For almost a millennium the world of Fio has been plagued by an unnatural, perpetual storm of its own creation; the Miasma, a harrowing purple fog that only the bravest of adventurers dare to enter. But in the northern hemisphere, safe harbour endures. The city of Caelum’s Landing sits at the heart of a circular Relief in the storm. It was here that Caelum Sol Orbis sacrificed himself to shield his homeland from the oncoming storm 1,000 years ago. In doing so, the land began to fracture and rise, creating the earthmotes, large chunks of land that float above the ground. This event has come to be known as the Rising. You begin your adventure in the year 999 PO, almost 1,000 years after the founding of Caelum’s Landing, at the advent of the summer solstice.

An Era of Innovation

A millennium of living in such isolated conditions has inspired a wealth of technological innovations across the Relief. It is commonplace to find valiant adventurers flying off to uncharted territories on canvas gliders, and expeditions of hot air balloons searching for new lands to settle. Airships from foreign lands will deliver dignitaries hoping to take advantage of Caelum’s Landing’s thriving marketplace, and tourists can travel the Innermotes in style on powered cable cars. The most wealthy of denizens can even be found driving rudimentary auto-mobiles, powered by resonance engines.

Resonance Engines

Perhaps chief among the nascent technologies developed since the Rising is the resonance engine, invented by Artifex Calligo in 756 PO to propel Ingenium toward Fundus. Resonance engines use the magical properties of resonite, a lustrous, dark purple ore found in the Resonant Mines, to create kinetic energy. The ore is capable of exerting magical pressures on its surroundings, making it difficult to cast magic in close proximity to rich deposits. The ore can be refined into resonance stones. Much like how the similar poles of two magnets repel, the magical pressures of two resonance stones forced together can create motion. Resonance engines are used in machines such as auto-mobiles, aircraft, power generators and even rail-guns. Some have even theorised that the heart used to power Mundi Eversor was a prototype resonance engine on a colossal scale.

Regions

The Relief is almost 6,000 miles in circumference and 1,900 miles in diameter, spanning six regions in the northern hemisphere. Despite the Miasma limiting the expanse of the known world, the Relief contains an abundance of culture that transcends even the barriers between the planes of existence.

Profundus is the largest region at the centre of the Relief. It houses Caelum’s Landing, the capital city of the Profundus Theocracy and the most prominent and populous city in the known world.
Glacialis, the frozen region to the north, suffers arctic climates that only the stalwart denizens of Nox can endure.
Contritus, the easternmost region, is broken by the far-reaching fjords and archipelagos of the Manyshells. To the south-east, the enormous jungle earthmote of Mallia appears to drain the sea with curtains of vines that veil its shores.
Calidus is the southernmost region blanketed by harsh sands, yet many varied cultures thrive here. For most, the heat is preferable to the darkened landscape beyond the Miasma, where powerful fiends are said to watch with envious eyes.
Montanum to the west is characterised by its expansive mountain ranges. Much of Montanum is engulfed by the Miasma, while the peninsula of Porta Ignota serves as an invaluable trade hub for intrepid explorers.
Discidium, though completely engulfed by the Miasma, can still be seen beyond the barrier to the south-west as the red glow of lava and lightning storms illuminate the purple fog. At the centre of Discidium lies the crater from which Mundi Eversor emerged 1,000 years ago.

Factions

The world of Fio holds many opportunities for budding adventurers. Join one of its many factions or make your own adventure and explore Fio’s uncharted regions. Along the way, you may uncover secrets that lead to the truth behind Caelum’s ascent to divinity. Ancient pillars discovered in the Miasma seem to hold magically recorded memories. The vaults beneath the Oratory are said to contain forbidden knowledge. Rogue factions you may encounter claim to work to expose the hypocrisy of the Church. You must decide which path to take.

The Profundus Theocracy is the most prominent nation in the Relief, with territories stretching as far as the Miasma. Its capital, Caelum’s Landing, is the largest and most populous city in the Relief, with much of the continent’s trade passing through its markets. Governance of the nation is shared between the Church of Caelum and the Ministry, while the Inland Guard police the capital.
The Commission for the Research of Offshore Worlds, affectionately called Crows, was founded by Glimback Toestubber in 899 PO. Originally known as the Explorer’s Guild, Crows has since secured government funding and its members now work to catalogue the many beasts of the Relief, research new magic, and prospect new earthmotes for colonisation. The Order of the Lantern is a clandestine sub-organisation of Blood Hunters who undergo a ritual that allows them to safely navigate and research the Miasma.
The Spirit Temple monks seek a deep connection to nature through the study of wild beasts and their associated elements. It is this connection that allows a group of monks to terraform new lands and arrest dangerous rogue earthmotes and send them back into the Miasma. They have an agreement with the Church that enables them to serve alongside expeditions and help prevent natural disasters.
The Dawnroot Druids make their home in the Dawnroot Forest on Fundus, secluded from the trappings of lifestyle in the capital. They revere and protect a portal to the elemental plane of water, the source of the Fountainhead River, which they believe to be a blessing from Silvanus, the deity of wild nature. Though they disapprove of the Church’s expansionist practices, they seem to prefer not to intervene.
The Cult of Tenebrae work in the shadows to expose the hypocrisy of the Church of Caelum. They claim the Miasma was released 1,000 years ago as a result of Caelum’s ritual to expel the darkness within him so that he might to ascend to divinity. They also claim Mundi Eversor was created by Tenebrae and his followers in order to stop Caelum.
The League of Archfiends is said to be a secret cabal of fiends who operate from within the Miasma, subsidising illegal practices across the Relief that will bring them luxury in their empire beyond the barrier. It is rumoured they even conspired with Tenebrae to create Mundi Eversor 1,000 years ago, but it has never been proven the organisation exists or ever existed.
The Confederacy of Privateers is a loose alliance of pirates, privateers and merchant crews governed by those with the largest fleets and the greatest wealth. The bowels of Raptor Island serve as headquarters for the ever-changing members of a pirate moot that keep the various guilds of the Manyshells in check, while the mayor of Anchora acts only as their figurehead.

Other factions that can be found across the Relief include: the Mining Consortium, an organisation that regulates the trade of resonite and other minerals to and from Micantrum; the Bounty Hunters Codex, a code of honour that binds all hunters, hunter parties and lodges to prevent infighting and ensure business remains profitable; and the Merchants Guild, a union of tradespeople operating out of Arx that sponsor and protect independent merchants across the Relief. Other characters you encounter may travel the Relief independently or work on behalf of a guild or society. Routinely, these characters can offer freelance work for budding adventurers. You might find yourself protecting a cable car of perishable goods from Zipper Pirates or catching rare and exotic fish for the Fishing Guild.