Setting Overview

 

It is the dawn of the year 2000 C.R. The Empire of Metamor stretches across the lands of the West, from Arabarb in the north to the Sea of Pyralis in the south. At the head of this empire is the Great Lady, Majestrix Kyia, who has ruled Metamor with a strong but benevolent hand for a thousand years. Possessed of all the power once held by the gods and daedra, she is revered and loved by the vast majority of her people but strictly insists that she must not be worshiped. While religious freedom is guaranteed to all, Kyia herself recognizes only one god, Iluvatar. The exact nature of this deity, however, and what He/She/It wants from mortal beings, is a matter that she has left to her subjects to work out for themselves.

To aid her in ruling an empire that spans thousands of square miles, Kyia has employed avatars to act as proxy rulers of the regional territories. Some of these avatars are former gods and goddesses who came under Kyia's protective wing in the years after the Great Fall, but others are humans whom Kyia has chosen for their honesty, ability and integrity, upon whom she has bestowed a portion of her power. These avatars walk the land like saints, dispensing justice and maintaining ties between the Majestrix and her people. They are widely respected and known to all, and their wise leadership has won them the hearts of the people.

Most of them, that is.

There are those on the outskirts who yearn for the days of chaos -- servants of the dark forces that have lain dormant in the world since the dawn of Pax Metamoria. Congregating in darkness, huddled in the shadows of the towering skyscrapers of Metamor City, the forces of darkness plot the downfall of the Empire and the ushering in of a new age.

On January 1st, 2000 C.R., they make their first strike.