between the traditionalists and the modernists causes one to question the future of their monastic, arcane traditions. Their dragons are seen less and less.
- In the southwest plains, in Honoro, the leonin army has not been spotted for years, with not even a whisper of where they may be found.
- In the southeast desert, in Dread Wastes of Amon-Ra, the ruins of sphinxes, pyramids, and stone cities are host to innumerable skirmishes between human survivalists, refugee SkyTop dwarves that have turned to barbarianism, and scattered remnants of the undead army. The betrayer lich named Gamaruset sits silently atop his ziggurat in the former capital, having promised to control the undead army remnants in exchange for an uneasy truce and the right to survive.
- In the Frozen North, the great lich-queen and her undead army still stands silent, perhaps watching them all. Arctic inhabitants have been pushed south into northern Elladrel, northern Dracaryx, and beyond. Adventurers to the Frozen North have never returned. None know what she is up to.
- In the caldera, the golden age brings both good and bad. The caldera population has increased by half in just 3 years since the compact was signed, and the flood of new Calderans exceeds the resources of the fledgling Caldera government. Shantytowns are springing up along the outskirts of Caldera City, and crime is on the rise. Fortune hunters seeking dwarven technology or artifacts are delving both down below the caldera into the underdark, and up into the sky amidst the floating islands left behind by the Cataclysm - remnants of SkyTop that were held in place by protective magic that was not quite strong enough.
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