Creation

In the beginning, the great old one, Ryn sacrificed himself to create everything. From his bones and blood the world was made, and from his scales the dragons were born. The dragons reigned supreme over the world, and all other races were subjugated to their power.

Dragon Rule

For hundreds of years the dragons reigned, until one person Aked of Ryllian began to fight back against the dragons. Rallying the other races around his banner, he fought against the dragons. However his rebellion began to fail, and in desperation he turned to outside forces, forging a pact with the Devil, Bel. Aked of Ryllian sold his soul to Bel in return for power, and then he began to lead his people to victory over the dragons at the head of an army of devils. Victory was not his however, as his generals banded together to take over his rebellion, concerned that replacing the dragons with devils would leave Ryllian in a worse spot than it started. These generals, led by Yndra, poisoned and killed Aked of Ryllian. They then used Yndra's dragon lover, Verboden, to enact a spell that would invest their group with Ryn's Godhood. They succeeded and drove the dragons out of Ryllian's main continent, forcing them to the fringes of the world.

The Young Gods Reign

Yndra led Ryllian with a benevolent but iron fist for centuries. During this time the Four Nations of Ryllian grew and prospered under her hand. The other gods served Yndra. However, eventually disaster struck. Magic began to run out. One of the gods, Boru, led an organization of mages and great minds, The Spirited Mind, to find a solution. This solution was found in the form of a mineral called Ectominol, which when processed into its liquid form, Ectin, was able to replenish magic and power enchantments. The catch was that this mineral was very rare in the Four Nations, but was mainly found in The New Frontier, a region to the West. Ferngas, one of the gods, afraid of what could be found in The New Frontier and The Cursed Lands to the North, closed off access. Yndra's reaction was swift and harsh, sending her armies to decimate Ferngas' capital city of Orion. The aftermath was Yndra once again having full control of Ryllian and Ferngas disappearing into hiding.

Demons and Dragons

Time passed and The New Frontier began to flourish, mining companies growing powerful. At the same time a shadow was creeping over Ryllian. Demons were infiltrating from The Abyss. Several portals had opened throughout Ryllian and Yndra's assigned guardians were failing to stop all of the demons from coming through these portals. Asmodeon, recently returned to Ryllian from The Nine Hells, set about to close these portals. He succeeded in closing all but one. At the final portal, Yndra stepped in, once again afraid of Asmodeon gaining too much power. The two fought to a stalemate, and in the aftermath of their battle the guardian of the portal lay dead. Asmodeon used his remaining power to resurrect the guardian's power, but in that moment Yndra struck. She captured Asmodeon, and in his weakness the guardian's power shattered into pieces, and a prophecy rang out.

Born of a dragon
On the back of his bones
The battle commences
When two Brothers meet
One born in blood
The other born in death
The Murderer defeated
The summoning complete
A gate will be opened
The prophecy fulfilled
The Prophet speaks softly
The World Eater wakes

O how majestic her form
That Warrior of light
Her Lover lies broken
She carries the fight
Awaiting the Sword
That foe of old
The Gatekeeper opposed
But a Knife in his back
Draws King and Queen together
While the Fool mocks

Ware the Betrayer
He watches and waits
For the perfect time to strike
His blade filled with hate
The General stands in shadows
Biding his time
Til the Warrior grows tired
Her fight waning alone
Will the Sword find her hand
Or fate meet its match
World Eater quivers in silence
Needing only her death
To unleash his vengeance
On his foe of old

That great dragon
World born in his blood
His sacrifice broken
By the forgetting of time
Will anyone stand
when foundations quake
Or Will heroes die swiftly
Before they can band
Run and hide from his fury
When the Brother awakes
His death but a catalyst
For the storm in his wake

After the battle, Yndra locked Asmodeon away in a prison, then gathered as much of the guardian's remaining power as she could and divested it in a new guardian.

Many years later, the power of this guardian placed in a new vessel, a young woman named Kira Delgado, a group of heroes banded together, released Asmodeon from his prison, gathered the Blood Soaked Pieces of the guardian's power, and returned them to Kira Delgado, fighting a powerful demon called the World Eater, and saved Ryllian from the demons. They were not able to close the portal, but having returned the guardian's full power to Kira Delgado the portal was safely protected, at least for now. Yndra herself appeared to the party, missing Asmodeon hiding inside the body of one of the party's slain members, and tasked them with a new quest. Yndra had discovered thatThe Spirited Mind was actually made up of dragons, hiding in plain sight. Yndra's divine powers had been holding the dragons back from entering Ryllian's main continent but something was sapping her powers and allowing the dragons to return. They had formed an army, led by an ancient foe, Nero the Necrobutcher. Nero the Necrobutcher's sword had been linked to the dragon's power and had been draining the magic from Ryllian. The heroes needed to gather allies, lead the Army of the Gods, and destroy Nero the Necrobutcher before his sword could fully destroy Yndra's power.

The heroes, led by Havok Gulbrand, Yndra's champion, successfully united the peoples of Ryllian under their banner and destroyed The Spirited Mind's army, killing Nero the Necrobutcher and shattering his sword.

The assassination of the gods

Some time later Asmodeon returned to Ryllian after a trip through The Nine Hells and The Abyss, with a soul in tow. He set his sights on killing Yndra and the other gods.

Since the beginning, the Spire has been surrounded by the Astral Sea, a vast ocean of silvery fog and dark space containing portals to every floor of the Spire. It is only here that one begins to get a feeling for the true immensity of the Spire and the hundreds of worlds contained within.

The Spire itself stands at the heart of the Sea, an immense black tower with no bottom or top, and the Sea spreads out from there for endless leagues. Rumor says that if one were to travel all the way to the edge of the Sea one would find the inverted curvature of the Spire walls as though the entire Sea were actually contained within the walls of the Spire, but none can prove they have seen such a thing. 

There are four main regions of the Astral Sea: The Shallows, Chaos Currents, Dark Space, and The Wilds.

Navigating through the Astral Sea is extremely difficult due to a lack of directional meaning and ever shifting natural landmarks. Most of the sailors of the Sea refer to the Spire as the Center and orient their directions around that, choosing to keep their ships oriented as though the Spire is ‘down’. Navigation requires skill, magic, and a knowledge of the landmarks scattered around the Sea.

A group of adventurers found themselves on a train headed to The New Frontier. The train was jumped by a group of bandits, the The Free Company of Brethren, whose mechanical humanoids tore into the train. The robbery was stopped by this group of adventurers, Osiris Deschain, Kazimir the Artist, Thorin Stonefoot, and Telos Kirak. These adventurers bonded through this experience, and eventually found themselves in Ectin Falls, the semi capital of The New Frontier. There, they began taking on small jobs, but quickly found themselves embroiled in a hunt for a murderer. This murderer turned out to be Kilvar Stonefoot, Thorin’s brother, who was demonically possessed. During the hunt for Kilvar, Kazimir was magically sent to a demi plane where some sort of devilish entity made a link to him.

After driving Kilvar out of Ectin Falls, the group attends a party at a local baron’s home. There, The Free Company of Brethren once again make an appearance, but are once again stopped by the group. While at the party Kazimir fulfills a contract to kill the local priest. Some of the party recognize that something is off about a few of the guests, and follow them back to a local hotel, the Laughing Stock Hotel. That night, the inn keeper at their inn is captured and taken out of town. When the party follows, they discover that the inn keeper’s captors are wererats. An assassin shows up hunting Kazimir, and while the party successfully kills the assassin, who is also revealed to be a werebeast known as Brother Cloudwalker working for an organization known as The Family, the inn keeper is killed.

The party returns, and investigates the Laughing Stock Hotel. Discovering that the Hotel is the headquarters for the werebeasts, they accept an invitation and Osiris and Kazimir attend a meeting with the leader of the werebeasts, a Master Osslaught. The conversation devolves into conflict, where both Kazimir and Osiris are slain before the party manages to kill off most of the werebeasts, blowing up the hotel and escaping into the woods. Osiris is saved by a combination of magical energy from Yndra and Kira Delgado, against his wishes. Kazimir is offered a deal by the devil he had previously been tied to. If he would give this devil his body, the devil would allow him to keep his life for a period of time to accomplish his remaining goals. Kazimir accepted.

The party discovers that Kazimir is cursed by the werebeast disease, but the party cures him that evening.

After spending some time recuperating in Ectin Falls, Osiris leaves the party, headed to a confrontation with Yndra. The party is hired by the Shunt Mining Company to go and discover what is happening with one of their mining towns, Tenpenny. On the way the party discovers that Kazimir now has a devil riding around inside of his body, and they also meet a Goliath named Gor Iceclaw who travels with them, and a human named Shep. 

Upon arriving in Tenpenny, the party discovers that the town has been overrun by demons, led by Kilvar, who is now called the Prophet. The Prophet reveals that there is a prophecy and that several members of the party are caught up in that prophecy. The party kills the Prophet, finally freeing Kilvar from the demonic entity. However, during the fight, it is revealed that Gor is working for The Spirited Mind, and a Mind hit squad comes into the town hunting Kazimir, or rather his devil passenger. Shep tries to turn the party against Gor, however the party sides with Gor in the confusion and Shep leaves. Gor, attempting to help free Kazimir from his devil passenger, casts a spell on Kazimir, flinging both Kazimir and the devil, a being known as Asmodeon, out of Kazimir’s body, also revealing that Asmodeon held a blood soaked piece of the prophecy, the sword, while Kazimir held a piece, the knife. During the struggle, Kazimir fails to regain his body and dies. Asmodeon regains control over Kazimir’s body and flees, taking the knife piece after Telos ended up with the sword piece. Asmodeon is captured by the Spirited Mind, but is then freed by Shep.

Gor is taken by the Mind hit squad after they fail to capture Asmodeon, and Telos and Thorin are left to head back to Ectin Falls alone.

During this time, Osiris is seen to be travelling to Wardvin, where he confronts Yndra. Angry with her, he uses a dagger he took from Kilvar to attack her. He is immediately possessed by a demon. His attack fails to kill Yndra and he is captured by her Marked guards.

The party reconvenes in Ectin Falls, where they meet with Asmodeon and three new people met along the way, Havok Gulbrand, Serico Mahn'davi, and Verboden. Asmodeon reveals that the party needs to collect the rest of the blood soaked pieces of the prophecy or the world will be overrun by demons. The pieces, Sword, Knife, King, Queen, and Fool, have found themselves together in the party except for the Queen. Telos, carrying the Fool and Sword pieces, gives them up to Havok, and leaves. The rest of the party travels to find the Queen piece. Along the way they meet a Half-orc by the name of Kon Kirak, who reveals himself to be Telos’ adopted father. The party fights the Spirited Mind hit squad once again, defeating them. 

Telos, meanwhile, attempts a hostile takeover of the Rough Riders, the New Frontier’s lawmen. He fails, but still joins the Rough Riders. The party and Telos all find themselves at the headquarters of the Free Company of Brethren, where the Queen piece is revealed to be. A meeting is happening between several organizations, but the meeting dissolves into hostility and chaos. Telos kills his father Kon in the chaos, the party frees a collection of women and children, one of whom carries the Queen piece, and escapes, taking Telos with them.

The Queen, united with the other pieces, teleports the party just outside the town of Twin Rivers, where a portal to the Warrior of Light is. The Warrior of Light is the person they need to get the blood soaked pieces to. There they reconvene with Asmodeon, and discover that the town is home to a dwarf, Bjorn Bloodaxe, who had been Kazimir’s ultimate target, and the source of his unfinished business. Asmodeon, vowing to complete the prophecy and also to finish Kazimir’s unfinished business, leads the party into the town. There, they sneak into the mine, and find a creature called the Gatekeeper, and a reborn Osiris. Osiris tries to convince the party to turn back, but is discovered to be possessed by a demon. The party fights and kills Osiris and the Gatekeeper, opening a portal to a demiplane where the Warrior of Light is. There, they fight their way through an army of demons surrounding the Warrior of Light, who is barely holding the demons at bay. They are also joined by Fallon, an interdimensional hopping Bard. The party fights and kills a massive demon called the World Eater, along with a once again reborn Osiris in the form of a demonic death knight. The Warrior of Light, revealed to be Kira Delgado, Osiris’ old flame, is given the blood soaked pieces and returned to her full power. Asmodeon leaves, after getting the party to promise they would kill Bjorn Bloodaxe for Kazimir, stating that he had unfinished business in the 9 Hells. The party exits through a portal, and finds themselves on top of a mountain, face to face with the goddess Yndra herself. Yndra informs the party that the dragons had returned, and she needed their help to save Ryllian.

Discovering that the Spirited Mind had been a front for Dragons all along and that they had been the ones sapping the magic from the world in order to destroy Yndra’s banishment of them from Ryllian, the party returns to Twin Rivers. Verboden discovers that he remembers more and more of who he is, and that he is a dragon who had betrayed his kind for Yndra, long ago. Returning to Twin Rivers, the party fights and kills both Bjorn Bloodaxe, as well as a dragon.

The party travels back to Ectin Falls, and begins recruiting warriors to join them in the fight against the Spirited Mind, who is amassing an army in the Cursed Lands. The party recruits the Rough Riders, several mining companies, and joins with the Army of the Gods before taking the fight to the Spirited Mind. Fallon makes a deal with Asmodeus himself to bring Kazimir back to life, promising the souls of a large amount of people in return, or if unsuccessful, his own soul. Kazimir returns and joins the party momentarily before leaving to recruit his Artist’s Guild in the fight. Fallon enters the Dark Tower, a Spire in the Cursed Lands, meeting a wizard, and tries to get his assistance in the fight. The wizard gives Fallon a magic item, warning him not to take it out of his pocket. 

The final confrontation occurs, and the party leads the army to victory over Nero the Necroblade, the leader of the Spirited Mind army, an old foe of Havok’s. Yndra thanks the party, recognizing Verboden, but he turns away from her, and she leaves him be. Fallon, having failed to fulfill his contract with Asmodeus due to the magical item in his pocket allowing the wizard to take the souls of the fallen instead of the devil lord, begins to be taken by Asmodeus but is instead taken by the wizard, who offers him a job.

The rest of the party scatters to their own business. Kazimir returns to the 9 Hells to seek out a way to rescue the soul of his friend Osiris, thus beginning a new journey.