Viarum by Valen

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It is a time of warfare, of battles fierce and magicks terrifying. Kingdoms driven by the furor for power and greed argue and ally amongst themselves. Mercenary bands join the fray to heap coin and glory upon their names, and the lands are bathed in the hymns of bloodlust, battle, and lamentation.

A lull in the fervor of warring campaigns has gripped the Realm in an uneasy stillness of uncertainty. Quiet ruminations and political schemes have taken hold among the leaders of the Realms, and The Riven - those Corrupted Cult-armies of diseased heretics - have been scattered in the Westfold, dispersed across the lands, to be hunted and purged with extreme prejudice.

Rumors have begun spreading among the taverns and halls concerning the discovery of a magnificent, ancient artifact: a Mysterion Gate. Created long ago - some scholars claim their creation even before the First Rending of the World - the Mysterion Gates were erected to allow passage into the Viarum, a magical network of roads and portals that allows near instantaneous travel over great distances in our Realm. Historians proclaim the wonders of the Viarum, its creation by the Ancients which heralded a new Age of prosperity for the First Realm, but something happened. An evil metastasized within the Viarum, and none know the ensuing conflicts, only that somewhere around the Time of the First Rending, the Viarum was sealed, and the magnificent stone Mysterion Gates were closed, destroyed, sealing the Viarum and its secrets for all time.

Legends tell that perhaps it was within the Viarum where the Corruption first began, and it is from within those poisoned portals where the festering heart of The Riven resides. Other tales would proclaim that it was within the Viarum where the Sword of the Fallen Star was cast, as one final act of courage from the First Hero to save the world. The Viarum was sealed, and as the world endured the First Rending. Yet other forgotten tomes tell that the Viarum is a nexus of many uncounted worlds connected together, its fulcrum a mystical castle located in the heart of the mist-shrouded magical webway. Untold centuries have passed since that time of Cataclysm, and ruin; untold knowledge and magic has passed from the world, along with any true chronicle of the Viarum. Yet word has reached the taverns and trades among the Realms, talk of the discovery of a Mysterion Gate, and the rallying of armies to find and unlock its secrets.

The army that has access to the Viarum would be formidable, indeed...

Mist-shrouded, atmospheric, and arcane.