Theas

In the world of Theas, between the windswept Balefire Archipelago to the west and the mysterious lands of Varan-Khar to the east, lies the continent of Veratus. A place of varied cultures and races. Veratus is now dominated by human kingdoms all either a part of or loyal to Emperor Bastien von Eilrich. There are those who remain independent, usually rural communities struggling to eke out a living and to survive the unforgiving land. Interspersed among the lands of humans are the few remnants of the Under-Empire, old dwarven kingdoms, the once-great stout-folk have fallen victim to the vicious machinations of those from below, resulting in the loss of many of their secrets and thaigs. Elves, previously known as the Elvhenan, once held dominion over the entire continent millennia ago, are now a shadow of their former selves, retreating into sanctuaries and consolidating their secrets and mystic ways of old to recapture what has been lost.

A land of fallen empires, a sense of decay permeates the world as though a fetid corruption corrodes it from within. It feels to those that have lived through the ages, that everything happening now, is merely a pale echo of previous, more vital civilisations and struggles.

The savage desert lands of Zir, once a verdant landscape, now desolate and inhospitable to all but the hardiest of people. The Empire, ever-expanding, over-extending, trying to bring all under heel through words and deals what they cannot take through the might of arms. Subjugation is the same no matter the dressing. The Darklands, once a vibrant magical place, rich with ley-lines, now a wasteland with horrors, unlike anything the world has yet seen, held in an eternal slumber, waiting. As though daring someone to start the clock anew.

The Northern lands, Nevarria, technically part of von Eilrich's Empire, but being so far removed from the main body of power, they are left to govern themselves. Persecution and the deploying of foul magics and diseases upon the dwindling elven population have left the place in an uneasy state, one where a decisive move, one bold decision could capsize the current power base, an ominous state for the barrier to the Drakvald to be in. The Drakvald being a cesspit of villainous activity, monstrous beasts and a place for those of an evil disposition to garner strength and plot the downfall of civilisation.