Tibre

Welcome to Ketal—a sprawling continent of harsh wildernesses scattered with the skeletal remains of forgotten civilizations.

Stretching from the coast of the Kayless Sea in the west to the borders of the Gra-kal Desert in the east, the vast region of Gelland is littered with city-states whose various seats of power have changed hands numerous times over hundreds of years of war, marriage, and political scheming between the elites of the different cities.

However, the region has experienced centuries of unprecedented peace and stability since the Elvish nation of Ysalia closed its borders and retreated into the forest 300 years ago. While the United Confederacy of Human Lands that formed to address the elvish threat was dissolved shortly after its victory over Ysalia, its legacy lives on in a web of political agreements that amounts to a tenuous alliance between the various ruling powers of Gelland. Perhaps more importantly, the Unified Church of the Righteous Divines has unified the faith of the various peoples of Gelland in just a few short centuries, and the Church holds great political sway throughout the region.

Life for the common people has become both safer and easier, as once-rival states now cooperate to guard the northern reaches of Gelland against the strange, nomadic tribes of wild men and marauding bands of orcs that inhabit the northern tundra, and the era of stability has allowed trade relationships to flourish, not only between human states, but also with the gnomes of the Glittering Isles to the northwest and the legendary dwarven craftsmen of the Dur-Talek Mountains far to the south.

The peace has lasted so long now that the days of constant warring over land and power have faded into obscure history. But the world is still a dangerous place. Goblinoids and other vile creatures haunt the wildernesses of Ketal, and in many places long, unguarded roads separate civilized cities. There is a great deal of money to be made for capable mercenaries, and more still for unscrupulous ones.

What's more, there are whispers of change in the west. The former king of Pistorium has died, and his successor has reformed the Pistorium Alliance into the Empire of Gell, named herself Queen-Empress, and declared war on the practice of witchcraft.