For 1,000 years, 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, the Relief, offers refuge. The city of Caelum’s Landing sits at the heart of a 2,000-mile-wide clearing in the fog. 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.
The Rising
It is written in the Ascensus in Caelum that 1,000 years ago, the fiend Tenebrae conducted a ritual to grow the skeleton of a colossal war machine from the very earth beneath Discidium. Flying high above the Oratory, Caelum Sol Orbis watched in horror as Mundi Eversor erupted from the horizon, raining chunks of earth and volcanic ash down on Discidium. As Eversor began its approach to Caelum’s home, Lathander’s Grand Paladin soared across the Altum Sea alongside his winged paladins to intercept the colossus.
Engulfed in a radiant inferno, Caelum ascended to deliver a fatal blow to Eversor. The colossus’ dark heart exploded, releasing the Miasma from its corpse. The resulting magical shock wave enchanted deposits of resonite in the earth and the earthmotes began to rise. Fissures opened around Caelum’s home. At the very centre of the Relief, where his statue now stands, Caelum raised his wings in prayer. A mighty golden shield grew around Fundus and beyond as the storm consumed the world around him.
Only once the turmoil had subsided did Caelum fall to his knees. Having inspired faith in the people of Anfang, his body erupted into a coruscation of light, and he ascended to divinity. The city was renamed Caelum’s Landing in recognition of its saviour. Lathander’s church would eventually transition into the Church of Caelum.
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NOTE
Between you and me, reader, I have heard rumours of strange stone pillars in the Miasma that seem to bring the story of Caelum’s ascension into question.
—Barty
Caelum's Light
Caelum’s Light is a holiday celebrated across the Relief. It marks the beginning of a new leap year and the anniversary of Caelum’s ascension. Chromatic rays illuminate the fringes of a solar eclipse on the first day of Adventus every four years. 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 leap year’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. Earthmotes may come from anywhere in the multiverse. They 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.
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1,000 years later
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 to nearby earthmotes on powered cable cars. The most wealthy of denizens can even be found driving rudimentary automobiles, powered by resonite.
Resonite
Resonite is a lustrous, dark purple ore found most commonly in the Resonant Mines. 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.
Perhaps the most important technology 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 to create kinetic energy. 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, trade of the mineral is strictly regulated.
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Finding Adventure
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 of Caelum. 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.
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.
Info
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, the earthmote Nox is skew-north of Fundus.
—Barty