THE CONTINENT

I.

There was nothingness, the Void.
Then there was Light. Then there was Chaos.
The absence of Light was Darkness.
The absence of Chaos was Order.
  The innumerable points where Light and Chaos touched spawned Planes, each a unique blend of these four Aspects of creation. The different natures of these Planes caused them to clash violently as they collided in the Void. After millennia, nineteen Planes survived to reach equilibrium.

They spin through and around each other, and they are alone in the Void.

This is the Cosmos.

Nearly all Planes have life, but one Plane--the Material Plane--is unique. Beings born in the Material Plane are gifted with tiny fragments of the Light of creation. These beings are mortals, and these fragments are souls.

Souls are life, energy, and power. They are carefully shepherded through life, death, and beyond by the gods. Extreme events can make a soul stronger, and mortals with these powerful souls can Ascend.
Ascension is the first step in apotheosis.

In the Material Plane, the World once had five Continents.

There is now one. It is smaller than it once was. All mortals live on it.

The gods have not been physically present on the Material Plane for over one thousand years, but their immortal servants and divine favors are still part of everyday life.

There is no more land to explore. Borders have been established and are occasionally contested. Civilization is advancing faster than it ever has. Studies in technology, magic, social sciences, art, and philosophy are flourishing. War is less common, but when it happens it’s more inventive, vicious, and decisive.

Explore life.

Venture beyond the Stormwall and seek out the fabled remnants of the Titanomachy.

Lose your way on the Dream Road.

Found a frontier homestead and defend it from marauders.

Enlist in an army.

Rescue a princess.

Pledge your death to the Wardens of the Northern Marches, and ensure all the old horrors stay buried.

Live, prosper, and die in the town where you were born.

Join a caravan, and journey through the Hungering Sands in search of the Jewel Cities.

Make magic.

Haggle for a dwarvish work of art in the markets of the Five Kingdoms.

Hunt black dragons—or be hunted by them—in the swamps of Assail.

Take your lover to see the singing canyons in the Wend.

Right a wrong.

Witness the walking Academy-cities of the gnomish Mechocracy.

Uncover the secret of Planar travel and visit the realms of the gods.

Get away with murder.

Find someone who can interpret the Deck of Faces and have them read your future.

Dedicate yourself to a god.

Sabotage a diplomatic conference.

Campaign to be elected as a Speaker in the Republic of Procer.

Bargain with the Crawling Inferno.

Defy Pharasma, the goddess of death and judgement, and resurrect someone.

Witness.