Today, I'm here to tell you about the world of Horiza!
As we look down on the endless sea, behold two continents. The large one is Orwindar, and the smaller one below it is Kalsundia. Orwindar is split into two warring empires: Avondus on the west, and Nethick to the east, with a war-zone between them.
Avondus is sophisticated but weary and jaded, and its elven rulers place magical compulsion bonds of loyalty on their citizens; humans do most of the daily work. Nethick is ruled by liches, who work dark necromancy to control their citizens, who have long been outnumbered by their undead relatives and ancestors. Both empires have lost the gods who once led them daily, but what they are today was shaped by those gods. Who are dead, or trapped deep beneath the earth, after wars among them and the treachery of their formerly trusted servants, the Old Dwarves, back in Eolithic times. There are rumours—there have always been rumours—that one day they will return.
As we move south of Orwindar, we reach Kalsundia - the setting of Unforetold: Witchstone.
Kalsundia is a wild frontier, truly ruled by no one. Reptiles large and small—dinosaurs, to us, but “thunderbeasts” to Kalsundians—roam these largely mountainous wilderlands, in which can be seen the titanic skeletons of leviathan creatures who perished long ago.
Kalsundia is a chance for a new life for anyone who escapes the Orwindan empires, and it’s also a place both empires are interested in and will likely soon invade and seek to conquer, for it is the source of the richest lodes of witchstones, which are rare and worn out on Orwindar.
Witchstones are what makes this world different.
They are gems of various sizes and hues, that absorb and store the raw energies of the world. When mined, cut, and polished, their wild energy discharges become focused, so they can serve to power furnaces, lamps, firearms, and hundreds of other devices. (They also give off light, and so illuminate Kalsundia.) Of old, the dwarves crafted such things, and some of their largest and most impressive Eolithic creations still function, awaiting new wielders (perhaps you).
These days, a faction of Kalsundians known as the Brightwind Clan dedicate themselves to making witchadar devices—but there are other factions active on Kalsundia, from the law-and-order Commonwealth to the militaristic Free Legion and the sinister Order of the Departed. Not to mention bandits and pirates galore. All of them seeking witchstones, and power. Just like the Orwindan empires across the pirate-infested seas.
Brightwind Clan
Commonwealth
Free Legion
Order of the Departed
These factions don’t get along. Warfare is nigh-constant, and everyone wants their freedom. Usually by taking away someone else’s.
Some of these players are running out of time. A mysterious malady afflicts the elves, so that they waste away. They don’t talk about it, but it gnaws at them just the same.
Kalsundia has a train, and tall fortresses, and its main port of Kalsundar has been there long enough to have decaying “old” buildings that were built recently, and crowding, and intrigue aplenty, with smugglers and spies.
Yet beyond its gates, and the end of the train lines, much of Kalsundia is a wilderness “out there,” and folk talk in the inns and taverns of ghosts, and demons, and strange magic as old ruins are discovered. A lot of it hasn’t yet been properly explored, and bandits and prowling monsters are everywhere, so exploration isn’t a matter of picnics and afternoon strolls. Most explorers, sooner or later, just don’t come back.
So Kalsundia is one big cradle for adventure. We’ll take a closer look at it next time!
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