Basic Background Info (subject to change and grammar fixes)

The following is the most basic information about the area. Depending on certain situations you may or may not know some or all of the following information.

Before the rift appeared Vercution was chin deep in an all out continental war between three major empires, struggling to annihilate the lesser races. At this time, Vercution was divided up into three racially distinct empires:

-Sorofell-
[Dominantly: Lawful]
To the south-east, the land of the Dwarves, Gnomes, and the Drow formerly known as Sorofell. This nation felt that they should have been the dominant rulers of the land because they were the most inclined to preserve the lands history free from the bias of the victor. While the inhabitants of Sorofell do not usually hold a strong sense of community, they all share a strong sense of loyalty to their superiors and their country. At first glance it would seem odd that these three races hold an affinity for each other as opposed to any others, but upon closer inspection it works out rather effectively. The Drow provide capable assassins and scouts as well as potion masters (later known as Alchemists), the Dwarves offer their legendary skill with the forge and are stalwart foes on the battlefield, while the Gnomes bring their affinity to magic rivaled only by the Elves (this magic was almost exclusively divine until the opening of the rift.) Statistically speaking, a grouping of Dwarves, Drow, and Gnomes could easily defeat an equal number of their human counterparts and even two times as many Goblins and Orcs. But their lack of numbers due to the tragedies following the Goblin Uprising has left the populace in a bit of a doldrums. After the victory of Haven over the other two nations, many of Sorofell's citizens became divided as to whether they would decide to join the ranks of the humans or remain resentful and live solitary lives ever hopeful of a time of prosperiety over the Humans. But perhaps their chance will come soon enough...

-Gorkolian Land-
[Dominantly: Chaotic and Evil]
To the South-west, the land of Goblins, Orcs, Suarians, and Kobolds thrived. Due to much argument and disagreement to the naming of this nation, it had been named the only thing the stupid Goblins would agree to: Gorkolian Land. It was either this or something as ridiculous as Big Dick Fuck You Nation. Truly the nation of discord and savagery, Gorkolian Land has a very vague and weak hierarchy of command, though they all generally hold at least one person in high regard as their leader. Typically a Suarian or intelligent Orc, the leader of Gorkolian Land is revered as the most capable combatant in all the land. All that is required to take his position is to defeat him in one-on-one combat or inherit it. It was not uncommon for a leader to die in combat and leave his throne to an incapable child only to have all that know of the leader's passing make a dash to kill the weak and defenseless son. Much of Gorkolian Land's involvement in the war is tied mostly to their barbaric raids of neighboring countries and the threat they pose should their numbers go unchecked. About 25 years before the opening of the rift, much of Gorkolian Land was conquered by Sorofell. But then a Powerful Saurian, later known as the Touched One, almost single handily defeated Gorkolian Land's unwelcome occupants. The Touched One was the first being in Vercution to tap into the powers of the arcane and use this power to cast powerful arcane magics and summon the first outsiders to aid him in combat. This event was later known as the Goblin Uprising. Many attempted to Emulate the Touched One's powers but to very little success, only managing to create dwarfed divine versions of his creations and, due to his heritage, The Touched One had no desire to take on an Apprentice to pass on his knowledge. It would not be until after the Rift's arrival did anyone achieve such arcane brilliance as The Touched One. After his passing, about six months before the Rift's appearance, it was only a matter of time before Haven crushed Gorkolian Land.

-Haven-
[Dominantly: Good]
To the north, the land of Humans, Elves, and Halflings known at the time as Haven. Because of the great sense of compassion shared in its citizens, this area has always been rather tolerant of other races and merely fought to put down the other two nations attempting to opress them and Haven. Most refugees find solace here, particularly those of races that do not fit in with any of the big three. The only major exception to this would be for Goblins, Orcs, and Ogres, which have been labeled as savage and unpredictable by Haven. While the soldiers of Sorofell mostly held only small skirmishes against Haven (mainly due to their focus of defending against Gorkolian Land at the time) Gorkolian Land was taking massive strides against them. It was obvious who needed to be put down first. About one year after the appearance of the rift the war had all but been won, save for a few skirmishes to solidify their victory. However, a new threat had sprung up in this time under the veil of the war. An enemy come to be known as The First has mustered a military force composed almost entirely of constructs that controls much of the land spanning from the East to the south and the central lands of the continent. As the remaining Haven forces struggled to hold the constructs back, the king Agorith Steelle sent his son Prince Remington Steelle to assemble a party of brave and capable men to break the enemies' lines and put this threat to an end.

-The First-
The being first discovered after the opening of the rift. The actual identity of The First is not known, since he wheres a strange suit of armor and helmet that masks his face. What is known of this 'man' is that upon his arrival to the material plane his existance was mostly ignored. The war took presidence to the other nations at the time which gave The First exactly what he needed to start cranking out his army. He started small, using only a small force of constructs to aid him and his raids against the Dwarven mines of Sorofell. At first, the raids were small allowing him to gret only the tools and materials he needed. But as he continued to build onto his army, he was able to overtake one of the mines and establish a base of operations. From here, it is unclear how he continued his conquest with such success. No matter how many constructs were defeated, two more would take their place. Reports also suggest that many of the citizens of Gorkolian Land decided to ally with him after claiming to have defeated The Touched One, despite his demise six months prior to The First's arrival. Several months before the Paroxysm, Haven scouts reported that The First was designing a weapon that had the power to open, close, and even destroy the rift. King Steelle, after asserting his victory in the War-of-Races, turned his attention to this new threat sending his son Prince Remington and his companions to stop The First. Upon Remington's arrival to the rift, The First was nearly ready to activate his plan. Having prepared for the final battle, The First assembled his strongest and most loyal soldiers to aid him. Most surprisingly however, not all them were purely constructs consisting of men and women from many races.

-Company of The Magi- *
A small group of researchers dedicated to understanding and mastering the arts of arcane magic. Formed about 3 years before the opening of the rift, The Company of the Magi spent most of their time scouring the continent searching for magical artifacts and studying all forms of magic. Before the Paroxysm, it was believed that magic was derived from a divine source usually connected to one of the gods. Yet, the Magi thought differently, believing that many of the 'weak' wizards and sorcerers were actually being inhibited by learning how to utilize their arcane powers through divine teachings. Haven and Sorofell did not react kindly to this sentiment and began hunting down these so called 'Corrupters' in attempts to overthrow the power of the churches (and Gorkolian Land... Well, goblins are retarded and vicious so the imagination can fill in the blanks). This caused the Magi to lose much of their collected knowledge and be forced perform their studies nomadically, avoiding the swords of their hunters and the persecutions of the devout. While many mercenaries fought to spill the Magis' blood, some came to aid them sympathetic to their cause or even had an arcane gift they had no chance of understanding without their help. When the rift had opened, the Magi were fascinated beyond all comprehension. While they could not spend long periods of time nearby studying the rift, they still managed to get some very useful data from it. They had managed to build open their knowledge almost four fold, more than compensating for their previous loses. When the Magi had learned of The First and his plans for the rift, it was obvious what they would being next. However, they arrived late to the party as Prince Remington and The First had already gotten well into their fight by the time they had arrived. As the rift unleashed its power on the power on the world, most of the Magi were caught in the area of effect of the interior explosion. These men and women had vanished into the void, but of those that had remained, their newfound power and knowledge would shape the world anew.

-The Rift-*
A mysterious arcane rip in the borders of the planes serving as funnel of sorts into the material plane. Little is actually known of the rift by most aside from the fact that it is used as a portal for demons to invade the world. When it exploded causing the paroxysm, there were three initial areas of effect affecting everything within 150 ft, 10 miles, and worldwide respectively from the epicenter of the rift. Those caught in the first, or interior, explosion vanished into thin air. Only sentient beings possessing a soul were affected and any material non sentient or soulless matter was severely distorted and warped or destroyed. All caught in the second, or exterior, explosion were infused with a large amount of arcane energy either empowering them or killing them through the overload of energy. Those of The Company of the Magi not caught in the interior explosion were the most affected by this, granting them very potent powers. The land in the area was also affected by the exterior explosion. While there were no immediate effects, the area touched by the explosion began to slowly emulate inter-planar environments through a slow transformation spanning about 70 years. And finally, the third explosion also known as the ripple had, to knowledge of most, a global reach affecting various magic entities or otherwise arcanely powered beings. The most notable of those affected by the ripple are the lands undead, growing in strength, aggression, and longevity. This event would also go to change the worlds views on the acts of summoning directly resulted from the rapid appearance of outsiders from the rift.


-Haven-
[Dominantly: Lawful ; Lead by King Archibald III]
Haven is still a dominantly human land but has thus given tolerance to those which were once their enemies. This should not be mistaken for an alliance as most of Haven still holds resentment against the Goblins, Orcs, and Ogres for their unbridled savagery. They are still allowed citizenship however, so long as they behave within the law. Suarians and Kobolds have it a bit easier for their slight inclination towards acting more civilized than their barbaric cousins, but more conservative Humans will still hold a hatred for them as well. Being much more refined and intelligent, the Dwarves and Gnomes are much more revered as strong allies by the humans especially for their mastery of the forge and all forms of magic respectively. Very few Drow defected towards Haven, unwilling to release their grudge but some do exist either in exile or by choice. Haven's old prosperity was quickly neutered by the new uprising taking place to the southwest of them. The rise of the undead. To the southeast however, the army of constructs has ceased any forward actions against them. While barely managing to hold back the onslaught of never ending undead, the humans have managed to reverse engineer some of the constructs technology and repurpose some for their own forces, creating autonomous magical defenses and prosthetics, some which are grafted with special weapons or gadgets, that have allowed those rendered incapable of fighting another opportunity to fight. Oh, and also Mech Suits. Yes they have those too.

-Spargus-*
[Dominantly: Chaotic and Evil; No National Leader and lawless for the most part]
Not officially a nation but a lawless region that was controlled by Haven and then abandoned due to the high density of old Sorofell sympathizers also known as the Purebloods, so rightously dubbed by its members for being incorruptible to the humans' influence and not defecting to their cause. Spargus is the remnants of the old Sorofell empire and the constructs and their factories after Haven reclaimed it twice over. At the rise of the undead and the ever persistant stagnation of the remaining constructs, most of Haven's troops were transferred to the western front. With the Haven forces thinned out, the Pureblooded seized the opportunity and successfully overthrew the Haven occupants ten years before the Paroxysm. Due to recent loses on the Haven western front, reinforcements were an overly expensive luxury for the bases already stationed in the area soon to be called Spargus. Instead, the remaining occupants were called back to hold the line against any possible invasion from Spargus at the Kikowani Mountain range. Since then, the Purebloods have had no interest in attempting to reinstall order to rest of the area allowing for large crime rings to form. While they do not exert any major form of control on the area, the Purebloods are considered the most powerful of the Spargus gangs.

-Savage Lands-
[Dominantly: Chaotic; No National Leader and lawless for the most part]
Few can withstand the terrible dangers that thrive in the Savage Lands, save for those that have made a life of doing so. Many exotic beasts and races thrive here, each with a their own flavor of
monstrousness. Everything here has survived by either being good at killing and rapidly reproducing or not dying and protecting their own kind. Even the climate has a touch savagery, ranging from a frozen tundra to a tropical rain forest. Their are ferries willing to brave the voyage to the savage lands but not cheaply. Before the Rift, summoners would voyage here to attempt to endure the dangers of the Savage Lands as part of a ritual granting them their summoning powers and the aid of a powerful interplanar being (eidolon). After the Paroxysm however, the ritual was abandoned in substitute for other ceremonies to approve of a summoners power.

-The Rift Land-*
[No dominant alignments; No national leader but kept in check by a being known as the Guardian]
The immediate area spanning a 10 mile radius out from the Rift's epicenter, the Rift Land is area twisted by the various energies pouring out from the Rift. Much of this area has been turned into grey sillhoettes of its original form, much like if ash had covered the area, with various colorful growths extending from ground similar to trees. The environment is not directly harmful to living beings but due to the large density of powerful outsider roaming and spawning here, much risk is involved in treading the land. Of these outsiders, a gigantic being come to be known as the Guardian is by far the strongest. It appeared about fifty years after the Paroxysm while a massive horde of undead attempted to seize the area. The Guardian descended from the Rift and annhiliated the horde single handedly. It has since stood watch defending the Rift from any potential threats even other outsiders. Aside from this, it is generally safe to cross the rift land so long one keeps their distance from the natives; unless of course you happen to be in the wrong place at just the right time...

-Areas 1 through 17-*
[Dominantly Lawful; Lead by The First]
The region occupied by The First and his construct army. Orignally portions of the land of Sorofell and Gorkolian Land, Areas 1 through 17 were rrenamed by The First for reasons unknown but likely for the sake of simplicity. Many construct workshops, factories, and forges dot the landscape heavily guarded by armed unmanned sentries and drones. Before the Paroxysm, this area use to bustle with the constructions and mobilizations of the various war machines created by the First. Yet, nearly all activity has ceased since then. Now the machines that occupy the area merely sit and wait for anything to get too close before engaging, defending as opposed to taking any forward actions. Since the Paroxysm much of the area previously claimed by The First has been conquered by Ornesse and Haven (which was later converted to Spargus) providing both with very useful knowledge about limb grafting and the constructs. It has also been discovered that most of these constructs operate off of a hivemind system which issues orders to them but, since the constructs seem to be set in a state of permanent defence it would seem that whatever was in charge of the hivemind has since disappeared. These nations have since expanded on this knowledge and begun to create their own forms of the technology found in Areas 1 through 17, repurposed for use by their military forces.

-Ornesse- *
[Dominantly Evil; Lead by the Lord of Eyes]
The empire of Ornesse, or as known by some, the land of the dead/death. No empire suffered more than Gorkalian Land in the wake of the Paroxysm. What used to be the chaotic fast paced world of goblins and barbarians causing a ruckus all throughout the continent has since been replaced with the horde of undead. A little less than 100 years prior to present day, a member of the Company of the Magi managed to attain the powers of eternal Lichdom. This man, if he could even be claimed by such a pronoun anymore, used his powers to form an army that none of the goblins could have ever hoped to defeat. He swept through and conquered all of Gorkolian Land in only two years using only the basest of undead infantry. Those that once called Gorkolian Land home have since fled, seeking refuge either in Haven or Spargus. Since then, this Lich has come to calling himself the Lord of Eyes so appropriately dubbed as he is infamous for taking at least one of the eyes of those loyal to him as a sign of their fealty. It is even believed that he collects these eyes on his person and has since made them a part of his form. One account describes it as "a large, towering skeleton whose organs have been replaced by the eyeballs of various creatures, bulging out from the gaps between the bones." He has spent the past hundred years perfecting the art necromancy, priding himself on his various undead creations expanding upon his original undead gruntlings to much more specialized and potent units. Part of what has made this fighting force so formidable is in its sheer persistence and versatility. A single blow usually is not enough to even phase one of these monsters, and as more lives are lost everyday to the horde, more undead join their ranks. As the Lord of Eyes sits comfortably in his throne nestled high the Mountain of Fangs, his reach continues to expand.