Shifting Ruins

The Shifting Ruins, a world once solely inhabited by the Blemmyes, the people with faces in their chests. They lived a peaceful and decadent existence, building great pyramids and wonders across their lush jungle world. The Blemmyes were also great sorcerers, the best-known of them being Khokor the Headless, the archmage and first of the great Blemmye wizards. The Blemmyes used magical Gifts, granted by their sorcerers, to allow themselves to survive and thrive among the dangerous beasts and environmental patterns of their land.   This time of prosperity for the Blemmyes ended when some sorcerers attempted to replicate one of Khokor's old spells, a spell that would revive the ancient wizard so they could have his guidance. Their mistake in performing this spell made the climate of their world even harsher, wrecked their pyramids and idols, awakened a dark god of monsters, and opened portals to the worlds of other peoples. Invaders stormed the world of the Blemmyes, and they proved to be more of a threat than any wild beast. Elves, Gnolls, and later Humans invaded and built their own kingdoms and chiefdoms among the broken land. When a particular tribe of humans called the Ishtens arrived from the portal to their homeworld, they gave the Land of Shifting Ruins its name. They observed that the ruins left by the Blemmyes moved and shifted from time to time, creating bizarre mazes that dotted the landscape. What they didn't know was that the mazes were created by the underground movements of the dark god Shashakudu.   Several centuries have passed, and the Land of Shifting Ruins, dominated by the Ishten Empire, has attained a state of modernity not seen since the initial rule of the Blemmye sorcerers. Not only humans, but Elves, Gnolls, and even Blemmyes identify themselves as Ishtens and pay tribute to the Emperor. Not only the Blemmyes have access to the magical Gifts, now. Peace and prosperity, however, cannot always remain. After all, Shashakudu still creates mazes full of monsters that have to be cleared for the safety of the populace. There is something even worse lurking in the shadows...For Khokor the Headless has been resurrected, and he has come back wrong.   The mummified sorcerer and the God of Monsters have come together, forming a dark alliance. Khokor now wields a new Gift, the Gift of Mutation. With it, he can make Shashakudu's monsters even more dangerous, and turn even the most innocent child into a snarling beast. Human, Elf, Gnoll, and Blemmye leaders have come together and chosen their representatives to go out and confront this threat to the world: An esteemed Elf warrior and his apprentice, a Gnoll alcolyte, a Blemmye wizard, and...A human man, an artisan, who just wants to protect his family. These five men have been selected to trek through the mazes, the portals, and the monsters and bring peace to the Land of Shifting Ruins once again.