THE AGE OF DARKNESS
The Corruptor
This event, more than any other, brought about the end of the Age of Discovery and heralded that a new age was upon the residents of Cellworld. Timing his arrival perfectly to coincide with the first day of the 1,000th year CY and the first year of DC 61 the Corruptor brought about immediate change to Cellworld.
The Corruptor manifested as a dark moon with red cracks pitting its surface and the time is sometimes called The Arrival of the Third Child. Up to three times a month the Corruptor still appears in the night sky and some months it never appears at all. The Corruptor does not have any apparent phases; when it appears, it is always full.
But it was not so much the appearance of a dark and foreboding moon in the sky that created a feeling of dread for the people of Cellworld; it was the strange things that happened to many of the mortals when the Corruptor did appear. On nights when the Corruptor appeared, select humans and members of other races painfully turned into evil animals or hybrids of their humanoid and animal form. This change was painful and always resulted in an evil transformation that was intent with killing.
Now that the lycanthropes have walked the lands of the Kage for a number of years, a little more is understood. It is believed that upon the Corruptor’s arrival, many animals were corrupted and became the first lycanthropes (and now known as natural lycanthropes). This act was an obvious affront to Aris, who had earlier created the guardian races from animals. The greater terror was to come however. As these lycanthropes preyed upon intelligent life, those that did not die also rose as lycanthropes. These became known as ‘the afflicted’.
The Corruptor remains in the sky. It is uncertain what its purpose is or where it came from. The lycanthropes continue to prowl the lands too. Although some remedies have been found for lycanthropy, they remain one of the most feared beings upon the earth. Most recently, shifters have been making appearances. These are considered a new race. They are the offspring of a lycanthrope and non-lycanthrope union.
Rise of the Tojaran Empire
Things have been relatively quiet along the borders with the Tojaran Empire for the last several hundred years, as drought ravaged its lands. However, recently they have invaded Anor, the last of the free countries in the southern part of Cardan, taking control over those lands. Tojaran assassins have been foiled in their attempts to kill the royal family of Arak, spies have infiltrated Avalin, and Tojaran armies mass on the southern borders of Carantha, Cheldayne, Ath Verayne and the Lands of Gorlinn.
The races of the north wait in fear, wondering when the next hobgoblin war trumpet shall echo across the lands.
A Plague of Plagues / A Time for Adventure
A large number of storms, earthquakes, plagues, and other catastrophes accompanied the arrival of the Corruptor. All of these events have lead to the current times being called the Age of Darkness. Most civilizations have been rocked by some disaster recently, evil beings see it as a time to once again rise boldly in numbers and openly oppose the races of good, a dark moon and its evil corruptions walk the earth reveling in bestial savagery and more secretive and darker threats have only been hinted at, such as the spreading of the dark elves and the serpentine.
The serpentine are believed to be magically manipulating other races to become serpent-like and servitors. The number of cults dedicated to the Dark God is increasing, some claiming that their powers are being granted directly by the Dark God, despite its imprisonment.
In every corner of the world, new menaces are on the rise, and now, more than ever, Cellworld needs heroes. Bold adventurers and paragons of their professions must lead the fight against the rising tides of evil.
CNote: A complete list of events so far is attached to the bottom of this page. I might have to bump the year the Nyaatan Marked Ones return back a few years to coincide with the Crescent Isles Marked Ones. In any case, they are around in the same year now.