By Elezias Rosh

For most, it would take four months to travel from the harbor of Narsade, the easternmost port of Thrune, to Fort Ralstine, which was considered by most to be the last bastion of civilization on the edge of the Frontier. That also assumed you left Narsade in the spring and had no issues with any of the denizens of the Realm.

Most of the known world was held in the grip of the Empire, which had persisted for over five thousand years. Countless noble Houses vied for control internally, led by their respective Lords and Ladies, while outside the Empire were various small nations led by a variety of warlords, chieftains, and those claiming titles. 

The center of the Empire was vast rolling plains, small farmsteads and villages, mostly populated by Erdanians and occasional Ar-Nura conclaves. To the east were the Great Cities of Saronae, vast city-states overseen by squabbling nobles and petty lords. To the cold north, the Baronies of the Vyaldur, who mostly paid lip service to the Empire, and did as they wished otherwise.

The Frontier

For much of the time of Imperial history, the western border was ambiguous at best, as it faded into mostly wilderness with little more than roaming hordes of Ughol, tribes of Jhani’ada, and those who had fled or left civilized lands for whatever reason. Most settlements in the Frontier were little more than mining or logging camps that would rise up and thrive for a decade or two before fading into obscurity. 

In most annotated works, there would be periodic risings of bandit lords or some noble’s bastard child seizing a portion of the Frontier of their own. Most ended up being a victim of the bloodthirsty company that they kept, but on occasion the Empire would task a Lord or a cadre of knights with bringing an end to the issue.

However, in the decade since the fall of the Curse, a great number of refugees have found their way westward. Many have found that the Frontier does not bear as many scars of corruption, and the sky is mostly clear. Grass and trees grow green, and the soil is fertile enough to support crops. Where once there were little more than camps with a handful of tents have since become bustling villages with paths and roads.

The Curse

However, no matter how far one travels into the wilds, it seems that the Curse of the Warlock King still hangs in the air. 

It comes almost without warning. The sky suddenly darkens, and odd sounds pierce the air, like the very world is attempting to simultaneously scream and gasp for breath. A dark fog breathes forth from the ground, and things tear their way in from the other side of an unseen realm. 

The things that are birthed from the unseen, the horrors that tear their way into the world, are twisted mockeries of beasts and people. They resemble the work of some mad sculptor that desires only pain for the world and his creations. They are creatures of pure hunger and hatred, and stop at nothing to rend flesh. When they are slain, they disperse into ashes on the wind. Most people call them Darkborn, for lack of a better term.

Afterward, it feels like the world has grown thin. There’s a lingering scent that you can’t smell, and the sounds of nature feel muted. Everything looks like it has a slight gray overcast. It’s an unsettling area that is referred to as a Wound, because it is a weeping sore in the Realm. In such places, animals give birth to monstrous beasts, the dead rise to prey upon the living, and cultists enact rituals to summon forth dark powers.

The Village of Wanderer’s Hope

One of the largest of these settlements is a small village called Wanderer’s Hope. A decade ago it was barely three tents and a busted wagon, now it’s a collection of cabins and a tavern. Trade among them has blossomed in recent years, and caravans regularly circle through town, bringing in goods that are either remnants of the Imperial age, or crafted by artisans in nearby villages and settlements of the Frontier.

People gather here to find comfort in one of the last vestiges of civilization and hope that strength in numbers will protect them from the darkness.