The background
In the past 6 years…
The people of Faerun are forever indebted to you all. From kings and queens to the lowly street sweepers, all celebrate your names and legacy.
In the heart of Baldur's Gate, where the shadow of the Upper and Lower Cities meets, a towering alabaster monument now pierces the sky. Statues of each of you stand at its base, cast in incorruptible silver. Your faces are frozen in defiance, permanently watching over the port city to remind its citizens of the sacrifices that guaranteed their freedom.
Similar structures rise proudly across the North.
Banners bearing the mark of heroes fly proudly from the tallest towers and turrets in every city. In smaller, once threatened villages, humble wooden carvings and memorial shrines serve as everyday reminders of the protectors who delivered the world from a star's eternal hunger.
In the months and years immediately following the calamity, you all take a well-deserved rest. An opportunity to come to terms with a world that is forever changed. Your minds and souls would need time to adjust to this new chapter of life. The stark contrast between a world and your lives under constant threat, to one of peace and comfort is likely unsettling at first. Some might find themselves looking for trouble where none exists. Engaging in rowdy carousing or looking for competition of any kind in every tavern or alley. Some might find it challenging adjusting to sleeping in plush beds and feathery pillows after years on the road. You may prefer the floor or outside under a tree.
How each of you settles into your new life probably varies, but one thing you all share are the memories and comradery forged in blood and the fires of Avernus.
Maybe you find tranquility and a life of complete relaxation. Maybe unfinished business calls you back to the roads and wild lands. Others might turn to a life of trade, seeking to build an empire or simply carve out a simple and honest living. Others might take a path of political influence.
Servants of Hadar were hunted down. Either rounded up to stand trial for their crimes or were killed before they ever saw a magistrate. A bounty hunting organization, Starkillers, was formed to eradicate any of Hadar’s influence and profit from it, for the lords and ladies, dukes and duchesses, and all manner of social elite across the land were willing to pay to ensure peace prevailed.
Even with Hadar forever banished, he left his mark. There are fractures still scarring the lands of Faerun - chasms hundreds of feet wide - where the earth split open from Hadar’s twisted and corrupt, necrotic energy.
It took the combined efforts of artisans, magic users, and those in-tune with Mother Nature to mend what could be mended. Expert masons and architects collaborated with druids to shape rock and stone; forming bridges and structures to reconnect key trade ways and ideal travel routes.
A great piece of the earth now floats above sea level - a monument and reminder of the gravitational distortion Hadar’s magic caused. 10,000 feet above, on this floating disc of rock, the city of Elysium is ever expanding. A place for the adventurous folk of high society. The cost of living is a barrier for most so it’s more of a vacation destination or weekend splurge for those who can afford it, or find other ways in…
Arcane magic is treated with uncomfortable suspicion in most places, in a few major cities they’ve even passed legislation forbidding it in public. Politicians pushed agenda out of fear, claiming magic was the tool used to spread corruption and bring about the great calamity. Elders and scholars of the arcane, and those in-tune with its energy know the Weave is stable, but most avoid using it for fear of unwanted attention.
In the wake of Hadar’s undoing a sickness afflicts the outer lands. From where the heroes sealed him out there was a radial displacement blast that surged 100 miles in every direction. The twisted energy settled on the outer rims of Faerun. Creating a borderland of despair. Crops withered. Rivers, lakes, and wells dried up or turned toxic. Animals died or mutated into feral unnatural beasts. People became sick, coughing up ash and blood.
In an effort to preserve the peace and prevent the spread of the blight. A great call of workers were tasked to build “the wall” that would keep the blight at bay, and preserve a sanctuary within. Many who answered the call were those whose towns had fallen outside the ring of safety, and been consumed by the blightlands. They were eager to see to the fortifications and prove they belonged inside the refuge. The wall fulfilled its purpose. The occasional monstrosity would find a chink in the defenses, so patrols were put in place, but all in all it was an era of peace and prosperity.
