Zero

Long ago -- so long ago that it lies nearly forgotten in our oldest myths -- magic was alive in the world. The races of the world -- dwarf and elf, ork and human -- learned to wield these mystic energies and began to build cities and civilizations. It was the dawn of a golden age -- an age of legend.

But, like all things, this blooming paradise of art and culture would not last forever. An elf scholar named Elianar Messias, while translating some ancient books he had found in a remote monastery, learned that as the magic level of the world rose, it would allow foul, demonic creatures from the depths of astral space to cross the void, invade our world, and wreak untold havoc. This knowledge so unnerved Messias that he tore his eyes from his head, burnt them in a fire, and vanished into the night.

In the hopes of finding some way to prevent the arrival of these entities -- called Horrors -- Messias's protégé Kearos Navarim took the fragmented notes his mentor left behind and founded a retreat where scholars and magicians from all over the world could come and share their knowledge with one another. He Named the place Thera, which means "Foundation," to indicate that this place would be the foundation of the world's survival.

After decades of work and study, they learned that while there was no way to prevent the Horrors from coming, their time in the world was limited. Just as the rise of magic brought them to our plane, the ebb of magic would drive them away. All that would be needed was patience -- four hundred years of patience.

Kearos Navarim unveiled the first stage of their great work -- the Rites of Protection and Passage. The mystic wards and protections contained in the rites would allow the people of the world to survive the Horrors' depredations. Whether behind the magically reinforced walls of their cities, or the warded and trapped labyrinth of an underground kaer, these places would provide safe haven during the time of the Horrors -- which came to be known as the Scourge.

The Therans were not interested in simply giving the Rites away, however. The settlement had grown over the years, and the construction of their citadel would cost a great deal in both materials and labor. If other lands wanted to share in the Theran rites, they would have to pay -- one way or another.

In order to secure the magical rites needed to protect them from the coming Horrors, many cities and nations raided their neighbors, selling them to the Therans as slaves -- this met the Theran's need for cheap labor. Many smaller villages and towns, unable to pay the asking price for the Rites, sold themselves into slavery, feeling it was better to survive a slave -- and hope that their descendents would earn their freedom -- than be devoured or driven mad by the Horrors.

As time passed, and the wealth earned from their virtual monopoly on the Rites of Protection and Passage rolled in, the island became the center of a powerful magical empire.

Nations went to war over the resources needed to construct effective defenses -- most precious of all was the magical metal orichalcum. Without this rare and valuable mineral, even the most physically defensible kaer or citadel would fall before the magical might of the Horrors.

Finally, after centuries of preparation, the Scourge arrived. Thera sealed its citadel, and the other nations of the world retreated to whatever haven they had constructed to wait out the long night.

Generations lived and died in the kaers, never seeing the sun, never knowing the touch of the wind on their face. During the four hundred years of the Horrors' reign on the surface, many kaers and citadels fell, their people slaughtered, their culture and heritage lost forever.

But as with all things, time -- and the Scourge -- passed. Gradually, the peoples of the world returned to the surface, finding the world changed. Where there had once been lush valleys and verdant forests the Horrors had left blasted wastelands and twisted, poisonous jungles. Even in the face of such devastation, there was hope. The Scourge was over, and those who had survived would reclaim the world, rebuilding and rediscovering all they had lost.

The efforts to reclaim the surface are spearheaded by adepts, individuals who pursue mystical philosophies that allow them to shape and wield the magical energies of the world. Some of these magical practitioners cast spells, but many channel their magic into more physical arts, like the Warrior who toughens his skin and strengthens his muscle, or the Beastmaster who communes with and takes on qualities of the animal world.

While this new age is marked by a new hope, the legacy of the Horrors lives on. Not all of the foul beings retreated to their astral home as the magic fell, and not all of the breached kaers were exterminated. Some survived by making Faustian pacts, buying themselves time by sacrificing others to their new dark masters.

The Horrors aren't the only threat, either. Thera survived the Scourge as well, and their magical airships have gone out into the world once again. In their mind, the world owes its survival to them, and the Therans intend to collect on that debt. The people of the world will pay one way or another -- and the Empire sill has a demand for cheap labor.