Cloud Ark – A Fate Core RPG Campaign World
Written and Created by: Robert Sponagle
History And Backstory:
A thousand years ago, the continent of Varius was at peace.
A balance existed between the Humans, the lizard-like giants known as the S'scal, the cat-like Ly'xi, and the beasts and monsters who roamed above, on, and below the earth, and all was well.
However, things changed when the Great Ancestor War started. A meeting between the nations’ leaders was attacked by a mysterious assailant and all the leaders of the races were killed; resulting in the nations blaming each other, with no one taking responsibility for the brutal attack. A war broke out between the nations.
Years past by, cities were razed to the ground, people from all races slaughtered like cattle. The war wasn't heading in any direction; with no one race taking the upper hand. The outcome of the war appeared to be the destruction of them all. But this was just the calm. The greater storm was coming.
The wrath of the Dragon King was swift and unexpected. He appeared like a thief in the night, riding a great dragon, commanding lesser dragons and beasts beneath him, demanding his enemies to surrender or be destroyed. Word spread quickly about those who defied him. He and his armies burned the great human city of Florence to the ground, killing at least a million humans. The remaining people, only down to a few thousand survivors after the 50 year Ancestor War, fled to the West; seeking any possible way to escape their ultimate doom. To their luck, their salvation was there.
Scientists and Mages from all races had fled to a small island in the westernmost part of the continent, seeking shelter from the warring nations, as well as to work on a project for themselves, to leave the war and bitterness behind. They had called it Project Ark. Under the instruction of Makura, a human sage, they constructed two airships, the first of their kind. The first was called the Claymore, and was built by the S'scalmen to be a weapon, to act as guard the second ship. The second was called the Cloud Ark. It was built to carry the mages and scientists far away, across the sea, where they could begin anew. When the survivors of the war arrived, burnt, wounded, and starving, the wise men had no choice. They decided gifted the Cloud Ark to the people who wished to escape, to give them the opportunity to live, and then Makura, along with a group of warriors who survived the ravages of the Dragon King, remained aboard the Claymore to cover the escape of the remaining people of Varius. While the Cloud Ark fled across the sea, the Claymore fought fiercely against the Dragon King and his armies.
What happened to the Claymore is still unknown.
After a long 6 month journey, the races landed in the new continent which they decided to name Makura, after the main creator and saviour of the Cloud Ark.
Where they landed after their journey, they built their new home; a great city with the Cloud Ark as its core. They named this new city; The Landing.
The people of Makura lived in peace once again for two hundred years, building airships based on the original design of the Ark, and settling more and more of the small peninsula they had landed on and claimed for their own.
However this peace didn't last as well. Beasts and strange things began attacking the settlements, reclaiming the land that these new arrivals had stolen from them. The people, torn from infighting and the fighting of beasts, scared for their lives, boarded their airships, and abandoned their cities to the southern coast.
Today, almost 800 years later, the people have lived on with their lives, the S'scal to the south, constructing monuments to themselves and massive cities in the deserts; the Ly'xi to the north living as nomads, roaming and keeping to their Old Ways in the cold frozen forests; and the humans, building cities and kingdoms all across the continent.
It is a tentative peace as inner kingdoms in the races, longing for the glory before the Great Ancestor War. Peace has reigned for hundreds of years, and the men of today have never known war. With Whispers of War on the horizon, peace will soon be over.
How will you live in this new world of magic, engines, and mystery?