Introduction

In 1589 SE (Standard Era), three tall ships from the empires of the White Crown Concordance, an alliance of powerful imperial states, sailed through the skies and the void of space to land and begin colonies on each of the three moons of the magical world of Shem. What they found there were many different cultures and species who were at first friendly and later defensive against their incursions.

On the Grey Moon, they found many local species wielding elemental powers, living in small countries or territories. Many are nomadic, but some are more settled - all have become very organized against them. After years of conflict, some have become much more powerfully coordinated in their resistance, uniting into an alliance designed to repel the colonials. This long conflict has led to many “neutral” towns where colonials, locals, and others can live together in a quasipeaceful environment.

Among the most powerful groups on the Grey Moon are the First Coven, a group of powerful witches who wield the powers of the Grey Moon herself; the Grey Alliance, the long list of nations, species, and countries resisting colonial expansion; and the cats of Urtharia, magical, elemental beings who protect the farside of the moon.

On the Green Moon, they found the expansive Queendom of Diaganacht, ruled by the fairy queen Diaga, and a handful of smaller countries run by many different local species. The Green Moon has a thick, green atmosphere and brightly colored plants and many fey animals and creatures. Its history is extensive and full of tales that form the heart of its many cultures.

The stories of the Green Moon are many, but the most famous is that of the Cinn Mhaith, the Six Heroes, who fought an ancient monster and sealed it in a volcano called Urlacan. The area around this volcano, called Searbh, is now a toxic wasteland. These heroes later joined Queen Diaga on a journey through the solar system, and each one came back changed, then retired to different lives. Famously, they all wielded magical objects made by Queen Diaga herself.

On the White Moon, the colonials initially thought it to be lifeless, but soon found out there were many powerful species and countries there, though many of them live underground. The non-sublunar countries are mostly smaller ones, while those underground are vast and complex. The most powerful country is Uur’Sodzul, a country of physical energy beings called athaks, who draw power from the void of space and energies of negation. They have proven to be the most dangerous opponents to the colonials on the White Moon.

The history of the athaks is kept close and obscured to outsiders, but it is known their leaders are called the Vast. These are completely formless, invisible energy beings living in a chamber somewhere under the ground. Also on the White Moon is a large colony of gnomes who live in a mechanical country; they arrived long before colonizers ever did and no one knows how they did so. They have pioneered ways to survive there above the surface.

The peoples of the moons have long been able to travel between the moons, using either elemental methods like the moonspanner millipedes, special flying ships, or other magic like teleportation or folding space. They also have connections to aliens and other beings from the wider cosmos, including from other planets, from the asteroid belt, and from distant stars.

The game will start in the town of Zelentravn, a neutral town on the Grey Moon, that is run by a council representing the local population, immigrants, refugees, and ex-colonials in an uneasy truce.