Background

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a world of magical energy that was so ubiquitous as to be utterly mundane? A world where power is so abundant that it is free for the taking? A place that parallels a technological civilization in many ways, but a more primitive time in others?

Ember is such a world, blessed with the infinite power of the Luthien Stone. Long ago, the great crystal crashed into Ember with devastating results. Eventually, the planet’s atmosphere healed and the massive crater filled with rain water with only the solid core of the crystal protruding from the wind-swept surface.

The people of Ember were nearly lost in the cataclysm, but some survived the long night and emerged to create new settlements, to till the soil and repopulate the land. Eventually, an intrepid adventurer made the long journey across the crater lake to land up on the shores of the monstrous shard and uncovered its properties.

But man seldom uses great power wisely, and this was no exception. Amid an explosion of power-based growth and technology, the nations of men warred with each other until few lived that had not lost a loved one to it. Unable to live with the cost, the people rose up and threw down the warlords. In the land of Orandell, a federation of city-states arose and with it, the Council of Nine.

The Nine were always the wises of their cities and, with the Luthien Stone, they kept peace and prosperity for their people for many centuries. Now, almost two thousand years since the founding of the Republic the nine great cities are marvels of beauty and technology, their streets and halls full of wonders.

But the golden age of Ember was not without cost. The people, enjoying the safety and wealth afforded them by the Stone and the many conveniences it afforded them, rejected their Gods as myths and foolish fantasies. The magic of the land faded from use, the harsh discipline needed to master it no longer worth the effort, and then it was forgotten.

Yet high up in the mountains in the northeast of Orandell, a handful of folk clung stubbornly to the old ways. They shunned the easy life available in the cities and honored the old Gods, now long in slumber. Little do they know, their isolated settlement will soon become the focus of a miraculous event.

Come, journey with me into a world of high adventure, as a great shadow falls across the land and the deeds of brave men and women become the hope of a desperate people. This is Ember.