Age of Vigilance

In Larrunana, the 39th Century of the Third Age saw a rapid rise in crime. In the 3890's, the son of a wealthy dwarf merchant in Nuevo Eborekon went to see a performance of Z- about the famous sword-fighting rogue of Arrananoma- with his parents. While exiting the theatre, a thief arrived and slew his parents in front of him. The boy swore vengeance for his slain parents and after traveling the world to learn from the greatest minds in combat. Upon his return to Nuevo Eborekon in 3938, the dwarf assumed the Black Armor of a knight and began fighting crime on the streets of the city at night. The dwarf took on the name Black Knight.

In the farmlands of the Vast Plains, two dwarves living in a small farming community prayed to the gods to send them a child- as they were incapable of bearing children. One day, the gods answered their prayers and an infant appeared from another world in the basket of a mysterious make. The dwarves raised the infant boy as their own and brought him up on their farm. It was not long into the boy's childhood however that the two dwarves recognized this was no ordinary mortal. The boy firstly appeared to be a half-elf of some type. He grew to be tall- six feet in height. It was also clear the boy was not of the mortal realm- as he was fleet of foot, strong as an ox, and had abilities beyond mortals over sight and hearing. When the boy became an adult half-elf, he decided to leave his family and seek refuge in a land where his powers would not endanger those around him. The move would eventually lead to meeting Poesia and learning about his home realm. The land was destroyed by the gods and the boy's parents sent him to the Vast Plains in the mortal realm where he may survive and carry on the legacy of his people. From Poesia, the half-elf learned his name- Kell- and travelled to the eastern shores of Turtle Island to combat injustices by day. He assumed the white armor of his extinct people- given to him by Poesia- and took on the name White Knight.

In Northern Aliaanza'nchi- the next Half-Demon was called up in 3919 after the end of the Great Dwarf War resulted in the death of the previous Half-Demon. This new human Half-Demon was a Hubbad- a paladin defender of the humans of Miseer. Neshir's guardian trained her well and the Half-Demon would become a fierce fighter in Miseer. She fought gnolls and were-hyena. She battled vampires and centaurs. By 3939, Neshir was reaching middle age, but had by no means lost her edge.

During the early years of the Third Age, thousands of years before the Great Dwarf War, there lived a race of warrior women among the border lands that separated the gnomes, dwarves, half-elves, elves, and humans. Here lived women adopted from all of these races who could defend the tribe and serve their queen. When Guerra- dwarven god of war- became jealous of his fellow god Armarria- dwarven goddess of warrior women- for the love these warrior women showed her and disinterest they showed him, Guerra decided to launch a war against the warrior women. In the war, he led a band of dwarves against the warrior women and in the end resulted in his defeat. Txamista refused to allow the queen of the warrior women to kill Guerra, but Txamista's wife Ogio agreed to create a world in which the warrior women could live free from the evils of men's wars. For two thousand years, these women lived in their realm alone, building great libraries and arenas for sport. Their lives were filled with all but children- as while the warriors were free from the evils of men, they were absent of the joys of motherhood. One day, the queen herself prayed to the gods to send her a child and Txamista answered her prayers. The dwarven god of thunder sent his bolts of lightning into a clay doll and brought her to life. The queen raised her daughter Keremet to become a powerful warrior and champion of knowledge. When the Great Dwarf War erupted, the arcane weapons used to slay thousands tore open the barriers between the mortal realm and the land of the warrior women. The queen decided to send her daughter to investigate the mortal realm and to rebuild the border that separated their worlds. Princess Keremet allied herself with the Spessartites and fought in the Great Dwarf War. After the war, she rebuilt the borders separating the realms, but remained among the mortals to learn more about their realm.

In the 9th Century of the Third Age, the Santos People- rare half-dwarves who lived in the Eastern Mediator Sea- were awoken by the immediate ignition of their volcanic island. A small band of warlocks hastily crafted a new realm to protect as many of the half-dwarves that they could. The island- on which lived a hundred thousand half-dwarves- was annihilated. The warlocks successfully built a realm, but could only save a thousand Santos in their haste. One of these was the infant crown prince Rowai. Rowai's royal parents raised him in the new Santos homeland built in an undersea realm in which the Santos could breathe underwater. As with the warrior women, the Great Dwarf War's use of arcane weapons tore open the barriers between the mortal realm and that of the Santos. Rowai was sent to investigate and represent his people in this now foreign world. Rowai fought underwater in the Great Dwarf War, destroying battleships of the Mujikan Navy. The Santos prince then rebuilt the borders separating his world from the mortal realm, but he too elected to stay among the mortals and learn more from them.

In the 3930's the Txahal dwarf who wielded the Ancient Blade took power in his country and set to work rebuilding the Otsoan Empire- a once powerful empire which ruled over the Mediator Sea. The emperor sent his armies into Aliaanza'nchi to capture Txahal colonies lost during the 39th Century. In the nearby West Obsidian Peninsula, another emperor was attempting to rebuild the might of the Silver Dwarves who once held a massive empire over the world during the 36th Century. This emperor allied himself with a vampire who had recently been elected emperor of Mujika. The latter was eager to test new weapons and tactics who planned to use later for revenge on the dwarves who defeated his nation during the Great Dwarf War. In the Winter of 3938, the vampiric Mujikan Emperor began moving his forces into the lands of the Southern Red Dwarves, annexing them into his empire. In the Summer of 3939, he then launched his forces into gnome lands and began his invasion of Eastern Zezen. The new Steward of the Otvud Union- the remains of the former Gnome Empire allied himself with the vampire to protect his own lands from invasion and the Second Great Dwarf War began.

Elsewhere, the Richu Empire launched their invasion of mainland Si and allied themselves with the Mujikan Empire, the Txahal Empire, and the Otvud Union. Jabalina and Labana- two nations who fought against the Mujikans during the First Great Dwarf War- assembled their armies and prepared for the new war. While fighting erupted across the world, the dwarves of Larrunana remained peaceful in neutrality in 3939. The Black Knight continued to fight crime in Nuevo Eborekon and the White Knight fought crime nearby. The two vigilantes would eventually butt heads- separated only by the arrival of Princes Keremet. She addressed the heroes and warned them of the future scope of the Second Great Dwarf War and the two agreed intervention was necessary. Keremet introduced the two to Rowai and Neshir and the five heroes formed the League- an organization formed to protect the world from disaster.