Foreword:

 

I hold this to be true: the world we know is not the sole, defining timeline. As Xynthin demonstrated to us, possibilities have a world of their own. What can be, is, and has a life as true and as vibrant as our own. And though the barriers between worlds are mighty, they are not insurmountable. The divergent branches of possibility may converge upon one another and interact, each changing the other forever.

 

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A Brief History of the Second Age of Nature

by Thul Talnara, High Chief of the Serenguard Lodge

 

The Taint Wars concluded with the sacrifice of Marylinth, the annihilation of Celest, and the restoration of relative peace to the Basin of Life. It is this day, 543 years after the birth of the Celestine Empire, that historians recognize as the start of the Second Age of Nature, an era characterized by the dominance of the Serenwilde Commune over the Basin of Life, a resurgence of devotion to the natural spirits, and a deliberate and dedicated effort to cleanse lands contaminated during the rule of the Empire.

 

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THE FIRST DAYS

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In a flash of steam and ash, the previously unassailable Celestine Empire had vanished. Though wholesale destruction remained in its wake, the Serenwilde Commune had emerged from the Taint Wars not only unscathed, but bolstered by refugees from both vanished Ackleberry and doomed Gloriana. Still, the weight of tragedy hung over the forest, and for a short while it appeared that the commune would simply withdraw into itself and leave the rest of the Basin to its own devices.

 

That changed abruptly when Farella Lunseer, High Priestess of the Moon, was struck by terrible visions, leaving her mad and rambling for a full month. The transcript of her ravings told of a world torn by war, ruined by terrible machines and a resurgent Empire and worst of all, the spirits Crow and Night reveling in their corruption as they spread their influence across the land like a plague. And in the midst of it all, Serenwilde would still be there, marginalized and impotent, bargaining with demons and monsters for mere survival.

 

The High Priestess finally succumbed to fever and fell into a sleep from which she never returned. Poring over her visions, the scholars of Serenwilde determined a coherent series of events, and led an excursion south along the coast, where they found something shocking: a group of merian scholars and soldiers, attempting to reconstruct the Pool of Stars, just as the visions had warned.

 

Unwilling to risk a second Celestine Empire, the Serenwilde attacked in force, routing the merian encampment, dispersing the elemental energies around the nascent edifice, and seizing information critical to the nexus's construction. The survivors would loudly condemn Serenwilde, but on that day, a pact was made between the commune leaders: they would do all in their power to prevent the Lunseer Visions from coming true.

 

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THE CLEANSING OF THE EAST

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The threat of a new Empire killed at the root, Serenwilde turned its attention eastward, where the remnants of Ackleberry were under siege by Tainted raiders. The commune's reputation improved greatly as it came to the aid of the furrikin village of Estelbar, fortifying the area against orcish predation. After several months of gathering forces, Tobari Stonemane turned the defense into an all-out assault, leading the commune's forces to level the corrupted village of Acknor, and driving what orcs remained to the safety of Magnagora.

 

While the cleansing of Acknor was lauded as a great success, Serenwilde's leaders knew that a tainted city would be a much greater challenge. So it was that Temeril Zayah, the new High Priestess of the Moon, journeyed to Faethorn to ask the assistance of Queen Maeve. While Maeve was at first reluctant to give her assistance, the revelation of several passages from the Lunseer Visions filled her with an unusual dread, and soon Serenwilde had her full support in the attack.

 

On the full moon of Lion, 27 2N, Serenwilde launched its assault on Magnagora. Long wary of the militant commune on its border, the Tainted city rallied its defenses, but these proved wholly inadequate against the very forces of nature which sought its destruction. The moon, high and cold, picked off undead soldiers one by one as they ran into the night. A few priests of the old Emanations of Shallamar sought to secure the gates, but their twisted new philosophies were no match for the tide of Seren warriors charging their gates. The magics of the twisted Earth plane failed to stop the ravenous mass of roots which ravaged the city's very foundations. In a single night, Magnagora was reduced to an empty crater, overgrown with blackened vines. Those that weren't slaughtered either fled for the mountains or through the corrupted Stone of Truth, to seek refuge in the far planes.

 

The next few years would prove difficult for the occupying Serenwilde forces, as they faced guerilla assaults from the outlying mountains and periodically, from the Stone of Truth itself, as Magnagoran zealots led demonic hordes through the nexus. Finally, though, with a great amount of research and the aid of the Great Spirits, the corrupted edifice was destroyed once and for all. In a final defense mounted by the Magnagoran remnant, Ashtorath himself was brought forth to defend the nexus, but the Emanation died pinned against the Stone by the antlers of White Hart. On the 10th day of Night, 32 2N, the Stone of Truth was shattered, and the Magnagoran occupation over. Finally, Serenwilde could turn its attention to cleansing the area of the Taint.

 

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THE COMING OF ESTARRA

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For over two hundred years after the fall of Magnagora, Serenwilde would reign largely unchallenged over the Basin. Druids based out of Estelbar sought to heal the void left by the Ackleberry, and extended the reach of the forest across the Shallach River, into the ruins of Acknor and Magnagora. It took a long while for the land to truly heal from the ravages of the Taint, but as the area became assimilated into the forest, the druids and wiccans of the commune were able to successfully excise the corruptive energies unleashed by Kethuru, and restore the area to a natural, if somewhat scarred state. Emboldened by this success, Serenwilde looked to extend its healing to other areas: the Skarch Desert, the Blasted Lands, and the Sea of Despair.

 

During this period, Serenwilde was acknowledged as the sole power of note in the Basin, its people welcomed, if grudgingly, throughout the land. Only two spots remained truly resistant to the Serenwilde's influence: the Arysian Isles, where the last merian survivors of the Celestine Empire held their last stronghold, and the Glomdoring Forest. The latter was particularly vexing to the leaders of Serenwilde, who had demonstrated great success in Magnagora, but Queen Maeve refused to lend her aid against another forest, particularly one guarded by two Great Spirits, however corrupted. Stymied, the leaders of the Serenwilde settled for keeping the Glomdoring isolated in the south.

 

This worked well enough until the Coming of Estarra, on the 7th of Moon, 290 2N. The advent of the Creatrix came with a host of problems for the Serenwilde, first and foremost a tide of human settlers who largely refused to live in harmony with the forests. The newcomers and the Serens would clash several times as they tried to establish boundaries. Eventually, Serenwilde lost all patience with the humans, and razed the new settlements of Delport and Newcastle-upon-Shallach, driving the survivors south, away from the commune's power.

 

More troublesome than humanity, however, was the return of the Elder Gods. Auseklis would align Himself directly with the Serenwilde eventually, but Terentia gravitated towards the merian people, and set Herself as guardian of the Arysian Isles. So shielded, the merian, and now human residents of the Isles could begin their experiments in earnest.

 

For a time, Terentia would appear to be the greatest threat to Seren dominance in the Basin. In Squirrel 307 2N, however, ominous portents hovered over the Glomdoring Forest. Columns of foul smoke rose from the wood, and the night sky took on a venomous green hue. None sent to investigate returned, but the cause was soon made apparent. On 12 Stag, 307, the Traitor God Fain made His presence known to the Basin, rising over the Glomdoring Forest to deliver his Midnight Address, flanked by the spirits of Crow and Night.

 

"People of the Basin! For too long have you suffered beneath the oppression of the Serenwilde. This day, I offer you a new path! Join Me, and come forward into a new Age, one where we need not whimper in fear of nature, but rule over it! I give to you... the Claw of Midnight!"

 

With that, the Master Ravenwood Tree exploded into splinters, as a great column of whirling blackness climbed towards the sky. All the world heard Maeve scream in agony as Night and Crow were severed from her, joining Fain in His twisted new settlement. In the days to come, details would emerge from the city of Glomdoring. They had begun clearing the woods, uprooting ancient trees to make room for roads and mansions. Filthy workshops burned day and night, churning oily black smoke into the skies and pouring waste into the Gloriana River. Worst, their nexus, fashioned from the corruption of Gloriana's spirits and shards from the Stone of Truth, once again opened up to corrupted Shallamar, unleashing the Demon Lords once again upon the land.

 

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BATTLES OF THE PRESENT DAY

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Dissidents greeted the birth of the city of Glomdoring with great joy, sparking a number of riots all across the Basin. Orcish remnants from Shallach and the surrounding mountains flocked to the Claw of Midnight, bolstering Fain's numbers greatly, but soon the truth of His nature would become apparent. After a number of very public overtures to Arysia were turned down, the Elder God flew into a rage, threatening the isles with destruction. This, however, prompted Terentia to appear, and loudly condemn Fain's ambitions. It was revealed that Fain was chief among the Traitor Gods, a faction who had long ago led the Elders to corruption and ruin, and had been cast out for Their sins. Never, Terentia vowed, would She allow Her people to align with His like.

 

This public confrontation led to a crisis of loyalty within the two powers, an especially large number of humans fleeing Glomdoring for the Isles. The alignment of the Claw of Midnight with the Elemental Plane of Air would send many running back, as Crow and Night conquered the largely abandoned Plane while Arysia remained unable to muster a nexus at all.

 

The conflict would give Serenwilde enough time to re-establish control lost in the chaos of Glomdoring's rebirth as a city, driving expeditionary forces from the ruins of Magnagora and solidifying a border along the Blasted Lands. To this day, Serenwilde retains command of the Basin's vast majority, the warring nations of Arysia and Glomdoring largely contained in the south. Estelbar, Rockholm, Rikenfriez, Dairuchi and Shanthmark all count themselves part of the Serenwilde Alliance.

 

As struggles between Arysia and Glomdoring escalate, it is no secret that the merian-led peoples of the Isles seek feverishly for a way to create their own nexus. Arysian agents have been caught multiple times attempting to access the Archives of the Moon, perhaps looking to recover the lost notes on the Pool of Stars. Despite their relative lack of power, Arysia maintains strong relationships with Paavik and the dwarven stronghold of Southgard, united in defiance of both nature and corruption.

 

Opposed strongly on all sides, the city of Glomdoring remains largely contained within the Basin, maintaining control only over Angkrag in the mountains. On the other Planes, however, they are a terror, ruling corrupted Shallamar and Air absolutely, and leading raids on Faethorn regularly. Maeve has never fully recovered from the betrayal of Crow and Night, and so Serenwilde must expend a good deal of its resources securing the safety of the fae. To this end, the Hartstone Outpost has been permanently established as a stronghold within Faethorn.

 

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BATTLES OF THE FUTURE

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By all appearances, the Lunseer Visions have been almost entirely averted. The one remaining disaster foretold in the prophecies is of a twin cataclysm that shall shatter time. Most Serenwilde scholars interpret this as what will result if Arysia is permitted to build its own nexus and go to war with Glomdoring, and debate is currently open on the wisdom of completely eradicating the island nation.

 

Meanwhile, Glomdoring's continued predations are a source of great frustration, and also some confusion. Investigations are currently underway as to how the corrupted city manages to stay so well-armed, despite a relative lack of resources and opposition on all fronts. Rumors abound that the city has made yet another advancement in nexus technology, somewhat substantiated by the appearance of mutant beasts in its armies.

 

Finally, while Arysia and Glomdoring are the two biggest, most persistent threats to the Basin's safety, the sins of the Celestine Empire continue to rise to the surface. Most recently, the remnants of Project Peacemaker were uncovered after a battle in Shallach, but there is no telling what other horrors might yet be uncovered. Scholars are currently investigating disturbances in the Balach Swamp, believe to be tied to a Project Soulforce.