CHAPTER #1: O M E N S - I N - T H E - S K I E S

       THE RIFTING HAS BEGUN…

                                                 And Miwor Town was its first VICTIM.

After a long, exhausting battle, the dawn has come. The Wardens’ Netherwalkers directed the burning energies from their runes and blasted the Rift. It was a desperate and united effort to end the nightmare, and eventually the Rift subsided in a flashing crash of magical light.

The sun rose, burning away the fog to reveal a trampled, broken town in its wake. A third of the town had been swallowed by the Rift’s dark, swirling clutches. The entire northern parts of the town are eerily missing, as if they never existed at all, and the surviving townspeople avoid looking in its direction as it only brings a fresh wave of despair.

But the people of Miwor Town are resilient. They have begun the task of healing their hurts. They counted their dead and laid them in the central hall’s crumbling walls. Over a quarter of Miwor’s population was lost in the Netherworld’s attack. Each body was covered with a snowy, white sheet and a single, wildflower – handpicked from the Miwor Fields – rested on each frame.

After the initial shock, the people’s grief turned into fury. How could their High King laugh at their plight and call the Rifting a children’s tale? The Hand of Light had foreseen such destruction but Highwing had done nothing to prepare its people from certain disaster. If the Wardens had not been there to close the Rift, Miwor Town would have vanished from memory and sight into the Netherworld’s grips. A cold, smouldering fury started to circulate throughout the town. The people demanded justice and some even whispered ideas of rebellion.

Braus Derry, Mayor of the Miwor Town, lost his beloved wife – Sally – in the Rifting. He echoes his people’s anger at the High King and had the audacity to label Miwor Town a ‘neutral territory’ from that day onwards. It was a bold move; it would be welcomed by the north, who have been eager to escape from Highwing’s influence and become independent, but it would undoubtedly be received with fury from the High King.

A frenzied focus has enveloped the town. The people are eager to rebuild and to survive. They are flocking around the Wardens – who have quickly become their new leaders, in their eyes – for safety and for the chance of having a future.

OPENING DAY:

❝  It is the first week of Spring and we, the Wardens, are ready.

The signs of an approaching Rifting are only increasing in number. High King Darius is determined to believe that the Rifting is nothing but an exaggerated children’s tale, leaving us Wardens with little choice but to stand up and prepare for a grim future. There are more rumours of the walking dead, frenzied beasts and failing crops than ever before. Unrest is spreading across the continent like a plague. There are whispers that the northern countries are bitter with the High King’s actions and that civil war is not an impossible future if a resolution cannot be decided.

It will be difficult to prepare for the Netherworld’s return but we are a group of heroes - from all backgrounds - who have the skills to meet that goal.

We must complete our missions across the continent and begin to build influence with the other factions so that we can be powerful enough to protect the Eldrissian people. Do not dally in the comforts of Miwor Town, do your duty as a Warden and remember our motto:

‘Into darkness, unafraid. We stand.’

May the Balance protect you Wardens and may the Balance guide us in these times of darkness. ❞