The year is 923 of the fifth age, and it is a time of optimism: a bright future is emerging from the darkness of the mage wars, explorers travel the globe in search of adventure, zeppelins and skyscrapers fill the air, and the old gods have adapted well to life in the jazz age. The year is 923 of the fifth age, and it is a time of despair: in the aftermath of the mage war, the spectre of death has claimed a generation, communities have been displaced and dispersed, and the bright lights of success cast deep shadows.