The land of Terramaul was once plagued by monsters.

Deep in the south of the large continent that made up the bulk of their world, at the pinnacle of a mountain range that hugged the eastern side, was a smouldering mountain with caves that ran deep into the earth. Some caves eternally wept lava like wounds that would never heal. And those caves that did not release lava, released endless legions of monsters instead.

Giant spiders, many headed serpents, poisonous plants, horses armed with horns in the centre of their foreheads which they impaled upon those who could not run fast enough. There were lizards that could turn any living thing to stone that beheld their gaze, ogres that stomped on unsuspecting souls, goblins that wrecked continuous havoc and animals that were blended together in ways that seemed utterly unfathomable and yet, out they poured from the bowels of the mount.

And all these monsters fed on the flesh of the humans of Terramaul.

The humans lived in fortresses and clan groups, fragmented and isolated.

All travel, even the smallest distance, was treacherous indeed. And if one was desperate enough to cross open land for help though they knew the chances of anyone saving them was slim, by the time they returned to their home, there was no one left alive.

The obliteration of their world seemed inevitable.

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After all, who could stand against the savagery of mindless, powerful monsters?

In the end, it was not one man who did…but one man and his four knights, aided by a powerful sorceress who united the isolated clans, rallied the people to make a stand and took the fight to the monsters.

And as he and his knights fought, the people built a wall.

Thirty feet high, reaching from the south western edge of the continent where the turbulent water of the ocean was a natural deterent to the very mountains of which the dreaded mount was a part of.

A thousand years later, the wall continues to endure and in the northern half of the continent, now known as ‘Terra’, the people have thrived under the kingship of those descended from the valiant man who united the people in the city named after the star that hangs in the heavens above – Astaril.

To this day, the monsters continue to spawn and rage yet are thwarted by the wall and the valiant and brave souls who stand watch against the corrupted land of Maul and who keep safe the land of Terra.

And yet, despite all of this, not all monsters were obliterated from the north. Some went into hiding. Others circumvented the wall by dangerous means of which few survived. They are the remnants, the last surviving blights upon a united kingdom that has grown fat and lazy in its safety. Only those that seek to distinguish themselves above their peers would bother with seeking out monsters upon which to cut their teeth and burgeon their reputation.

And yet…there is one such person who does not know it yet but upon whom all hope of Astaril and indeed, all of Terramaul, rests. Perhaps that is for the best. After all, legends are always better in rear reflection, nobler in deed, grander in appearance and stronger than all others.

We would not want to put undue pressure upon a man who has yet to fully wash the smell of fish from his skin and shake the scales from his clothes.