A grim low-fantasy world enduring an apocalyptic dark age. Runes, blood, history, and consequences.
Once, Acarus knew myth and empire. Now, civilization has collapsed into a northern bulwark on the once-fertile continent of Kalladonia - the Cradle of Man, where the Kingdom of REDCASTLE holds the line against the dark.
The Age of Myth
The two-mooned planet of Acarus has seen many epochs of Man, but none as grim as the current age; the one called the Age of Darkness.
In the earliest epoch of creation, when primordial peoples first walked the lands of Acarus, humanity discovered a power that no other race possessed: magick.
Human magick did not merely bend the tapestry of creation; it wove new strands into it. Through acts of creation and annihilation unseen by the Elves, the first human wyzards rose to power. Sorcerer-Kings reshaped continents, legendary beasts roamed the wilds, and mankind carved dominion across Acarus.
This became known as The Age of Myth, and the echoes of its wonders survive only in legend.
But the age of magick did not last.
When the stars wept their last and the currents settled to stillness, magick vanished from the world. The wyzards and wytches faded in aether,and with them went the creatures and marvels of the old age.
Over countless generations, monsters and magick passed into superstition. What had once shaped the world became nothing more than stories whispered across the centuries.
The Golden Age
From stability came prosperity.
With the yoke of supernatural chaos lifted from the Acarian people, its peoples turned inward to improve their world. Vast nations of Man, Dwarf, and Elf spread across continents, linking distant lands through trade, scholarship, and diplomacy.
Technology flourished. The scholars of the Golden Age pushed invention to extraordinary heights: great engines, intricate clockworks, and devices that bordered on the impossible. It was an era of peace and advancement unlike Acarus had ever known.
And, as with all great things, it did not last.
The empires of the Golden Age collapsed within a single century. Some say their nations grew too vast to govern. Others claim the Gods returned in anger, punishing mankind for its hubris.
War scoured the world. Kingdoms shattered into rebellion and succession wars. The great works of the Golden Age fell silent, and much of its knowledge was lost to time. Acarus was plunged once more into a feudal dark age.
What remained of the Golden Age survived only as ancient relics from the Old World.
The Comet
Then the comet came.
A great green-trailed meteor crossed the heavens, sailing from Western Vessos to Ancient Karrash. Every soul on Acarus saw it, and many knew what it meant - if they still believed the old prophecies.
The sign had come.
For ages it had been foretold that the coming of the comet would mark the beginning of the final age of Man: The Age of Darkness.
Five centuries of decline had already scarred the world, but now that slow decay lurched into freefall.
After millennia of silence, magick returned.
Ancient horrors reawakened. The primordial wyzards stirred from their long slumber. Creatures of myth and nightmare walked the world again.
It seemed that the universe itself had turned against mankind, driving humanity back towards the final fringes of civilization.
The Kingdom of Redcastle
Fearing their extinction, the civilized races of Kalladonia retreated to the northmost peninsula of the continent: The Cradle of Man.
There they founded the kingdom of REDCASTLE, named for the red-brick fortress that stood upon the ruins of the Old Empire’s former capital.
In the centuries that followed, refugees poured northward. Nearly every surviving man, woman, and child of Kalladonia eventually made their way to Castillia, the greater province surrounding the city of REDCASTLE.
They came seeking refuge from the darkness spreading across Acarus, which slowly enveloped what was left of the Old World.
Within the towering walls of REDCASTLE, humanity makes its final stand.
