Lore

Introduction

"You know I'm not evil, right? Right?" - Nuwe

A thousand years ago, the Goddess of light and shadow, Huwe, and the God of darkness and shadow, Nuwe, created the universe. In the center of the Material Plane, they placed three continents. To the North is Meru, a land of icy tundra and frigid mountain peaks scarred from centuries of war, home of dwarves and tieflings. To the East is Della, the ancestral home of the humans and halflings and gnomes. It is a land of rolling plains covered in grassland, and does not see snow most of the year. To the west is Arifa, a continent covered entirely in a single titanic forest. It is the home of orcs and elves.

At the point where the three major continents converge stood the greatest city in the world: Alvorn. It is to this shimmering city of towering stone the world’s populace flocked. Gold and magic flowed freely in Lightdancer Plaza, the common folk of the city went home with full bellies, and the guard, free from corruption and incompetence kept watch from fortified walls and keeps all over the city. For five hundred years King Arnum ruled, a sage in a tower.

But it was not to last. Fifty years ago, King Arnum was killed in a last defiance. He sealed away his brother, the Lich-God Tenebris, but at the cost of his own life. In a stroke of brutal genius, just days after Arnum’s self sacrifice, The Lich and servant of Tenebris Ophelia Arcanaborn murdered the entire population of Alvorn, 500,000 people, and summoned her dark master back to the Material Plane.

Tenebris was defeated by a group of unlikely heroes known as The Good Crusade. Assisting them in battle was the rider Audry Brightwing, the Archmage Bren Arcanaborn, the last Soul-Warden Kar Alder, the Dwarf hero Alfdok Rubysword and the Queen of New Alvorn, Sophrya Belfry.

Starting Location Lore

On Himmel

"Welcome to Himmel" - Julian Snowfire

For most, the sky falling means ruined crops and strange beasts baying outside their door. For a few, the sky falling presents an opportunity to become filthy rich. In Mid-Road, far off in the distance, The Unknown Ruler is paying an exorbitant price for skyshards, enough that a single blue crystal of decent size can set someone up for life. What this Unknown Ruler does with the skyshards is a mystery all but their inner circle. But from within the mystical grounds of the palace come marching hundreds of Skyshot Pistols and thousands of skyshot bullets, enough to soak the ground with blood.

To feed this voracious appetite, gold-rush towns have been built near rivers and streams. These towns make their money by panning for skyshards in the water, and shipping their findings back to Mid-Road. It is unheard of that a skyshard does not get robbed two or three times on the way to Midroad.

You all have come to the small town of Himmel which is the largest of these panning towns, and is large enough to support its own burgeoning local economy. Set up on the small Kar’s Island, named after the fallen hero of The Unmaking, Himmel is home to the only tailor, butcher, tavern, blacksmith and apothecary for a hundred miles. It is a wild and rambunctious town, and not a night goes by that the air isn’t cut by the flair of Skyshot pistol and the scent of blood. Still, the people of Himmel are kind and extremely welcoming to strangers. Indeed, the town depends on a steady stream of traveling vagabond set out to strike rich. Himmel is a place where you can make your own way, regardless of who you are or where you came from, but be warned, you’re just as likely to find a knife in your back.

Himmel is run by Reeve Peter Windriver, a human man in his late fifties who has been in charge of the town since its inception. He’s an embodiment of the best and worst of his city, a mild alcoholic who cares deeply about those who stumble through his small town. Most of the time you can find him in the Statue Side Saloon talking with owner Julian Snowfire, or his other subjects. The Reeve has two children. The first is Jager Windriver, his older child, and aspiring knight. It’s rumored that Peter has friends in high places in Mid-Road and beyond, and his capability to outfit his child with a warhorse and plate is proof of that. His younger child is Nightingale Windriver, a pernicious little thief just on the cusp of adulthood. Rumors about her strange appearance and knack for magic are only confounded by the Reeve’s own admission that Nightingale is the product of another woman.

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, a festival to celebrate all those who died in The Unmaking. The Reeve has spared no expense in throwing a wonderful festival and has invited everyone who is able, turing the town square into a public fair with free food and drink for all who come. Julian Snowfire has offered 1000 gold pieces to anyone who can break into his vault - shipped from a wizard in midroad! - just to prove that it’s a safe bank vault for anyone’s valuables. To end the festival, The Riddle-Smiths a locally famous dance and acrobatics troupe will be ending the festival with their most popular act, a rendition of the rise and fall of Lich-lord Tenebris.

Fun Facts

On average, life spans are much shorter in the Convergence than in other worlds. For example, A dragon reaches maturity in the 35th year of their life, and dies of old age at around 300. Elves mature at about 50, and die at 200. Humans are a baselines species, and most races age and die within an average human lifespan.
“The Unmaking” Refers to both the moment Ophelia Arcanaborn summoned Tenebris, as well as the entire period until Daybreak.
Kar’s Island is not natural, but nobody knows how it was formed. It is named after Kar Alder, the last (conventional) Soul-Warden and the only member of the Good Crusade who led the attack on Tenebris during Daybreak who perished during the fight.
Before The Unmaking, the city of Alvorn had medical knowledge equivalent to earth in the 1980’s. Unfortunately, due to the prevalence of magic in the city, most of this knowledge was useless and confined idle curiosity, and thus was lost during The Unmaking.
Anagnorisis the Moonweaver is also called ‘the Forgotten God’ because of her refusal to intervene in mortal affairs without first being asked. Her only exception is when it comes to blueberry pies. She loves blueberry pie.
Although she’s commonly known for her use of mass creeping death on Alvorn, Ophelia Arcanaborn actually used the spell three times. Once on Alvorn, then on The City of Midnight, then once on Ashshadow.
Azuereneth the scribe is said to know everything.
Salt and Packing day started as a holiday to Tiamat in 400 PC. It was originally called Salt and Smacking day, but was changed by King Arnum in 506 PC due to popular outrage after reports of what was supposed to be a battle between Warwinter and Sunset City devolved into a bacchanalia when the Goddess intervened to stop the fighting.
Every God has the ability to name one mortal as their champion, bestowing them with their blessing and a significant fragment of their power. King Arnum was the Champion of Huwe, and Tenebris was the Champion of Nuwe.
The City of Gold changed names 4 times during The Unmaking. First to the city of Midnight, when it was sacked by Drow, Then very briefly to the Spider City as a gesture of fealty by the local ruling class, then back to the city of midnight when Briel Spider decided the name was stupid, then back to the City of Gold when Alfdok Rubysword took advantage of chaos to liberate the city.
After the death of King Arnum, the city of Alvorn was actually at war with the entire world. History has largely allowed this war get overshadowed by The Unmaking.
Alvorn was founded on the spot where the Universe was first created.
Felda and Kyn have been in a on-again-off-again relationship since the Drach’nyen crisis when Felda disguised herself as a snake to watch Kyn teach the people of Center-Road to dig firebreaks to protect their wheat. Kyn was about to kill the snake, when Felda pointed out that using a local stream would shorten the work of the farmers.
Vassel the Shield thinks farming based courtship methods are objectively stupid. But his claims this is the only reason he hates Kyn's and Felda's relationship have been argued endlessly by the other gods. Only Azureneth has stayed silent on the issue.
To this day, Gordon is the only city in the Convergence founded and ruled by the same family for its entire history. The De Gordon’s have held onto power since 500PC.
While guns were invented in 900PC by the Artificer-Monks of Vassel the Shield in Alvorn, they didn’t come popular until 5PT, when Eisen-Meister Sterben found out that skyshards could be used instead of gunpowder.
Two huge statues once stood at the entrance of the river separating Della and Arifa. Ophelia Arcanaborn brought them to life as her Wraithknights. One was destroyed during the first battle of the Alvornian Cathedral, nobody knows what happened to the second, although it was last sighted 49 years ago, in the abyss.
Many sacred images are magical in and of themselves. A symbol of Huwe will always face the correct direction. The symbol of Reza will always be red.
The battle of the Icewind Plane had only four survivors: Arnum, Zacrimar the Dragonsire, Quarion Graywing and Jageen The Shadowfang.
During the Shadowcast Civil War, battles would often take forever, as both sides were immune to the necrotic damage which the other relied on.
The Universe is composed of four Skeins. Materiel, Fate, Arcana, and Time. The Arcana Skein was shattered during Daybreak.
The City of Warwinter was founded by accident. It was supposed to be built at the start of Warwinter pass, not the end, but the cartographer put his compass rose upside down on the map, and so the city ended up where it is now.
The town of lanesword has been burned to the ground 69 times. Invading armies refuse to touch the town now for fear of risking Tiamat’s wrath.
Gambet the Savior is the only God against the existence of Undead.
There have probably been 9ish iterations of The Raven, brother of Arnum and Tenebris and the God of Fate. The 3rd iteration split from the whole to become Iago, God of Bloodlust. Iago took the form of a tiny puppy, and was killed by the Good Crusade. Probably.
According to rumors, the first Soul-Thief was a young girl named Rose who lost her soul and parents during the Unmaking.
The random lines on the symbol of Azureneth represent the chaotic nature of all knowledge.
Rene Furgrove, Champion of Gambet the Savior, once performed a successful emergency thoracotomy while she was stuck in an antimagic field.
Deio Nazon won 130% of the vote in the last Warwinter Election. It was held in 4PT.
Half the world’s population died in the Battle of the Icewind plane.
Of all the God’s, Nuwe has reformed his tenants the most. Gambet the least.
Yeen Dryad once held the Highwater gates alone against a horde of demons for 56 hours, until an Alvornian Army arrived to reinforce him. Although he died of his wounds, it is said that his relentless spirit lives on in his quiver, which never once ran short of arrows, even though the ground in front of the gate was pelted with so many arrows, that city residents through it rained steel.
Dreams are either the interaction of diffrent souls while sleeping, or placed by malevolent spirits. Nobody really knows