Dark Ages

The world of Miranda had been forcibly reshaped by those who draw upon the power of the Empyrean Dragon who sleeps at its core. A large war had been fought over the entire planet and it left the civilizations of the Age of Legends in ruin. With the Black Gates now closed and the Great Machines silent, Miranda resumed her long slumber. The mortals who still lived on Miranda faced a a near endless cycle of fire, pestilence, war, famine.

Those races of the gods were left cut off from the beings that had created them. Many of them either left this world or simply entered a long sleep.

The elves retreated to the deep forests and wept for the punishment they foretold was now here. The mortals of this world would not listen and in their foolishness they nearly awoke the dragon of this world. The elves would ultimately pay the price as they would be forever changed. They would give up themselves in order to save the world.

The dwarves were made to pay for their sins as the Earthmother sent all but a tenth to work as slaves for the giants. The tenth that she kept near would be sheltered in Stoneheart Hold until the world was whole once more.

The world of Miranda had been damaged by the primal power of the outsiders. Lands that had been cracked now shattered into thousands fragments, the seas rushing in to fill the void. Large volcanic eruptions spewed black ash into the sky, threatening to blot out the sun and kill all life on the world. These ash clouds dropped black rain from them, killing crops and animals with equal abandon.

For over 10 million years life teetered on the brink of annihilation. Those mortals who managed to survive had changed over the years. Gone were the great cities, instead small communities sheltered in the shadow of volcanoes hoping to survive. The was a world of kill or be killed for those left behind. Most of the mortal races created by The Ancients went extinct before the sun once again shone upon the land and the seas no longer raged.

As the world once again settled down and the dragon Miranda returned to her long slumber, the mortals who survived began to built civilizations anew. Small villages became towns and towns became cities. Rising above all others were people of immense power that were referred to only as The Masters. These Masters were each able to summon forth power only seen before in The Ancients or outsiders.

They did not use this power to help other mortals survive, instead they used them to conquer and control.

One of the new masters, Gelin, forged a plan to save him. Each of the cities contained a giant crystal that served to gather and harness the magical essence for all to use. He would take these crystals by force and use their power to sustain his own existence. By these words, he gathered about him powerful followers and began the thousand-year war.

At first the cities fell without defense, as during the decades of peace and prosperity people lost the will for war. However, soon enough the cities began to mount their own offensive against the forces of Gelin. Occasionally larger cities would conquer the smaller ones, as their own crystal could no longer sustain their war.

They created powerful monsters and essence-infused warriors to do battle on a titanic scale. However, in the end the cities began to fall as their armies were defeated or joined Gelin. Once his victory was assured many of the remaining masters began acts of desperation. Some used the last of the crystals to move the city to different realms, while others mounted assaults on the gates to close them permanently.

Gelin slew the last of the masters who opposed him and built his throne from their skulls. From high atop the black mountain of Barshnor he ruled with an iron fist. All would swear loyalty to him or suffer under his power. Even the sun refused to shine, as the years were populated by a dim half-light punctuated by storms. He ruled for thousands of years until the Magi returned.

What brings them together as a nation is not only a fierce defense of the highlands, but binding oaths made to Alderok. Alderok, also called the Honor's Bite, is to have been the weapon wielded by Vayne when he slew the Chaos Lord Sanmmuhhphir to end the Dark Ages and trumpet the Return of the Gods. Alderok was given the men of these lands so they may stand against the darkness.