The Approach

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A few centuries ago, the forces of inhumanity, hatred and fell power united to deliver a death-knell to the civilized world. They nearly succeeded. Hordes of subhumans swarmed the civilized lands, the skies filled with the beat of millions of wings in support, and behind them walked forces of fell aspect…forces unknown; powering the madness and slaughter. These forces ripped a hole through civilization and crushed the mighty kingdoms of man before them. It was an onslaught that did not end until they had nearly stamped out the light of mankind and civilization of western Aneloria.

The destruction claimed countless kingdoms and peoples in its bloody wake. The great empire of Mantheria fell despite an awesome struggle that destroyed the very land on which the war was waged by all beings. Their names and legacies are written in the blood-soaked stones that are all that remain of their time. The civilized peoples were driven back, mile upon mile, league upon league. They abandoned empires and kingdoms, temples and homes, family and friends in the panicked rush to a sanctuary that never manifested.

And, as humanity cowered in submission to extinction, the forces were stopped. Throughout the lands the reasons given varied from infighting to the mercy of the Young Gods. In the former Mantherian Empire, it coincided with the Battle of the Last Generals. A battle that cracked the spine of the murderous hordes. The onslaught was stopped, but at great cost and, as many whispered, for no known reason.

For over a hundred years, the civilized world caught its breath, marshaled its resources and sought the strength to once again take back what was once its birthright. That time is now. Mankind and its allies reach out, clash with the savages that have taken their homes, explore the wilderness that was once their birthright.

Lands once dominated by civilized folk lay under the yoke of evil and inhuman forces or have degenerated into savage wilderness of which nothing has been learned for centuries. The death toll was cataclysmic and the forces that thrived on death only grew in power and malice; creating massive boneyards of cold undeath. As humanity fled, the dark forces smashed and occupied the former lands of wealth and power. Kingdoms, in mockery of the old powers, rose up with dark beings and monsters atop the thrones and beneath the crowns that held sway over these now dark lands. The subhuman took up residence where once wealth and mortal power reigned. The foul forces erected institutions to mirror those that they threw down but the monstrous lack the propensity for true governance resulting in a savage world.

Adventurers, missionaries, crusaders, would-be kings, rune-questors and villains aplenty flock to tattered borders of civilization. To retake, to rule, to profit; the edges of civilization are the frontlines for survival. The wilderness and ruins of the past hold a promise of the future as powerful individuals seek to carve out new kingdoms. Inch by blood-soaked inch, the border is being pushed, the maps are being redrawn and the wonders of the old world are sought by all and not always for the right reasons.

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