It’s not every day that an entire new continent appears out of nowhere, but Ashenfall really wanted to be different to everywhere else. They say that the clouds just parted and there it was, an entire region, unveiled as if by magic.
Which, of course it was.
The lure of exploration sparked a great deal of interest. Wealthy backers reached out to adventurers across the realm and promised them a land of wonder, mystery and undiscovered riches.
“Riches” appealed immediately to the old hero Dionysius, aka the Wise Old Man, who never felt that he really got the life of luxury he deserved for all his decades of selfless heroism. He met with the backers and they hastily agreed to make him the leader of this expedition. More accurately he told them he would be the leader, and none of them had a strong enough shield to disagree.
Seeing it as a learning opportunity, the Wise Old Man reached out to his latest student, a young man named Cathan, and encouraged him to join up. After all, what better training could you offer than the wild and dangerous unknown?
In turn, Cathan encouraged other adventurers, including his other tutors, Zanik – the cave goblin adventurer, and Vannaka – a slayer master with a need to prove himself. At first they turned him down, but stories and legends of these new lands soon reached the two of them and they could not turn their curiosity away.
Finally, the dwarf Doric, found himself lured into the expedition, after a very foolish night’s drinking. It had seemed like such a good idea when his brain was swimming in mead, but in the morning after, once he’d signed himself up, he found himself overcome with regret.
Still, along with a small group of brave adventurers, the expedition members set forth, sailing north from the mainland, across the ocean in search of new horizons.
It didn’t go according to plan.
As they reached the shores of Ashenfall, and the lush green region of Brynmoor, the sky darkened, and the air filled with the deafening sounds of beating wings. Dragons, a legion of them, descended from the sky and tore the expedition fleet apart. As the fires tore through the ships, the dragons laughed.
“Queen Kuldra bids you welcome!” they sneered as the expedition turned to ash.
Only a few members made it to shore, dragging themselves onto the land, exhausted, beaten and bruised. For days they survived by the skin of their teeth, relying on the strange magic that this continent provided. Anima was freely available, bursting out of the very earth itself. Magic, pretty much on tap.
When they found the remnants of human civilization, it raised questions. Who had lived here? What had happened to them? Though the dark shape of the dragon, Velgar, in the sky, felt like the answer to the last question.
Within a temple on the top of the hill, overlooking the endless blue seas, they found the remnants of an ancient lodestone and this sparked the opportunity they needed. After repairing the lodestone the Wise Old Man reached out with a magical message to the waiting explorers in the mainland: “Come to Ashenfall, be ready for trouble.”
You didn’t have much going for you on the mainland. A series of unfortunate events had robbed you of home, wealth and status. You had nothing to your name but the clothes on your back and when you heard the message you knew you had nothing to lose.
This adventure offered a new start, a chance to make something of yourself. So you took the opportunity and answered the call.
Ashenfall awaits!