Aethelgard's Sundered Echoes

The air shimmers, not with heat, but with something…else. A low thrum vibrates through the very bones of your being, a symphony of dissonance that scrapes against the edges of your sanity. You awaken on a shore, but no ordinary shore. The sand is black obsidian, reflecting the alien light of twin moons hanging heavy in a sky the color of bruised plums. A skeletal forest, petrified by some unknown cataclysm, claws at the horizon. You don't remember your name. You don't remember where you came from. All you know is a gnawing emptiness, a void that echoes with the whisper of a forgotten purpose. A single object lies beside you: a tarnished silver locket, cool to the touch. Inside, a miniature portrait – a face vaguely familiar, yet obscured by the ravages of time or perhaps, something more deliberate. This is Aethelgard. A world shattered by The Sundering, a cataclysm that ripped apart the fabric of reality and left behind a landscape warped and twisted beyond recognition. Fragments of forgotten civilizations drift through the aether, colliding and merging in unpredictable ways, creating a chaotic tapestry of the familiar and the utterly alien. You are a Wanderer, one of the few souls resilient enough, or perhaps unfortunate enough, to awaken within Aethelgard. Marked by the Sundering, you possess a flicker of the old magic, a spark that could either ignite hope or consume you entirely. The path ahead is shrouded in mystery and peril. Ancient ruins guard forgotten secrets, grotesque creatures stalk the shadowed valleys, and desperate factions vie for control of what little remains. The remnants of the Old Gods stir in their slumber, their dreams shaping the landscape and influencing the fate of all who dwell within. You are not alone. Other Wanderers roam the land, each driven by their own motivations, each burdened by their own amnesia. Some will become allies, others will become enemies. Trust is a rare and precious commodity in Aethelgard. Your journey begins now. Unravel the mysteries of your past, confront the horrors of the present, and decide the future of a world teetering on the brink of oblivion. What will you become in Aethelgard? Will you be a savior, a destroyer, or simply another echo lost in the ruins of a forgotten world? The choice, Wanderer, is yours.