The bards tell us of a time when our world was peaceful and calm, until a group of miners dug too deep in the mountains, searching for lifestones. They let loose many evil monsters, including dark elves, those sealed up deep down from a time unremembered. This is the beginning of our current misfortune, though it took many thousands of years to come about.

     During the barbarian and Brechin trade war, the nagas, vicious snake-men, used a powerful statue, created by a burgeoning dark elf mage, and tricked the humans into trapping the God Dorr for them. The backlash of the crime wreaked havoc all through Aleria as Dorr’s father, Din roared with fury. The barbarians, dwarves, and Krieg humans suffered through earthquakes, volcanoes, and massive storms. The barbarians were left with one God and the Anza humans had none. 

     Several heroes, including our beloved barbarian hero Retter Ketill, set out to track down the statue and free Dorr. The scorpid (horrid scorpion-men) and the naga sensed the weakness caused by the missing God. They joined forces and attacked the Brechin Kingdom. 

     The trade conflict abruptly ended at the rise of the ensuing threat, and the barbarians and humans quickly formed an alliance to recover the stolen God and fend off the scorpid and naga, thus marking the beginning of the First Great War. The hostilities ended shortly after the heroes destroyed the statue and released Dorr. In celebration, the father God Din heralded the beginning of a New Age.

     Peace reigned for 614 years before the coming of the Second Great War. The dark elf who’d created the statue which brought about the first war, had done so as a test of loyalty and skill from the evil Goddess Valta. During the years of peace, he grew into a powerful and ambitious mage, fed by his hatred of those above. With Valta’s guidance, he created a globe that bled liquid black into the sky, blotting out the sun. Without the sunlight, and the terrible fear it infused in the cave dwelling dark elves, the hordes were free to spill out over the land, bringing conquest through annihilation.

     Mages throughout the west gathered in Forfarshire to hold back the encroaching dark sky. Heroes were sent to find the source of the darkness, but Valta was prepared against such a move and killed the only one powerful enough to thwart her plans. Unfortunately for her, the gods Din and Brujar had made backup plans of their own. A young mage, untested and unknowing of the role she was slated to play, was left unmarked, and therefore, undetectable by Valta. Since she lost potential worshipers in the past due to a marked hero, Valta constantly searched for another so marked. 

     The heroes, including the mighty Sven Bjorr, a barbarian of great renown, made their way east through the desert to the Nightfall Mountains, and on to the entrance of the dark elf domain. Amidst casualties, they destroyed the Globe of Darkness. Once the sphere was gone, the magicians in Forfarshire were able to dissipate the remnants of the black magic, sending the dark elves into a panic stricken retreat.

     The Third Great War began in 928 NA. The sweetness of victory had been inflated and handed down to new generations. The human kings believed they possessed the highest favor of the Gods, that this made them invincible. They knew the bard’s song of the Aleria that once was, and envisioned righting that grave mistake. They banded together, conspiring to gain glory of their own, by driving the evil back underground in the east. The crusade pulled in other races, those also eager for the grandeur of war, the epic songs and poems, or perhaps, being wiser, hoping to regain a safe world.

     The Third Great War started out large, but dwindled at the end. Evil was pushed back to the Hinterland and the Grimalkin Forests, but never quite made it to the mountains. Not even close to the entrance of the underground world. After the war, with the forces of good retreating, disillusioned with the realities of war, evil slowly seeped out into the deserted spaces. 

     The dwarves and lumen, good races that live underground, were very displeased with the crusade. They didn’t want the evil left near their mountain lands rather than be pushed back all the way to their own domain in the Depths of Peril. Their relations with the humans became strained during and after the war.  

     In the year 1142 NA, in the Era of Steel, evil consolidated its forces in the east and marched west, beginning the Fourth Great War. Inspired by evil gods and led by Draaien, a cunning orc, and Ciglio, a powerful necromancer, the campaign for power and revenge burned all in its path. The humans, barbarians, elves, teratai (fish-men), dwarves and lumen gathered what resources they could to hold back the waves of evil and death. 

     City after city fell to chaos and destruction. The barbarian’s last stand at Drasill failed as orcs and undead ripped the place apart. Many refugees crossed the Drafty Sea to Firespear Island. Others fled into hiding. Evil won and ruled all of Aleria, but with no war to bind them, the orcs, traitorous humans, saurian and nagas fought amongst each other. We don’t know what started it, but thank the gods it happened. The dark energy then turned inward tearing the monstrous armies to shreds.

     And so now we come to the present.

     My friend, this is the time when all races, those of us that have survived, must unite to drive back the monsters. Many barbarians have already begun to rebuild their lives from the ruins and ashes. Before the survivors unite, a leader must prevail, above all others. And it is from these competitive warriors that a leader will rise.

     In the once bountiful trade city of Jorvik, political factions are forming into covenants of those vying to lead our people. The covenant you’ve begun is but one of many. Do you have what it takes to rise up the ranks and lead our people to glory? Will you be the one chosen to save our world?

References: Barbarian, Human, Dwarf, Elf, Lumen, Teratai, Retter, Sven, Draaien, Ciglio, Orc, Scorpid, Scorpion, Dark Elf, Saurian, Naga