Drakesblood

Blood has power.   Seventeen hundred years ago, the old world fell. The Dawn War ended, where Dragon and Elf turned against their Fey rulers and fought to claim Drachen in their own names. In return, the rulers of the Fey Court cut the Leylines that held the worlds together, forever sundering our world from the magic we had once been accustomed to. Within the decade, the old empires that had once been supported by their mage-kings and great armies of fantastical power collapsed.   Our world descended into an age of darkness. Civilisation regressed to barbarism, the kind unseen for hundreds of years. Great kingdoms and empires became petty family feuds and squabbles, unable to claim more than the land their castles and forts once stood on.   Magic did not disappear, but the once powerful mages of the world that was had been reduced to mere pawns. The only remaining link to the arcane was through the power of Drakesblood - the blood of dragons themselves - which was possessed by few, and controlled by fewer. The mark of the arcane changed from a wonderous power that build nations to a evil, malicious practice that struck terror into the hearts of men. For years, witch-hunts and inquisitions spurred on by the new Church of the Hammer, an evolution of the old world religions, sought to root out the evils of this blood magic and those who practised it.   Only now, ushered in by a new age of technological revolution and integration, have we begun to reclaim what once was. After centuries of strife caused by the downfall of the Arcane and the nations and empires that were, new nations and empires have risen to stand in their place, stabilised not by the arcane, but by shrewd governance and an ever-marching technological progression. Advances in agriculture, brought on by the establishment of managed, communal farms have brought prosperity to agriculture, and even the common man grows fat off the land. Many turn their attention now to coin, and mercantile trade grows larger than ever, with advances in sailing ships allows for sailors to venture further from the coast than ever before - without fear of being lost at sea.   Even in the current era, though, the call to adventure remains strong. The frontier remains wild and unexplored, and even at home, there is much to see that one never would at home. These 'adventurers', more often thought of as wanderers or vagabonds, are often followed by the preconception that they cause little but trouble. Despite their reputation, adventurers still find their niche in Drachen's modern society, and those who find success in the wider world oft return home with riches and wealth enough to tempt others to walk the same path - despite the knowledge that many who leave will never return.   Dive in...