History

As the primordial elements settled, new life sparked in the oceans. Over hundreds of thousands of years, these new life forms evolved and changed, and, in time, the lizard-like “Firstfolk” of Kad inherited the nascent planet.

As a gift to the Firstfolk, the Tectonics created scaled beasts armed with powerful, elemental breath — the Dragons — to serve as guides and leaders.

The living ancestors of the Firstfolk say Kad’s early reptilian and amphibious peoples lived among and venerated the Tectonics and the Dragons. While many written records were destroyed in the Cataclysm, some of their traditional rites and practices have stood the test of time.

New species emerged and civilization blossomed on Kad, but so too did monsters. Villages seldom lasted long before they were raided and ravaged by the horrors of the wilds. The peoples of Kad sought safety, and the Tectonics created the Giants to help them build walls and weapons.

In addition to guiding and teaching the mortals of the world, the Giants constructed their own great cities. Their cities may have even once covered Kad, yet few still stand today, ruins of a time long past. The decaying remains of their great structures dot the landscape in Sen Miëgog and Outgarden, and others may yet be hidden within the sands of Northern Ardea, the cavernous depths of the Ettin Mountains or distant lands across the vast unexplored world.

For thousands of years, the peoples of Kad lived in balance with the Tectonics, the Dragons and the Giants, content with their gifts and guidance.

For some, however, this was not enough.

Heretical spellcasters tapped into forbidden magic from worlds beyond. As they looked out into the Outer Planes, they drew the attention of powerful, otherworldly beings. These “New Gods” came to the peoples of Kad, offering power and a place in their cosmic plans. Some refused, holding true to the “Old Gods,” but others agreed to their terms.

As the New Gods began to exert their influence over Kad, the Tectonics created the Djinn, clever elemental spirits capable of rivaling the Gods of the Outer Planes. The Djinn sought to protect the Old Gods and drive out the New, and they were wholly dedicated to this cause, no matter the cost. They did, however, have an appreciation for mortals, if only for their usefulness. The Djinn were willing to lend their power to mortals as gifts or in carefully brokered trades.

Few who witnessed the dawn of the Cataclysm lived long enough to see its end, but some of their stories have survived. The most detailed account yet discovered is the Ignasa Codex, a collection of narratives written in Old Common that claim to recount the Cataclysm’s entire 10,000-year span.

The authors claim that a band of marauders sought to steal the “Heart of the World.” As they traveled down to its core, they came upon Weld, a great Tectonic of metal. Undeterred, their leader, Odin, stepped forth and reached toward the Heart.

In a moment of divine wrath, Genesis and Entropy shattered time and space. They ripped the Heart of the World from our plane and hid it where no mortal could ever find it.

But, in their wake, Odin and Weld were changed. As time and space wove itself back together, so too were Odin and Weld entwined. Skin and bone melded into the metallic form of the great titan. The elemental’s fathomless power drank in the marauder’s greed and ruthlessness. They became a towering amalgam of man and Tectonic, flesh and ore, the creature’s mind consumed by a rage it knew not how to satisfy. And thus, the “Ironvein,” as it came to be known, began to march.

As the Ironvein led its campaign of destruction, the natural world fell into chaos, the titan’s madness poisoning every Tectonic it touched. Powerful elemental storms would be the harbingers of its approach, the land quaking and splintering, wind crashing with the strength of tidal waves, fires ravenously seeking their fill and monstrous rivers hunting like great wrathful serpents. For thousands of years, the elements warred, desperate for rest yet unable to quell their frenzy.

Until about 600 years ago, when the legendary hero Caelus arose.

Baring the blessing of Augur the Tectonic of the North Wind, Caelus assembled a team of nine champions, who he titled the Blackmantle Magi, and together they forged the Blackmantle, a magical blade capable of felling even gods.

With a final swing of his sword, Caelus and the North Wind struck the titan with a blow so great that it would carve through the land, leaving behind the rift now known as the Mountain Barrows.

In the deepest crater of the Mountain Barrows, the Magi found the still-intact sword of the legendary hero.

It’s believed that Caelus, with no viable way to kill a Tectonic, imprisoned the twisted soul of the Ironvein within the blade but in so doing bound his own to the sword as well. The weapon was later dubbed the legendary Sword of Caelus.

In memory of Caelus, the nine champions established the Blackmantle Arcanum along the newly-formed Mountain Barrows, and each Magus created a college of their own in their homeland.

Inspired by Caelus’s sacrifice, each of the original Blackmantle Magi made a pledge. At the end of their lives, they would transfer their souls to weapons. Each sentient, soul-bearing relic was to be entrusted to the headmaster of its namesake college so that the champions could continue to offer wisdom for all eternity. Despite pulsing with powerful spiritual energy, the Sword of Caelus is the only one of sentient Blackmantle relics to never speak. Spellcasters who have had a chance to study the weapon believe that the struggle between Caelus and the Ironvein has prevented either voice from surfacing.

In the years immediately following the Cataclysm, the peoples of Kad frantically began building clans and settlements, claiming their slice of the free world. Feuds led to clashes which led to warfare. As the newly-organized factions threatened to plunge the region back into chaos, the Blackmantle Magi called for the first “Imperial Circle.”

Leaders from all across the strand, from the Mountain Barrows to the coast of the Cetacean Sea, answered the summons. Together, they negotiated a peace treaty, a promise to never again let the region succumb to war lest the Tectonics rise once again. They called this treatise the Accords of Augur, named for the guardian Tectonic that aided the Magi in the final battle of the Cataclysm.

The leaders divvied up territories, forming 10 independent nations. In time, the five northern states united to form the Ampere Alliance, Ardea split into its northern and southern nations, and Quickthorne broke off from Waefolk as the forest awoke. These, along with Rotkrater, Sen Miëgog and Bulwark, make up the eight nations we know today.

The Imperial Circle declared the old castle island off the coast to be a free state where all are welcome and named it Caelus Castra in honor of their legendary hero. Along the northern slopes of the Mountain Barrows, the Magi constructed an academy, the Blackmantle Arcanum, a place to forge a new generation of champions.