The mortal realm is old, its history deep. The Beyond is older, its history reaching further back. Some believe that it is The Beyond who brought life to the Mortal Realm, who began to populate it. Who, or what happened doesn’t truly matter though. All you need to know is that there is now only one place the Mortal Realm and The Beyond touch and that is a gate: one side situated in the Kingdom of Asheth and the other on the mortal island of Arillius. It is a quiet Island, out of the way, untouched. Possibly because it is situated in the Bermuda Triangle. Or perhaps the Bermuda Triangle is there because Arillius is. Either way it is a doorway to the Beyond. Or was, but the closing is part of our story and we will get to that.
As mentioned The Beyond is old; it is ancient beyond words and filled with great power. It has seen many kingdoms rise and falls, the births and deaths of Gods, monsters and heroes. The land itself is vast and much of it unchartered and not a part of this tale. Directly connected to the Mortal Realm is Asheth; a large continent made of forest, mountain, desert, lake and ice. Above this is Echor; a darkly shadowed land which the darker beasts of The Beyond call home. It is shadowy, dark forest, deep caves, high reaching peaks. A deadly, dangerous but utterly breathtaking place. Just like its more light hearted sister Echor is a place of vast power and it is whispered it is the graveyard of the Gods of Old.
There have been many wars between the two nations; the light tries to burn out the dark while the shadow tries to consume. It is a forever cycle but the most recent contenders are the Merhites and the Demos. Or they were. The war between the two great families has been on going for centuries, being passed on through the line like an heirloom. It is only in the last ten years that the scales have tipped in favour of the Demos. After making a serious effort the Merhites were forced to do something so great that it is still shocks most: they closed the doorway between the Mortal realm and The Beyond, sealing themselves out of the Beyond. They are now considered lost, yet more victims of an on-going war. Ten long, long years have passed and the war still rages on: Asheth has become the battlefield, the Demos using doorways to cross great distances in the hope of tearing through to the Mortal Realm so they can claim the spoils of war.