Backstory

Valtheim, the prosperous land seemingly imbued with otherworldly properties, has recently fallen ill. Plant and animal life has been slowly withering away as rifts of darkness seep their black magic in to the roots of the world. Alongside the death and dilapidation of structures, Shadow Creatures are spawning in areas increasingly close to the kingdom's largest cities. Warriors and mages are going missing in the night, with their horribly mangled bodies turning up weeks later in dead areas... or not at all. Many of the citizens believe that the most powerful fighters and defenders are being hunted by these abominations, however, the number of casualties from their divisions outnumber those from the guardians.

A few of the other kingdoms have experienced similar issues, but none as severe as Valtheim, and exposing this weakness to the other kingdoms might foster a full-scale invasion of the kingdom.

The fate of Valtheim, and possibly the world, must be changed before the effects become irreversible.

History
When the world as we know it was first starting, a single reigning king ruled over every life in the realm. He was kind, and good, but his strong leadership abilities could not prevent his own death at an old age. Immediately following his death, men had already took up arms against each other to secure provinces for their own posterity, greed, and selfish benefit. Each man’s motive was different, but they had the same goal: succession to the throne of absolute ruler of the world. After decades of fighting, nine men stood against one another in a “final round”-sort-of-occasion. Among these men was a young wizard by the name of Valth.

Having seen the mass death and destruction left in the armies’ wake, Valth suggested that, instead of fighting to subjugate one another, the men should divide the vast lands between one another. After all, there were only nine of them left, with whatever of their armies had survived the relentless war.

It took three years to convince the other eight to divide the land, and then another five to draw the borders between the countries. Much of the world had only been mapped by its’ borders, and not all of what lay within those dashed lines was known to them. Thus, this relentless grab for power was more of a lottery of chance and luck than a fair trade.

Valth allowed the other eight to choose first, passively taking what was left to avoid further conflict. As a result, he received the third-largest plot of land, right in the center of the world - however, only the borders were known to the men. The inside was completely blank, with nothing discovered. After the negotiations were concluded, Valth traveled to his land, praying that it was not a vast desert or barren wasteland, riddled dry by the war, as the rumours had told.

With him he carried the map of the lands and his copy of the agreement all the men had signed: The Charter of Parkseneon. Each country now holds this sacred charter, hidden in their capital city.

Valth discovered that his quick wit and diplomacy had worked in his favor yet again - the land was large and bountiful, beautiful and diverse: his reward for settling the feud between the men and stopping the age of absolute power.

The rest of this history will require a dive in to one of the libraries around Valtheim, if one wishes to dig deeper.