The 21st century had been humanity's golden age of science.
But no invention, no weapon, no theory prepared them for the day the skies tore open.
They named it the Great Surge.
A storm of raw mana ripped across the Earth. Continents shifted and collided, seas boiled away, mountains collapsed into dust. Millions perished in the chaos. And when the survivors rose, they no longer stood on the Earth they knew, but upon one vast supercontinent reshaped by forces beyond comprehension.
From the Surge came the Others.
Some wondrous: Elves with lifespans stretching centuries, Fairies with wings of light, Gnomes with magical craftsmanship, and Wizards who wielded power thought to exist only in stories.
Others monstrous: Ogres, Trolls, Goblins, Gremlins, Banshees, and countless creatures that fed on flesh and fear.
For five centuries, war consumed the land. Humanity fought desperately, losing cities, bloodlines, and entire cultures. Yet not all who came sought slaughter. Elves, fairies, wizards, and gnomes stood beside mankind, sharing knowledge, teaching magic, and forging weapons. Slowly, an alliance was born.
Together, they drove the dark hordes into exile, sealing them beyond a great barrier in the far half of the land, a place now named the Dark Continent.
The Council
To guard the fragile peace, a new order was established.
At the heart of the continent in the central region, the Capital City a city rebuilt from ruin, rose The Council of Five consisting of one Human, one Elf, one Fairy, one Gnome, and one Wizard.
They ruled not as kings, but as guardians of balance, each advised by a circle of counselors and assisted by secretaries. From their halls spread a new system of governance: towns, villages, and cities across the continent elected governors, who in turn answered to the Council.
The capital itself became the greatest symbol of this new age, a sprawling metropolis where every race mingled. Elven districts stood beside human markets; fairy gardens bloomed between wizard spires; gnome forges rang through the alleys. It became a hub of trade, knowledge, and power. The heart of the realm.
Guilds and the New Frontier
Yet the continent was not as it once had been. The Great Surge twisted the land itself. Deserts swallowed forests, mountains bled rivers of fire, and whole regions shifted into alien terrains. Strange creatures roamed some harmless, others deadly.
And deep within these altered lands, gemstones were found.
Crystals born of condensed magical energy, harder than steel and radiant with arcane power. To those of great magical capacity, they were amplifiers of unimaginable might. To others, they were but tools with limits. Weapons, potions, artifacts, and enchanted equipment crafted with gemstones became the backbone of trade and survival.
From this chaos, guilds emerged.
• Knight Guilds served the Continent, it's towns and villages and answered to the Council directly, sworn to protect the realm while also checking the Council for inadequacies.
• Adventurer and Explorer Guilds sought fortune, knowledge, and glory, venturing into the new frontier to chart lands, harvest gemstones, and hunt the beasts born of magic.
All were required to register with the Council at The Guild Registry, binding their ambitions to the greater good of the continent.
A New Age
Transportation advanced as magic fused with invention.
Carriages reinforced by wards and sigils rolled across ancient trade routes.
Armored land-cruisers modeled after war machines of humanity's past thundered over the rugged terrain.
Airships and sea vessels carried explorers to new horizons and gemstone powered Train ways were designed for easy and cheap transportation of people as well as goods.
The Age of Rebuilding had begun.
But beyond the barrier, in the forsaken wastes of the Dark Continent, the banished waited.
Watching.
Hating.
Remembering.