Lore
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 atop Fundus 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 996 PO, almost 1,000 years after the founding of Caelum’s Landing.
Caelum Sol Orbis
The Ascensus in Caelum chronicles Caelum’s struggle against Mundi Eversor and his ascent to divinity. Caelum Sol Orbis was born an aasimar from human parentage on the 24th day of Ascendentem 64 AO in the city of Anfang, now known as Caelum’s Landing. Raised by a religious family, Caelum quickly gained renown as a paladin of Lathander. His generosity and exploits protecting Anfang justified his rise to power in Lathander’s church.
Caelum is described as being quiet and kindly but fiercely determined and dutiful. He had warm-tinted brown skin, white eyes, and is depicted sporting hair ranging from a buzz cut to short afro curls. Caelum had a distinctive silver halo on his forehead as a result of his aasimar heritage. The halo would be passed down to his daughter, Prima Vita, born on the 4th day of Niveus 22 AO, and all her descendants. The halo would become the emblem of the Church of Caelum. The first of the Lathander’s church to be given the title Grand Paladin, Caelum was tasked with protecting Anfang from the colossus Mundi Eversor in 0 PO, which would eventually lead to his ascension and the Rising.
Mundi Eversor
Mundi Eversor was the name of the colossus created by the fiend Tenebrae to destroy the world. The Ascensus teaches us that one millennium ago, Caelum Sol Orbis did battle with Eversor and in its destruction the Miasma was released from its dark, crystalline heart. The resulting magical shock wave enchanted the deposits of resonite in the earth and the earthmotes began to rise. As a fissure opened up around his home, Caelum stood at the centre of Anfang and raised a mighty golden shield to hold back the Miasma as Fundus rose into the sky. Once the danger had subsided, Caelum’s body erupted into a coruscation of light, and he ascended to divinity. The city was renamed Caelum’s Landing in recognition of its saviour. This event is known as the Rising. Lathander’s church would eventually transition into the Church of Caelum. To the erde-south-west, the derelict remains of the ancient colossus can still be seen protruding from the Altum Sea.
Tenebrae
Little is known of the fiend Tenebrae. Restricted chronicles held deep within the Oratory’s vaults make reference to them only as the shadowy being behind the construction of Mundi Eversor. The Insequentes Umbra, a unique painting also held in the vaults, depicts them as a cambion standing upon the shoulder of Mundi Eversor, wielding a hellish flaming greatsword. The figure is depicted in silhouette with large barbed horns and dragon-like wings.
Fio
Fio is the name of a planet in the Material plane. Estimated by scholars to be approximately 7,500 miles in diameter, Fio’s rotation period is 24 hours. It orbits the sun, sometimes called Sol, every 336 days. Fio has an axial tilt of approximately 23°, causing a seasonal change in climate over the course of a year. The average temperature in winter is 42℉. This rises to an average temperature of 70℉ in summer. According to the New Sol Orbis Calendar, there are twelve 28-day months in a year and seven days in a week. The days are named Menoday, Skewday, Winday, Mariday, Eorday, Starday and Sunday. Fio has a single moon, Auga, which orbits Fio approximately every 23½ days. Auga orbits Fio 14¼ times in one year and 57 times in four years. A period of four years is known as a fewyear.
New Sol Orbis Calendar
| Month | Season | Holidays |
|---|---|---|
| Adventus | Summer | Summer Solstice, Caelum’s Light (1st) |
| Viridis | Summer | Aura’s Birthday (14th) |
| Vale | Summer | Guilds Exhibition |
| Perventum | Autumn | Autumn Equinox, Arrows Day (17th) |
| Rubrum | Autumn | Harvest Festival (12th-18th) |
| Habeo | Autumn | Guilds Exhibition |
| Tabernacula | Winter | Winter Solstice |
| Niveus | Winter | First Life (4th) |
| Roscidas | Winter | Guilds Exhibition |
| Inceptum | Spring | Spring Equinox |
| Flavum | Spring | Coronation Anniversary (11th) |
| Ascendentem | Spring | Guilds Exhibition, Caelum’s Birthday (24th) |
Caelum’s Light
Caelum’s Light is a holiday celebrated across the Relief. It marks the beginning of a new fewyear as chromatic rays illuminate the fringes of a solar eclipse at midnight on the first day of Adventus. The light is believed to be a blessing from Caelum, the colours representing the pride or shame he may feel for his people at the fewyear’s end. Since the arrival of the earthmote Nox in 92 PO, it is believed that a new earthmote appears somewhere on Fio during every Caelum’s Light. Scholars believe that this is the result of Fio aligning with a planar portal created by Caelum when he ascended to divinity 1,000 years ago. Arriving earthmotes can vary greatly in size and biome and can be deposited anywhere on Fio. Most earthmotes are uninhabited chunks of land which may house valuable minerals. On the occasion a populated earthmote arrives in the Relief, the Church of Caelum are the first to extend a hand of welcome and help reorient newcomers.
The Miasma
The Miasma is a magical purple fog that—with the exception of the Relief—envelops the entirety of Fio. It reaches almost 36,000 feet into the sky and has tides affected by Fio’s moon, Auga. Malformed landscape plagued by sickened flora and fauna is revealed and concealed from west to east on a 23½-day cycle. Occasionally, migrating monsters and even rogue earthmotes emerge from the Miasma, proving that survival is possible beyond the barrier if psychosis can be avoided. Adventurers that brave the Miasma occasionally return with tales of strange stone pillars that can be activated to disperse areas of the gloom, though the history of these pillars remains a mystery.
The Relief
The Relief is a circular expanse in the northern hemisphere of Fio unaffected by the Miasma. Approximately 2,000 miles in diameter, the Relief spans six unique regions with an abundance of culture that transcends even the barriers between the planes of existence.
Profundus
Profundus is the largest region at the centre of the Relief. It plays host to one of the largest and most populous cities in the Relief, Caelum’s Landing, the capital city of Fundus. Adventurers and tourists can take advantage of sprawling markets and travel the Innermotes on powered cable cars.
Glacialis
Glacialis, the frozen region to the north, suffers arctic climates that have moulded its denizens into a force of nature. The stalwart people of Nox look upon the Relief through rings of aurora, while further east, the dinosaur-riding clans of Primal Antiqua thrive on more verdant land.
Contritus
Contritus, the easternmost region, is broken by the far-reaching fjords and archipelagos of the Manyshells. To the south-east, the enormous jungle earthmote Mallia appears to drain the sea with curtains of vines that veil its shores.
Calidus
Calidus, the southernmost region, is blanketed by harsh sands, yet many varied cultures thrive here. The sandstone city of Arx offers refuge to travellers while powerful fiends are said to watch with envious eyes from the darkened landscape beyond the Miasma.
Montanum
Montanum, to the west, is characterised by its expansive mountain ranges. Though much of the region is obscured by the Miasma, the peninsula of Porta Ignota serves as an invaluable trade hub for intrepid explorers of the magical purple fog.
Discidium
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.
Renaissance Life
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 automobiles, 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 towards 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 gems. Much like how the similar poles of two magnets repel, the magical pressures of two resonance gems forced together can create motion. Resonance engines are used in machines such as automobiles, 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. As such, the trade of the mineral is strictly regulated.
Finding Adventure
While exploring the Relief and delving into the depths of the Miasma, you may discover new regions and earthmotes yet to be charted. When navigating through the skies, an essential piece of equipment is the six-point compass; a spherical device that can not only determine the direction of magnetic north, but also provide the elevation of one’s destination. A third perpendicular axis on the compass traps a small lead pellet at one end, and a pocket of air at the other, providing wary explorers with the means to always know which way is up. In addition to north, east, south and west, skew is used to denote an elevation of 90° (directly above the observer), while erde is used to denote an elevation of 270° (directly below the observer). For example, Nox, a high-altitude earthmote in the northernmost region of Glacialis, would be skew-north of the observer when viewed from Caelum’s Landing.
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. 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 zip-pirates or catching rare and exotic fish for a local fishing guild.
Glider Proficiency
Those wishing to explore the skies without the aid of public transportation may visit Caelum’s Landing University in order to gain their glider proficiency. Gliders are the simplest and cheapest way to traverse the skies between earthmotes, and are as commonplace as the humble bicycle. They come in single and two-seat variants; some larger gliders even come equipped with small resonance engines to travel longer distances.
“Adventurers beware: most personal gliders are not built to handle strong winds and stormy weather. I strongly recommend hiring an airship is for more taxing journeys.”
Barty.