Alhikaya

The Tale of the eternal cycle of destruction and rebirth is kept by the word of the earth, its surface a tomb for countless civilizations hidden beneath a mysterious, ever-present cover of clouds. Hundreds of thousands of forgotten souls struggle for survival in the vast forests, deep oceans, barren wastes, and mysterious ruins obscured from the sky. Only those lucky enough to live on the mountains can see the stars and worry little about what secrets remain in the darkness below.  
  Once, a child possessed by desire and destiny inspired a group of twenty-one adventurers of the four civilized mountain races below the clouds on a moonless night. Many years passed before only that one soul returned, accompanied by a dozen representatives of the races below and followed by hundreds more kept at bay by the power of the clouds. The child, now an adult, demonstrated a new power they called magic and introduced a new era of prosperity for their kin and allies. During their remaining years, they acted as an ambassador of peace for pilgrims chosen by these twelve emissaries of the strange civilizations from beneath the clouds.   Life, knowledge, and trade flourished far beyond their life and the memory of the heroism of the Murahiq.   Centuries have passed since the return of the magic-bringer. The mountain dwellers learned from what they were given, further developing technology with magic and prying for knowledge of the unknown. The passage of time and the safety of their lands warped, created, and buried many names, ideas, and omens; and in those many years, the clouds that once stretched across the world began to recede and dissipate, that once steadfast barrier between the worlds waning with each passing generation.   In recent memory, the people on the mountain grew paranoid and restless. Walls were erected and fortified, militias formed and tensions between city-states grew desperate, and the many descendants of the twelve emissaries of the magic-bringer remained were shunned, harassed, and even persecuted. The well-trodden wilderness within the walls suddenly grew wild, home to feral creatures known and new, and pockets of the cloud cover appeared in the depths of the forests and crags nestled in the recesses of their mountain lands.   You have grown up in a society that has never known respite from this fear and even your young intuition suggests the elders themselves are uncertain who or what is to blame. Still, you live in relative prosperity, free to pursue apprenticeship in a variety of practices, participate in the mirth of youthful traditions and experiences within the high wall, and prepare for a life led more by your own curiosity than others' expectations.   Occasionally, in the midst of your daily errands, you spend a moment in the town square to stare into the unblinking eyes the mithril statue of the Murahiq; and occasionally, you sense it staring back at you.  
  One moonless night, a strange wind blows from beyond the high wall and mysterious lights shine in the distance...