Much like its neighbor Alfjëm to the Southeast, Kalduran was once a peaceful province that was home to two thriving nations. To the north stood the Wood Elf Kingdom of Tanthior, and to the south the Drow Dominion of Kalduran. These two nations prospered from each other for hundreds of years, until a cataclysmic event forever shattered their alliance and plunged them into a brutal conflict.

Before the Drow Ascension, the southern coast of Kalduran was inhabited by Giants, who were ravaging Tanthior’s southern border. The Wood Elves turned to the Drow, offering them the lands controlled by the Giants in exchange for their help. The Drow’s subterranean home, the Underdark, had recently been cursed by the warlock Karthus Lex, and so they readily accepted. The two Elven peoples drove the Giants back, forcing them to flee high into the mountains. After their victory, the Drow and Tanthior rulers signed the Höllenherz Pact, creating a lasting peace between the two nations.

For over five hundred years all was well, until the very earth opened up, spewing ash and noxious clouds across Tanthior, and burying Rovundel, its capital under blankets of soot and ash. The Tanthiorites, fleeing from their now dying homeland, looked again to the Drow. However this time, the Drow turned away the Tanthiorites, claiming that the Höllenherz Pact promised only peace, not an alliance. So the Tanthiorites, angered by the Drow’s betrayal, decided to take the land by force. 

The Tanthiorites’ initial attack caught the Drow by surprise, gaining them a swift conquest over the border town of Wolahl. They continued their attack southward, capturing both Westwood and Shanti, but the Tanthiorites were refugees, not an organized army. Their momentum was halted on the road to Dulse, where they were met by the full force of the Drow army. The Drow and Tanthiorites fought for months over eastern Kalduran, until the Drow King Valkimar, having been away in a far land, returned wielding untold power. He vanquished the Tanthiorites in two swift strokes: single handedly obliterating a third of the Tanthiorite army, and personally executing the royal family.  The Tanthiorites fled to the northern coast of Kalduran, vowing to someday take vengeance on King Valkimar.

Now, four years since the Ash Mouth opened, King Valkimar rules over the Drow Dominion of Kalduran, while the Wood Elves, led by the rebel Shyna, struggle to carve out an existence in the new Commonwealth of Tanthior. The corrupt bureaucrats live lavishly, while towns and villages still work tirelessly to rebuild the war torn lands, and in the small town of Hexton, the unlikeliest of individuals are about to join forces...