“It was as if the gods had abandoned us. Demons more black than night and more red than blood, bent on destruction and chaos, poured through the... hole... like a foul stream. It was a time of pain and sorrow, a time of suffering and a time of hell. I shant repeat tales of what I saw, only that I count myself lucky to be among the living. Or perhaps I would be better off dead. Either way, my soul is damned.” – Gryffos of Theodrin
The Breach
Little is known of the actual events leading up to the Breach. Some say it was a petty war between nations over lands they scarce visited. Others say that it was a mighty wizard who became to infatuated with the Skill, and tried to make himself a god. Still others believe that the gods were angry at the mortal races and decided to punish them. Whatever the cause, the Breach became the single defining point in the history of this world.
According to accounts saved by the Karthos Clan, there was some sort of rip in space, caused by magic unknown to all. This rip led to the Dark World, and from the rip poured demons of all ilk. They quickly overcame those strong enough to oppose them nearby, and by the time any could muster a force to stop them, the demons were too many. They slaughtered all who came to fight them, and men and women of all races fell beneath their fires. But this was not the worst, by far.
When the forces of the mortal could not stop the demons, the forces of Light came. There were glorious beings with wings of shimmering colors, wielding blades wrought with metal of the gods. There were all the creatures of this earth, perfect in form and angelic in their presence. Mightiest of all were the Star Lords, who commanded incredible powers and swung swords that could split any creature in two. It appeared as if the day was saved.
Those who thought so were wrong. This world exists at edge of a vast abyss, teetering on a narrow stand with precarious balance. Balance is what kept the world sane. The balance was broken when the Breach was created. For now, the Dark World and our world were joined, and this gave power to the forces of Darkness. Using the power and the souls of the mortal world, the demons overpowered the angels and invaded the World of Light. The heavens had fallen, and now there were none but the gods who could save the mortal realm.
The gods did not appear. Two-hundred and thirty-one years have passed since the Breach, according to those who still track the passing of the moons. We live in a world of shadows, of dark corruption and hopeless depression. This is the world of ashes.
