Amberia

This world was created by the Gods for reasons unknown to its inhabitants. Over time, the people of the world divided into various countries and groups based on a large variety of factors such as race, religion, culture, etc. These factions warred amongst themselves ceaselessly, saddening the Gods. They agreed that the wars must be stopped so as to save their creation from self-destruction. Thus the Dungeon was born. From this place, hordes of monsters spawned which began to ravage the landscape and threaten the world. So the myriad of factions were forced to throw away their differences and form an alliance to fight back against the onslaught. This alliance fought bitterly for years, suffering terrible losses despite their heroic efforts. Ultimately, they could not beat back the waves of powerful monsters. Finally, when the last remnants of sentient races were pushed to the brink of extinction, they pleaded to the Gods with all of their strength. And the Gods answered. Various large, glowing orbs fell from the Heavens and upon touching one, some individuals were given a choice to accept a patron God or Goddess. Once accepted, that volunteer would be granted magical powers capable of fighting against the monsters. The orbs were named Conduits. With their new found powers, the people fought the hordes back to the Dungeon. They continued their battle march inside where they found the deeper they traversed into the Dungeon, the more powerful the monsters became, until they grew too powerful to fight. Additionally, over time, the monsters which had previously been slain would respawn. They retreated back to the surface and quickly learned two important things. First, as long as the monsters were periodically slain in the dungeon, and were not allowed to spawn unchecked, they wouldn't come to the surface. Second, if they returned to a Conduit, then their patron would share additional powers based on all they had done since they had last communicated. As time passed, the different factions of powered people created an independent organization called The Accord which was tasked with organizing the efforts of powered individuals into the Dungeon. The organization took control of the surrounding area, as well as many of the Conduits which had fallen from the Heavens. Then it required that those who wished to delve into the Dungeon had to register their powers. Registered individuals were assigned levels based on how powerful they were and offered contracts where, in order to continue to explore, they paid a fee. Those that registered began creating guilds for the like-minded, as it became necessary to work in groups in order to survive in the much deeper, deadlier floors of the dungeon. While the Dungeon remained perilous, a new economy began to emerge from the efforts of those brave souls who sought the unknown depths and, as more people answered the call, the allure of the Dungeon evolved from survival to adventure.   Thus, the age of war had ended, and the age of adventurers began.