Etharis

From its deep and forbidding forests, where horrible beasts lurk, to the hulking and impenetrable mountains ranges where lost legacies lie, the landscape of Etharis is formidable. However, the true monsters of this land can be found in the degenerating cities of old, where humanity clings to survival.   Large swaths of Etharis are shrouded in darkness, supernatural and otherwise. In the farthest north the sun is hidden half the year in the natural progression of seasons. It’s no surprise, either, that the deep halls of the dwarves are plunged in darkness. But the darkness shrouding the land of Ostoya is more sinister and magical in origin, and in the forests of the Charneault Kingdom, the dense mist that covers the land is the work of benign spirits—or at least spirits that bend to the will of mortals, for good and evil. The people of all these lands have adapted to a hostile environment. Punishing storms are frequent across the land, foreshadowed by howling winds and then drenching rain. Where the sun never dries the ground, mud is a constant fact of life. The crops that grow are strange and bitter. For most people, there is no safety outside the radius of a torch’s glow.   Civilization dots through the land as islands of light surrounded by the unforgiving terrain of shadowy forests, rough mountainscapes, and sinking bogs. Travellers are often met with suspicious gazes by locals who have never left the isolation of their home village.   Sickness and malnutrition are common and expected throughout the land of Etharis. However, there is one illness that is feared above the others. The Weeping Pox is widespread across the western coasts of the continent and frequently strikes harbours and coastal settlements. Distinguishable by the deep red lesions it creates in the skin of the infected, the disease is a death sentence for most.   Superstition and prejudice run deep. In most towns and villages across Etharis, magic is seen as both wondrous and frightening. Whether understood or not, the arcane is mistrusted and often blamed for problems ranging from the failure of a season’s crops to the success of a rival’s business. Many innocent people have been caught on the wrong end of superstition. The fear of magic runs deeper in some parts of Etharis than others. In the southern region of Castinella, this fear has manifested into an organized crusade against the arcane: the Arcanist Inquisition. The inquisitors are dedicated to destroying the arcane and anyone who stands to defend it.   You see this world belongs to the darkness and it will not give it up so easily. You cannot change any of this. the sun will rise tomorrow and the poor will starve, the infected will perish, and men will continue killing in the name of kings and holy men. of this i am certain. because that is your nature. and i have witnessed it for centuries.   Welcome to Etharis. We'll see if you survive.