History of the North and the West: The Wurld, or western hemisphere at least, was once controlled by a single empire. This was the _____ Empire [haven't thought of a good name yet], and it existed in relative peace for over a thousand years. It was the first society to become so large and include so many peoples. The Empire was a human run society, though it included other races equally. The Empire was ruled by a human emperor whose job it was to enforce the Noblesse Oblige on the ruling nobles of the various lands. The Empire prospered for many generations of man. [Note: The motif for the Empire is ancient Greek and Roman. Current motif is more European dark ages.]

But eventually the ascendence of the other races (some say re-ascendence) caused the Empire to decline. First the dwarves closed their mountain passes, then the elves began hunting humans who transgressed their forest borders. Several small wars were fought, which drained the resources of the Empire. Eventually, outlying regions became lawless, then new orders arose to rule these regions. The Magicocracy was one of the earliest and most powerful of these new orders.

As the Empire declined, the Magicocracy grew in strength, drawing those who did not believe in the Noblesse Oblige into the fold. The founders of the Magicocracy instead believed it was their right to use magic to rule others, that magic by itself provided a justification for power and control. As the Empire declined, so too did the Noblesse Oblige. Finally, once the Empire's troops were seen no more on the western coast, the Magicocracy established hegemony.

Their rule lasted several generations, culminating in complete control over the entire western coast and all the peoples therein. Eventually, their tyranny could be tolerated no more. A hero named Thedrick from the remote north rallied his people to resist the Magicocracy, and refused to give over to the mages the required tribute--humans to be sacrificed in the grisly rituals of the Magicocracy. For this resistance, the town where these rebels held out was destroyed utterly by the mages, and all Thedricks' people were slain.

This slaughter sparked a rebellion. All over the western coast, people began resisting the mages yoke. Finally, after many bitter years of fighting, the mages were expelled from the Northlands. The newly established Northern Kingdom aided in the emancipation of many other cities on the western coast, aided by a splinter group from the Magicocracy, a group of good mages who intended to revive the Noblesse Oblige, and who believed that magic should only be used to serve the people, not to rule them. The Free Cities were established eventually, a loose confederacy of city-states each with its own ruler, but bound to come to each others' aid in time of need. The splinter group of good mages became the Guild of Magic, and they built their tower on the island cliffs that overlooked the Magicocracy, to remain ever vigilant against the dark mages of that land.

Astral Plane: The dimension between the Prime Material Plane and the Outer Planes

Count Vingrot: Powerful noble who has an old score to settle with the Company of the Thorn.

Codex of Goil-Ward Adz: History book of the Githyanki People. The Codex was most recently found in the hill giant steading by the Company of the Thorn. It is believed that Nosra's spies stole the Codex, which is how it came to be in Nosra's treasure chamber. Humphrey Beauregard, the southern mage, has another ancient tome, a human history book that has passages written in the tongue of the Githyanki as well as in common, allowing laborious translation of the Codex.

Dark one: See Thae-Rune Ibn.

Eternal Lords: God-like beings who control the Empyreal Realm between time. They are unknown to the inhabitants of the Wurld, with rare exception.

Eternal Warriors: The characters of this campaign.

Free Cities, the: Loose confederacy of cities in the south.

Galay: The island city that hosts the Magic Guild headquarters, a giant tower and university complex. Galay supports the Guild and flourishes on the traffic to and from the Guild.

Githyanki: Ancient race from the Wurld, enslaved by the Yllth millennia ago and taken to the Astral Plane. The Githyanki eventually won their freedom under the leadership of Gith, high cleric to their Dark Queen.

Gods, the: Many gods are worshipped on the western coast, and clerics and their temples exist in nearly every settlement.

Heklamar: The capital city of the Northern Kingdom; hometown of the Company of the Thorn.

King Ozrik: Ruler of the Northern Kingdom. He is a wise and stern man, probably in his early 60's.

Magicocracy, the: Over four hundred years ago, the Magicocracy ruled the western coast from the cold Northlands to the southern islands. The Magicocracy was ruled by a sect of mages who believed that wizards had the right to rule non-magic using peoples. Their rule was tyrannous, and after a century of domination, they were defeated by an alliance between what are now the Northern Kingdom and the southern Free Cities. The Magicocracy still exists, though their rule is now limited to the unhappy lands behind the ___ forest. The southern mage guilds are a remnant of the Magicocracy, and splintered from them in the rebellion. It is because of the Magicocracy that magic users are rare in the north, and not trusted.

Northern Kingdom: Northernmost lands of the western coast, established 400 years ago after the overthrow of the Magicocracy. Typical medieval society with one King and lesser nobles bound to his service.

North Reckoning: The reckoning of years based on the founding of the Northern Kingdom. Current year is 405 N.R. This system has been adopted by the entire western coast.

Nosra, Chief: Chieftain of the Hill Giant Steading in the north; deceased, killed in Act I by the Company of the Thorn.

Obsidian Stone: Centerpiece to the Rod of Seven Parts; sought after by Bibi to cure her lycanthropy, and by the dark one (Thae-Rune Ibn).

Old Bugbear Trail: Ancient trade route between the north and the south. The Old Bugbear Trail had long been closed to trade due to the concentration of Bugbears in the eastern hills, but Bruce Tyrlan's Trading Company successfully established a route in recent years, generating Master Tyrlan much wealth.

Prime Material Plane: Plane of existence of the Wurld.

Rod of Seven Parts: Artifact of great power, sought by the Githyanki. The Rod is part of the Githyanki history, as their supreme Lord Gith used it in the final battle against the Yllth.

Southern Magic Guild: An organization of mages centered on the southern island of Galay. The guild mages were originally a splinter group from the Magicocracy. The guild works under the idea that mages have a duty to use magic for the good of mankind, not to rule it. They only rule their own island, and provide magic guidance and magic law throughout the south. All mages who operate in the south are subject to guild law. Indeed, the guild charter states that all mages anywhere are subject to guild law.

The southern magic guild is the only place where wizards are educated, aside from the secretive and oppressive Magicocracy. The schools at Galay turn out a small class of wizards each year, though sometimes none at all graduate in a given year. The guild has influence in all of the southern free cities, and mages are commonly encountered throughout the south. However, guild mages, indeed magic-users of any kind besides clerics, are feared and even reviled in the north. The distrust and memory of the Magicocracy still lingers in recent memory, giving all mages a bad name in the north. When guild mages travel in the north, they seldom advertise their profession.

The guild has its factions, and internal political struggles are waged for control of the ruling structure. There are several cabals and other loose organizations within the guild.

Thae-Rune Ibn: Wrathgiver of the Dark Queen, Githyanki Lord; the dark one.

Thedrickstand Keep: Northernmost outpost of the Northern Kingdom. Thedrickstand is where the rebellion from the Magicocracy began centuries ago, where the Magicocracy slaughtered one thousand inhabitants of the Keep for not paying the tribute of human sacrifice to the mages. After the slaughter, the entire north lands rose up in revolt, to be soon followed by the southern cities. Thedrick was the Duke of the Keep at the time, and it bears his namesake.

Top of the Wurld: Mountain range in the far north of the western coast.

The War Cabal: The fighting school of the guilds.

Wurld, the: The land in which the campaign is set; the planet on which the western coast exists.

Yllth: Unknown. The Codex of Goil-Ward Adz speaks of the Yllth as the beings who enslaved the Githyanki and took them from the Prime Material Plane long ago.