The Fall - When the World Shattered



1988 was the year the world ended.

A bizarre, crystalline comet flew past the Earth and pieces of it bombarded the planet. The devastation wrought by hundreds of meteor impacts was only the beginning. Earthquakes shook the very foundation of civilization itself. Clouds of dust and debris from the various impacts and volcanic eruptions that followed lingered in the sky for years, sending the planet into an Ice Age. Billions of people died, and millions more followed in the years to come.

Humanity was on the brink of extinction.

The Aftermath - Nature



The crystals have radically changed the world in the past few hundred years.
Where the crystal shards exist, they influence nature around them in new and alien ways.
Coral reefs congregate around large shards buried in shallow waters. The water around them glitters so brightly, it can be seen from shore.

In many jungles, a network of crystal-touched fungus has turned the forest floor into a glowing blanket of crystal threads. Trees bleed glittering sap, sightless birds stalk the underbrush, and lithe predators dominate the canopies.

The crystal's influence has changed every part of nature in the millennia since it arrived. Places where the its influence has been seen are called 'crystal-touched', or simply 'touched'.

The Aftermath - Society



Mankind has not been spared from the crystal's influence. Those who live close these 'crystal-touched' places, gain strange powers and often go insane. The folk tales surrounding the 'crystal's curse' are pervasive, and in many rural villages, people who discover their powers are frequently ostracized or lynched. Many kill themselves, fearing the backlash from their family and community more than death.

Still stranger are the 'Scourged', those who find themselves infected by the crystal itself. These pitiable souls lead cursed lives. The crystal grants them immortality at the cost of corrupting their humanity. Unlike those who simply awaken to new powers and can choose death, these people cannot even die. The crystal they have been bound to, regenerates their body, mutating it more and more until nothing remains except a scarred human shell empty of thought and emotion.

The Scourged


The Touched


The Seekers of Skadhi


Useful terms:
Shards, remnants of the meteor storm which struck Earth.