A Brief History
Below is a brief history of the world and some of its more prominent inhabitants. It is by no means complete, and any submissions to improve/expand the history are more than welcome.
Pre history-0 ER (Empire Reckoning)
Called “the age of heroes,” for thousands of years the Edge raged among warring tribes and clans. Edgemasters ruled their tribes and nightmares ruled the night. It was a time of war and blood, where the greatness of the deeds done was overshadowed by nothing but the atrocities that took place.
It was near the end of this age that a young, idealistic Edgemaster whom history remembers as Rinn Dunver discovered a way to end the chaos. If every Edgemaster were dead, humanity’s connection to the Edge would be lost, and the nightmares would die with the loss of that connection. He spent the next 40 years hunting and killing every living Edgemaster. When he was certain that he was the last one left alive, he turned his sword upon himself. As his blood drained from his body, so did humanity’s last connection to the Edge drain from the world. Dreams died, and the Edge grew silent. Humanity awoke from its hellish existence to find its greatest evils washed away, but with them went all of the world’s greatest glories.
0 ER - 740 ER
Just when the world thought it could give a collective sigh of relief, a young warrior named Brendan, who was later known as Laoch Lossan, picked up the sword of Rinn Dunver before the Edgemaster’s blood had cooled. For reasons unknown to this day, the blade did not fail and crumble with the death of its wielder, instead, it kept a miniscule piece of the Edge trapped inside it. Brendan was a simple man, but he was filled with ambition, and with a tiny piece of the Edge at his side, he rose in power and influence, until ten years after Rinn Dunver’s death, Brendan was leading an army like no other before or since that was sweeping the world aside. Within thirty years of Rinn Dunver’s death, Laoch Lossan, as he was now known, controlled more than 80% of the known world.
The Lossan Empire, or the Empire of the Light, endured for 740 years ruled by an unbroken line stretching back to Brendan. The imperial sword never left the side of the emperor (or empress, of which there were 7) until his death, at which time it was wielded by the next true blood heir. As each emperor died, he gave his soul to the sword, making it stronger, and increasing the stability of the empire for his successor.
During the years of the empire, rule was absolute, and justice was harsh, but humanity flourished. Art, science, philosophy, and architecture showed great advances. By 700 ER, soaring arches and domes graced most structures, aqueducts and irrigation systems brought water to dry areas, hospitals treated the sick, doctors understood the value of soap, scholars debated the nature of “truth,” and mathematicians studied complex trigonometry.
In the year 740, a small northern province in present day Durlus was in open rebellion. This was nothing new; one part of the empire or another always seemed to be rebelling for some reason or another. As Brendan IV called upon his legions to deal with this mild annoyance, an assassin fired a poison dart that struck him in the neck. In the few moments that he had before he died, Brendan passed his sword on his juvenile son, Dalland, telling him to continue the legacy of the empire. What both Dalland and Brendan did not know was that Dalland was not of his blood. Carmelle, the emperor’s third wife, bore a son for him not of his blood (in fact Brendan IV could not have children) in order to gain favour. Brendan did not know, but the sword did, and it rejected Dalland, lending him none of the powers that had kept the empire strong for so many centuries.
It took little more than 10 years for the entire empire to be ripped apart into warring kingdoms. Many of the empire’s greatest feats were lost during the wars, but the constant innovation that war requires led to great leaps forth in battle technology, and so the age of steel began as armoured knights fought for land and honour.
0 NR (740 ER) - 563 NR (New Reckoning)
The age of Steel began with the death of Brendan IV, the last true emperor, although it took almost 100 years for the feudal system to take root and become established across most of the world. It is perhaps the most boring period in history. It resembled later medieval Europe, but without the crusades or the gunpowder. Warfare was constant, and life was punctuated by the occasional plague and barbarian raid.
It wasn’t until 540 NR (Over five hundred years after the betrayal of Brendan IV) that anything noteworthy happened. That was the year fifty young knights were betrayed by the king they had sworn to defend. The knights gave up everything and became mercenaries. They soon gained a reputation as the most skilled and capable group known anywhere. In time, despite their prowess, their numbers dwindled until one remained. That man, Rowan by name, cared so little about anything at all, that he became the unwitting catalyst that changed the world. In the emptiness of his existence he gained what seemed to be perfect clarity of thought and action. In short, he became unstoppable. He bloodied his sword for over twenty years during a time when warfare was never more than a day’s ride away. The key to this amazing impossibility was that in his total loss of faith he somehow gained the ability to cut souls (Edgemasters who can do this are referred to as “Soul-cutters”) and absorb their potential, and the miniscule slice of the Edge that each soul carried. Rowan killed thousands upon thousands in the innumerable battles that he fought.
In 563, the last year that Rowan graced history, he was so perfect with the sword that he could demand any price from any King and his mere presence on the battlefield would decide who would win. 563 NR was also the year that the Barbarians swept down from their highlands in numbers beyond counting. A great army assembled with allegiances between several kings, but they were still outnumbered five to one.
It is said that Rowan strode through the grand alliance’s camp and into the general’s tent without being seen or announced. What is known is that when he left the tent he had drawn up a contract with the kings to end the war before sunset. His price for doing so is still subject to huge amounts of speculation. The term “asking Rowan’s price” is still used to indicate when the cost for something is excessive.
The matter of winning the war was a simple one. Under barbarian custom any enemy can challenge the battle leader to single combat. The victor earns the right of command, and control of the clan(s) under him. Rowan faced off against a mountain of a man named Torrick in front of both armies. Torrick managed to finish his first swing with his great axe before he realized that he was cut into six separate pieces.
Rowan ordered his barbarian hordes to disperse and trouble the world no more. As far as anyone knows, they still follow this order. He then enacted the only part of his price that history has on record. He addressed the entire army and said only the following: “There are heroes among you… Become them!” With that he smashed his sword over his knee and ended the age of Steel. All of the Edge that he stored inside him burst free and reconnected humanity to the Edge and dreams. It went further this time though. So much power was released that it weakened the barriers between the world and the opposing forces that created the Edge, and the world, in the first place. Angels and Demons walked the earth soon after, and thus the age of faith began.
0 Faith Reckoning (563 NR) – 1123 FR (Present day)
The age of faith began the day that Rowan broke his sword and disappeared from the world. It would take years until all of the ramifications of this became clear. At that time, there were only two people on the earth that had trained under Rowan and thus could use the Edge. It took decades for the Edgemasters to sort themselves out and train a sufficient number of students for them to be self-sustaining. Below is a time line of the most important events of the age of faith up to the present day.
0 –Rowan disappears. His two former students, Fianna Aidmheil and Daman Dewil, gain the ability to use the Edge. Nightmares rise to terrorize people.
3 -Nodhaduil, the first Angel of the second tier to manifest, gains dominion with the aid of Fianna.
7 -Fianna and Daman both begin to take on apprentices.
9 -Doruinn becomes the first Tier 2 Demon to gain dominion.
23 -The first Dreamweaver of any notable talent, Kilian Sheridan, takes control of a city. He dies and takes everyone in the city with him three years later after a massive nightmare backlash envelops the entire city. To this day, Cathair Tromlhie is shrouded in nightmares. The few that have entered and survived returned insane or worse, often months or even years later.
37 -Fianna and Daman kill each other in single combat.
50 -The third generation of Edgemasters begins to appear. Over 100 are known to exist.
73 -The first Tier 3 Angel and Demon appear. They kill each other, neither gaining dominion.
90 -The first recorded appearance of shadow cat prides. It is probable that they first appeared 10 to 15 years earlier.
100 -Fifth generation Edgemasters start training around this time. Their numbers increase to the average 300 that is maintained until present.
123 -The first “Faith War” begins when a Tier 4 Angel and Demon are brought into the world. The war lasts almost an entire year. The deciding factor is 6 Edgemasters who pledge their souls to the Demon to gain power. They are the first “Faith-bound” and they serve the Demon until death during its dominion.
188 -The second “Faith War” ends soon after it begins when the Faith-bound Edgemaster, Conlin, turns on his Demon master and performs the first “Strike of Faith” in recorded history. As Conlin’s spear pierces the Demon’s heart, the backlash kills him in an instant.
237 -Luthais, Edgemaster of Rage, spends 12 hours in Cathair Tromlhie and survives long enough to give a lucid account of what lies beyond the black fog. He dies two days later from infection from one of the many wounds he suffers while caught in the nightmare.
275 -The first “Call of Steel” begins when an Edgemaster, whose name has been removed from history, breaks one of the edicts and sets himself up as a warlord. Over 200 Edgemasters answer the call and ride against the warlord’s army of 10 000 men. The army suffers over 50% casualties, 12 Edgemasters die, not including the warlord, who is cut down by a young Edgemaster using a Strike of Faith. The warlord’s killer survives the backlash.
319 -On the spring equinox, the first day of the year, the Edge Smith is murdered in his sleep. When the new Edge Smith manifests he is nowhere to be found. Though not a true Call of Steel, the Edgemasters, especially those with apprentices at the time, treat it as one. They disperse all over the world searching for the new smith. Historians remember the next five years as the “Troubles” due to how uneasy and frustrated the Edgemasters become.
324 -By this year even the Faith-bound are away from their celestial lords to hunt for the missing Edge Smith. Several Edgemasters die in duels when they begin to cast suspicion on each other. After 5 years of searching, 3 different groups of Edgemasters stumble upon the Edge Smith in Lios Athar. The Tier 3 Demon, Cothrom, who rules the large fort held the smith in hopes of gaining leverage with the Edgemasters by driving them to desperation. Cothrom is handed over to the Trueslayer Edgemaster known as Fuath Coyle. Fuath is perhaps the most spiteful man in history, and his spite is only exceeded by his cruelty. Cothrom’s dominion lasts another twenty years, every moment of it screaming in agony. As the final punishment Fuath pays a Dreamweaver to create a special nightmare that drains the Faith out of Cothrom one thread at a time. Cothrom ceases to exist just hours before the end of his dominion. The entire world hears his final cry. Since the Troubles no one has dared to be so much as impolite to the Edge Smith.
411 -The third Faith War begins in the dead of winter. By midsummer there are over twenty Faith-bound fighting on each side of conflict. The war rages for three years destroying numerous forts and three cities. The deciding battle is fought at the fort now called Lios Cath in four feet of snow in the middle of a blizzard. Amidst the confusion, an anonymous Edgemaster of Fire detonates the hilltop of the Demon general. The Angel’s cavalry charges the hill but finds it burned black and smooth as glass. At the center is the Edgemaster who, upon realizing he killed his own lord by mistake, does something thought to be impossible: he backlashes himself with the Edge on purpose. He grasps so much power that his body crumbles into ash. To this day, any Edgemaster within a few kilometers of the “Betrayer’s Grave” who uses the Edge, or even the path abilities, suffers a backlash afterwards, although their initial use of the Edge still occurs. People running from Edgemasters often flee to Lios Cath in hopes the Edgemaster will not follow. Most discover that the Edge is not needed to kill, good steel will do that just fine.
503 -More than three-dozen Dreamweavers form an alliance they call the Pact of Dreams. The rest of the world refers to it as the Nightmare Pact. Determined to rid the world of the Angels and Demons that despise them the Dreamweavers begin creating an army of nightmare creatures to fight the celestials. Several of the permanent dream races that exist today, including the dragon/dog hybrids known as drakes, are a direct result of their efforts. The end result of this is the “Nightmare War.” It is the one time in recorded history that Angels and Demons work together. Odd as it seems, Edgemasters, even the Faith-bound, are absent from both sides of the conflict. Many Angels and Demons die, including the Angel that gained dominion 90 years earlier during the third Faith War. The war lasts a short 18 months, but in that time the losses are as bad as any Faith War. In the end every Dreamweaver is hunted down and killed, but some of their creations still trouble the world.
503-601 -Referred to as the century of peace, despite the fact it is 98 years, it is the quietest period in the entire Age of Faith. The literal pause in history is due to the reduced numbers of Angels, Demons, and Dreamweavers. Many people now look back on this time as a kind of golden age. Edgemasters refer to this time as “The Calm,” but they give no name to the storm that follows it. It is during these calm years that several “Calls of Steel” are made, not to deal with a rogue Edgemaster, but for the various members of the order to meet and exchange ideas. Almost all of the common paths and powers known today are standardized during this century and very few new ones appear in the years following.
602 -The Year of the Dragon. In a town without a name worth remembering, a young boy whose name is long forgotten dreams of a dragon that would eat his entire town in revenge for the horrible abuse that his family and the townspeople laid upon him. The Dragon appears and eats the town, the boy included. The creature is the size of a small mountain, can fly around the world in a day, has fire breath hot enough to vaporize stone, is covered in scales as tough as Edge-forged steel, and filled with enough malice and hunger to consume every living thing. It annihilates armies sent against it. Angels, Demons, and Edgemasters fare little better. Its reign of terror lasts seven months until it meets a rather creative Edgemaster named Allister who has modified the armour power to make him immune to flame. When the dragon tries to burn him to a crisp it fails, and in a fit of anger it swoops down to swallow Allister whole. While in the dragon’s mouth Allister unleashes a detonation. The force of the blast shatters the dragon’s skull. Allister survives inside the dragon’s mouth until its head falls to ground and he is crushed. The dragon lives through the attack, but it bleeds to death over the course of several hours. The rotting corpse of the creature is buried in earth by a massive effort led by a Tier 3 Angel in the region. A shrine commemorating Allister’s heroism and sacrifice is erected on the place where the dragon’s head smashed into the earth. To this day, “noble” Edgemasters take pilgrimages to Dragon Hill to pay their respects to Allister and gaze upon the grave of the largest creature to ever walk the earth. Weapon Smiths, opportunists and Dreamweavers also frequent the site to harvest the bone of the dragon for their projects. They all discover that the bone is too hard to cut and too heavy to move.
612 -The fourth Faith war begins in late fall. It is noted as being the longest Faith war on record, lasting almost four full years. Both the Angel and the Demon are physically restrained from confronting each other by their Faith-bound Edgemasters with both sides maneuvering for advantage. The Demon wins the war in 616 when his commanders staged a night time ambush in a valley and the Angel finds himself surround by several of the Demon’s Faith-bound without support.
637 -The second “Call of Steel” takes place when an Edgemaster becomes a mercenary. He loses his faith when witnessing a slaughter two years earlier, but his brethren are slow to react. In those two years he gains enormous power. By the time the Edgemasters rally to the call, he is so powerful that over fifty Edgemasters die in the fight to bring him down. It takes the better part of a decade for their numbers to recover.
650 -The “War of the Six Kings” begins. It is significant in that so many nations are involved, but no major Angels, Demons, Dreamweavers or Edgemasters play any noteworthy role. It is a war of normal men that drags on for a bloody seven years.
657 -The “Treaty of the Six Kings” is signed on midsummer’s day marking the official end of the war. The treaty is a landmark in that it doesn’t just cover ceded territory and reparations, but lays down a policy for how the signatories will treat Edgemasters in the future. Its edicts include the recognition of all Edgemasters as free men with the status of at least minor nobility, a ban of all duels between normal men and Edgemasters where the challenge is issued by the Edgemaster, (though the reverse is not encouraged it is not prohibited either) and the denial of the right of trial by combat for any Edgemaster who commits a crime. This last edict is absent from the final version of the treaty, but otherwise it is accepted by all of the signatories and the edicts of the treaty have become a custom that is almost universal from city to city.
663 -Known as the year of the thousand storms, it is marked as being the most brutal year, weather-wise, in recorded history. The Blizzards begin in late winter of 662 and rage throughout the known lands. Even places that had never seen snow have sleet coming down with the torrential rain. The intermissions between the storms are brief, and as the seasons change, the blizzards become monsoons, tornadoes and hurricanes. Tidal waves strike many coastal lands, sometimes more than once. Celestials and savants assume that the storms are unnatural, but are unable to determine their cause. As fall approaches a small group of Edgemasters declare to the world that they will find the cause of the storms and put a stop them. They disappear soon after, and less than a month after their initial proclamation the storms come to a screeching halt. None of the six of who depart are ever heard from again. Their whereabouts is still unknown.
671-681 -Over a ten-year period the number of “real” dream creatures takes a sudden jump. Some of the more notable creations are the unicorns, (almost extinct today) and the ice dragons, (it is unknown if any still exist.) The one common thread of all of these creatures is that they are aesthetically pleasing. All of the new dream creatures are beautiful to behold, and thus are sought out by trophy hunters looking for a pelt or a wall mounting.
703 -Camille Liusaidh, the most powerful Edgemaster yet to walk the earth, is born on the 21st day of new summer. She lives for a phenomenal 189 years before her death by treachery. Her adventures and exploits become the stuff of legend, and many have tried to follow in her footsteps.
716-724 -Led by a zealous Demon Lord, a cobbled together army begins to hunt down and destroy dream creatures. They are somewhat successful and drive several species to extinction. They also kill over 30 Dreamweavers, and drive many more into hiding. To this day, few Dreamweavers are open and forthcoming about their abilities, in part due to this purge. It should also be noted that the army killed many creatures that they thought were dream creatures that really weren’t. As a result of their actions, several species of rare and exotic birds, as well as the few known marsupial species almost die out. The army meets a swift end in middle fall of 724 when it encounters a pair of mated ice dragons that pelt it with icy weather, including hailstones the size of a man’s head, for a week. The Demon becomes an afternoon snack.
749 -The fifth Faith War lasts a year and a day. It ends when Camille, (not Faith-bound to either side) confronts the Demon and challenges him to single combat. The Demon accepts and dies moments later as Camille commit the first of 7 strikes of faith that she makes in her lifetime. When the Angel tries to thank her, she snubs him and disappears for several years to train apprentices.
763 -Camille, leading a group of Edgemasters referred to as the “Hunters,” sometimes “Camille’s Hunters,” begins to assault and kill kings and despots that she determines to be tyrannical, oppressive, or petty. Camille’s crusade lasts nine years and results in the deaths of over a dozen kings and countless lesser lords. Her methods are terrifying, but she establishes more rights for the middle and lower classes in a decade, than had existed since the end of Lossan Empire.
788 -The third “Call of Steel” is perhaps the most famous as it centers around the husband of Camille Liusaidh herself. As is tradition, his name has been burned from the history books, but his story is well known. Upon his marriage to Camille the previous year, he could not find a suitable gift for her for their wedding. He searches for a year before making the foolish decision that the only gift that befits her is the entire world. He sets out to acquire it one piece at a time, starting with the nation of Machair and then pushing into the borders of Durlus. The Call, led by Camille, comes at speed and meets the new warlord’s armies on the south shore of Lake Durlus. Unlike the previous Calls, there is no great battle or loss of life. As the armies form up for battle, a call for parley comes from the warlord’s forces. He leads the group himself, and Camille leads the group from the Call. It is said that even as his face lights at the joy of seeing her, her blade slides free of its sheath. By most accounts, the two parties are still over thirty yards apart when Camille’s strike of faith destroys her husband.
800 -For reasons still unknown, a religious fervor strikes the peoples of many nations. Angels and Demons begin manifesting in record numbers. Scholars believe a Faith war is on the horizon, but even they underestimate the true nature of events. At opposite ends of the known world an Angel and a Demon of the fifth tier manifest upon the earth. Lesser Angels, Demons, and Edgemasters flock to these beings of spiritual might in numbers never seen before or since. The known world mobilizes for the greatest war in history as the Angel Saranam and the Demon Triathacaid quest for the souls of humanity. The next eight years would become to be known as the True-Faith War, and would consume more lives than any in history.
808 -The battles of the True-Faith War have left the world battered and bloodied. Over a third of the population is dead, and the battles show no sign of slowing. Camille and her Hunters, absent during the conflict, reappear and deceive both sides into a meeting which brings Saranam and Triathacaid together in one place. They, their underlings, and their Faith-bound attack each other on sight, but before the battle can begin in earnest, Camille and her hunters emerge and attack both groups. Camille herself cuts her way to the two warring celestials. She kills both with a single strike of faith and forces an end to the war. The true zealots on either side wail at the loss of their sovereigns, but the rest of the world breathes a collective sigh of relief.
809-891 -Remembered as the Dark Times, the century following the True-Faith War is one of constant famine, pestilence, and small, petty wars. Nightmare creatures are abundant and often found troubling the lives of the downtrodden. Dreamweavers, with their ability to control and eliminate nightmares, make something of a comeback during these years. If they are still not accepted by most peoples, they are at least tolerated.
892 -Throughout the Dark Times, Camille and her Hunters continue to push their agenda of harsh social justice, and work to protect the lower classes from the excesses of their rulers. One of these rulers, in a southern region of present day Sorcha, takes great offence to Camille’s work and enacts an plan to have her killed. He swears four Edgemasters into his service. All are eager too make names for themselves and set up an elaborate trap to kill Camille. While they all die in the process, they are successful in that Camille succumbs to the injuries they inflict. Her funeral in central Sorcha is attended by hundreds of thousands, including Angels, Demons, kings, and commoners. A monument still stands where the funeral takes place, but the resting place of her body is unknown. It is whispered that barbarians came down from the highlands for the first time since Rowan banished them nearly a millennium before and carried her body off to rest next to Rowan’s. But these are just whispers. The lord who ordered her death is never seen or heard from again.
892-920 -One of the unforeseen side-effects of Camille’s funeral is the accidental meeting of many powerful people from many parts of the world. New trade contracts and treaties are signed, and with the increased trade comes a new prosperity that eases the world out of the Dark Times of the previous century.
933 -A tier 3 Angel named Urtog discovers a way to connect humans to the opposing forces of creation in a manner similar to that used by Edgemasters. She awards this power to the most faithful of her followers, and the “Chosen” become a part of the tapestry of society. Demons discover the method two years later by torturing a captured Chosen until he divulges the information. Celestials from both sides are hesitant to share their power, and only do so with the most faithful followers. Thus while there are many more Chosen than there are Edgemasters, it is rare to find more than a handful in a city, and perhaps a thousand in the entire world. Still, their powers and skills put them in high demand, and they continue their endless quest to convert people to their respective sides.
951 -Remembered as the year of Burning Fields, it is famous for both a scorching drought and being the first year of the Consolidation Wars.
951-974 -During 23 years of sporadic warfare, the modern nations of the world emerge from the mosaic of small kingdoms and city-states that once existed. In new spring of 951 several conquerors from different parts of the world decide it is time to expand their respective empires. Each begins a campaign to absorb their surrounding nations. While the ancient nations of Machair and Sorcha change very little, the countries of Braile Corsa, Farran Shenn, and Fail-Cala transform from small city states into large kingdoms. The kingdom of Durlus shrinks during this time as its eastern borders are abandoned due to a sudden influx of nightmare creatures from Frith Callit while Machair takes control of its western plains. The anomaly of the republic of Alainn also forms in these years. The Alainnians band together for mutual protection and create, by accident, the closest thing the world has to a representative democracy.
999 -There is mass hysteria amongst the common folk as the millennium comes to a close. Doomsday cults claim the end-world is coming, the Angels (or Demons) shall take over the world, the Edgemasters will all die, Laoch Lossan will return with Rowan at his side to make a new empire, the great dragon will return and burn the earth to a cinder, and the ghost of Camille will rise to slay all of the world’s tyrants. These cults do generate a lot of fear and the world is plagued with a new torrent of nightmare creatures brought on by its own paranoia. Some of these creatures breed true and still cause trouble today. For the most part, however, the turn of the millennium passes with some impressive celebrations and no noted catastrophes.
1023 -The sixth Faith war (the True Faith War is not part of the official count) Takes place on the northern plains of Machair and Durlus. In a phenomenal three months, the Angel known as “The Lady” gains dominion with the help of her Faith-bound and massed armies. The Demon is killed by nothing more than several volleys of well-placed arrows when his command unit ventures too far forward during a battle. The Lady retires to Machair and sets down to rule it for the remainder of her dominion. The capital of Machair, Cathar Aisling, becomes a centre for artisans, artists, and master craftsman thanks to the Lady’s aggressive sponsorship of such activities within her borders.
1047 -The lord of the Aigeann Islands, who fancies himself an emperor, orders an invasion of the mainland to spread his domain. His attack on the coast of Fail-Cala is a complete success. As the invasion pushes inland it is stalled by the impressive heavy infantry units of Fail-Cala’s standing army. By middle fall, the battle lines are at a standstill, and remain so for two years. Though a treaty is signed in 1049 marking the new borders between Fail-Cala and the Aigeann Colonies, matters are never resolved between the two kingdoms. To present day there is an unofficial war of raids and guerilla strikes taking place along the border.
1075 -The Seventh Faith war erupts when the Angel Deyrit manifests in Farran Shenn and her Demonic counterpart, Fuilteum, emerges in Braile Corsa. They spend an entire year building up forces and meet in the bogs of Leaneabor on the spring equinox of 1076. In the chaotic battle of the bogs, one of the Demon’s most capable Faith-bound, Sloane, sneaks into range and delivers a near fatal Slipstrike to Deyrit. Deyrit lives, but her Divine life-blood pouring into the muddy waters attracts an enormous nightmare creature that has as much in common with a dragon as a crocodile. The monster pulls Deyrit under the water never to re-emerge. Fuilteum follows in the Lady’s footsteps and decides not to expand his power further after gaining dominion and retires to Braile Corsa, where he still rules with his lover, Sloane, at his side.
1102 -The Fourth “Call of Steel” is a quick and efficient affair in Alainn. It happens that the Edge-smith himself is working in one of the coastal provinces when a young Edgemaster goes mercenary. No less than eight veteran Edgemasters are in the region with their apprentices. Even before their brethren can answer the Call the eight ride out and confront the mercenary. He dies soon after when he is “smashed” off the top of a tower in a small Alainnian keep and falls to his death. He is noted as being the youngest oath-breaker yet. He received his sword less than a year before.
1123 -Present day. It is the last year of the dominion of the Lady in Machair. The king of Sorcha is dead without a successor. Fuilteum sits stronger than ever in Braile Corsa. Fail-Cala and the Aigeann Empire are rushing towards war once again. Ancient tomes are missing from the Library of Durlus. Strange songs can be heard drifting out of the great forests. Rumors of a nightmare army marching out of Cathar Tromlhie abound. Whispers of the return of the hunters can be heard everywhere, even as new societies opposed to the very existence of Edgemasters begin to take root. The future is full of intrigue, adventure, sacrifice and war. There are heroes among you…Become them!
