Deltora

Enough treachery had been wrought during the years after the Cataclysm, but as the world began to rebuild itself new powers also arose. In a fight to reshape the world in their own image, factions of tremendous might wield their armadas and weapons against each other at the brink of war.

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Nearly 300 years ago, the world was decimated by an intense cataclysm. With it came the destruction and fracturing of nearly every continent. Earthquakes rocked every city. All were created equal as the world was reduced to a shadow of itself. Those that survived still struggle to reach the glory and might that once was.   The fractured world of Deltora is scarred by a nigh-unstoppable torrent of swirling water surrounding the Maelstrom, the epicentre of the great cataclysm nearly 300 years ago. Shards of the continent that once existed where the maelstrom now spins lay jutting out of the swirling ocean in kilometre-long shards of still sharp rock. No ship has ever survived a trip to the Maelstrom, but the new world has found that travel is still possible by going around with the global current.

The cataclysm also triggered the appearance of magic and with it wizards, sorcerers, the Fae, and monstrous abominations. Magic is a new, barely-understood, unknown force, but many still attempt to study and wield this new untapped source of power.

Intense and frequent surges of wild magic have corrupted many creatures into abominations, or introduced entirely new species to the world, more so closer to the maelstrom. Areas high in magic potential often coalesce into elemental beings made of pure magical energy intent on nothing but chaos, further hampering efforts to rebuild. Fae creatures, already adept in the use of magic, quickly conquered whole lands from their crippled inhabitants shortly after their arrival.

Tensions are high between the factions. What was once a steady truce was fractured by the cataclysm, forcing factions to look after their own and distrust outsiders. Some factions fared better than others when the cataclysm hit, leading to further rivalry for the resources that remained and over those that had just begun to form. Any alliances still left standing are thin at best, and rivalries have never been more fierce. Allies from before the cataclysm still have settlements in each other's territory, mainly for trade, but their presence is very unstable with the threats of war in the air. Some even believe a dark cult works in the shadows, bringing about conflict between the factions intentionally so they may complete their goals unhampered, but there is no proof to support this claim.

In recent years the maelstrom has begun to act worse, spewing forth demons, dragons, and otherworldly monstrosities at a faster rate. Some say that the maelstrom is winding up for a second cataclysm, of which no one will survive.

Can the Angleans unearth the secrets of the Ancients from generations ago and restore the world to its glory days? Will the Barronese reclaim their homeland and rescue those who seek to escape persecution with both might and church? Is the world ready for the Yai'sha conquest in its attempt to unite the world under one banner? Or will the world be given a chance to heal its wounds with the magic of the Chaladonians, so long as they give up the ways of old?