Valmautéra

The times of prehistory paint an image of a world of incredible wonders, enveloped by continent-spanning civilizations. It is a world that can only be viewed through the shattered lens of its undoing. From those fragments come glimpses of a domain beyond imagination, where magic was mastered, life was untouched by scarcity and the people wanted only for passion and ambition. Great scholars, mages and artisans of their world crafted beautiful and potent works, the likes of which are imagined only by dreamers and poets today.   This is not our world. Devastated by The Rending, Valmautéra is a living ruin.   Unpredictable and unforgiving, the world is often inhospitable and ever dangerous. Though Magic in Valmautéra is abundant and innate to most people, it is wild and difficult to control. Nature claws at the boundaries of civilization, and the very earth itself shakes with the fury of The Temblor - threatening to swallow whole settlements into the depths of The Shattergloom. The wilds have been reclaimed by predatory beasts and suffused with treacherous phenomena, the origin of which are often mysterious. These outlands are savage and lawless, and what tribes or bands of brigands eke out a living there are as much a danger to travelers and adventurers as anything else in the world.   For those brave and foolish enough to seek adventure away from civilization, Valmautéra is rich with unclaimed treasures, unsolved mysteries and ancient, unexplored ruins above and beneath the surface of the world. The most venturesome, madcap adventurers might seek to become a Delver - ranging deep into The Shattergloom beneath the surface to explore the ruins of the old world. These ancient and twisted vestiges are rich with trinkets, treasures and forgotten knowledge, but nowhere is more dangerous or unpredictable in Valmautéra. Few Delvers live long enough to be successful, but those that do inspire those down on their luck or blind with ambition to pursue their dreams of fame and fortune.   The surface world is not without allure for the aspiring adventurer. Though many small enclaves of peoples inhabit the wilds - scattered across the lands - much of the world is strange and unexplored. When the great civilization of The Antecedents fell, it left in its wake a yawning void, and Valmautéra did not wait long to fill it. Creeping from dark places, seeping into the world come primeval and sinister magics from a time before the first, solitary fires of civilization flickered into life. These ancient curiosities offer promises of power and riches to those that can find and harness them, but they are not without their defenders; peoples of the wilds who prize the sanctity of the old ways over the smoke and steel of progress.   Life is harsh and often short on Valmautéra. Will you stand with the last of us against the darkness, stoking the fires of civilization, or will you tear down the monuments to the folly of the old world and embrace the terrible beauty of the new one?