Welcome to The Ninth Age

The hellish agents of the Dark Gods lurk unseen behind the thinnest of barriers separating our world from theirs. Enemies of every mortal power, they are merciless and single-minded, appearing in every hideous form, an endless writhing throng of horror. Submit to the summoning ritual, and test your sanity before the Daemon Legions.

Within the maelstrom of shifting power that is the Abyss, there are greater and lesser currents that represent the infinite forms of the Legion. At the heart of these vortices lie the Dark Gods, and Father Chaos behind them, for only the most powerful of Supernals can forge their own path in the Immortal Realm. The Mortal Realm, however, offers new prospects, for here a daemon can manifest in whichever kind of physical form it desires. This it uses to sow discord and despair, all in service of dark masters and unfathomable goals.

On every coast, in every port, the sighting of black sails is met with instant horror. Theirs is a name well earned from centuries of reaving and slaving, sparing none who fall beneath their whips. Feel the chains of fear upon your heart, with the approach of the Dread Elves.

The Republic of Dathen in Silexia represents the largest dominion of Dread Elves, a hotbed of politics and intrigue centred upon the Obsidian Thrones within the Tower of Gar Daecos. Religion too shapes this society, and the most powerful cults dominate both civilian and military life. Perhaps the greatest weapon of fear in the arsenal of the Dread Elves is the Menagerie: a collection of monstrous creatures which the Daeb bend to their will.

As tough as the mountains themselves, and with memories that last almost as long, many dwarves carve their homes from the very bones of the earth. Forgers of the finest works of steel and gold, they are as mighty as they are determined. Should you try to take that which is theirs, you will face the full vengeance of the Dwarven Holds!

Though the Dwarven Empire fell at the end of the Golden Age, the Holds still control the most lucrative mines of Vetia, producing the finest armours and jewellery. Despite their strong personalities, fierce individuality and allegiances to family and clan reaching back centuries, every dwarf knows their place and would lay down their lives for their Hold.

The armies of Sonnstahl march to the beat of drums and the thunder of cannons. Led by zealous priests and bold knights, these soldiers’ discipline and vigour is famed around the world. Inspired by the example of Sunna, Goddess of Humanity, there may be no limit to the ambition of the Empire of Sonnstahl!

To overcome internal divisions and unite the nation against its enemies is the task of the Emperor. He or she cannot merely be a conqueror on the battlefield. They must also compete in the political arena, navigating the treacherous currents of rival families and religious factions. Thanks to esteemed universities, where magic and technology are refined into effective weapons, Sonnstahl has become a master of many trades, and now seeks to extend its grasp to foreign lands.

To sail the oceans of the world is to risk encounter with the self-appointed masters of the seas. With mighty fleets protecting their island home, the Arandai Empire rises and falls with the tides of time, but its reach is always felt across the continents. By the gleam of silvered armour, or by ordered cries from grand warships, you may know of the approach of the Highborn Elves.

Though the Highborn have retreated from many of their former conquests, they continue to hold outposts on islands and coastlines across the globe. Marshalled by the government of the Pearl Queen, Arandai galleons dominate the seas and control much of the global seatrade. Well-equipped garrisons display the deadly grace of the elves, honed over centuries of training and coupled with powerful magic. Highborn towers are circled by wondrous beings of legend, while inside, great minds apply themselves to dreams of splendour and glory.

Fuelled by the mightiest industries and magics of the world, the Infernal war machine turns its unstoppable wheels within the great citadels of the Blasted Plain. Born in suffering, smoke and cataclysm, a fire burns in the heart of this indomitable people, a flame that fuels a great hunger for glory and a callous cruelty towards all who stand in the way. Slave masters and earth shakers, children of great gods, many have come to know the terrible juggernaut of the Infernal Dwarves.

Separated from their brethren in the trials of the Ages of Ruin, the Eastern Dwarves turned to darker means of survival. Though "Infernal" is used to describe these beings and their cruel nature, the term derives from the disastrous creation of the Inferno - a vortex of fire and magic, the genesis of the Wasteland, and the catalyst of the Ninth Age. Unlike their subterranean cousins in the west, they build great stone ziggurats above ground, while their vast, slave-worked mines fuel a technological industry rivalled by few, if any. Their control over much of the trade from the East, combined with devilish weaponry, enables the Infernal Dwarves to stand against the collective loathing of Vetian civilisation.

The thunder of hooves, the clink of mail, the sounding of horns: a great cacophony accompanies an army of knights riding to war. Yet steel and sinew are nothing without valour. These noble fighters crusade for faith, for virtue, for their beloved Lady - yet most of all, for the honour of their home, the Kingdom of Equitaine.

A nation established on noble principles, yet built on a foundation of peasant labour and sweat, Equitaine is a land of myth and superstition. Yet it exerts tremendous military might - Crusades for the lost Grail have brought the Lady’s grace to many foreign lands.. In all things, Equitan nobility is expected to lead from the fore, and victory often rests upon their individual successes. These are lessons for the young king to learn, and learn well, if his dynasty is to endure against other strong, noble Houses and the perils that lie beyond his lands.

Masters of the great plains and mountains of Augea, ogres are among the toughest of all creatures. Famed for their appetites and their brutality alike, the tribes are feared around the world. Do not anger them, for their fury is legendary - and only a fool would stand before the earth-shaking footfall of the Ogre Khans!

Steppe ogres and mountain ogres have developed two quite different cultures. Both are rich and ancient, and can be reasoned with - provided you respect their traditions, and lay on a sufficient banquet. In the days of the greatest Khan of Khans, ogres walked as masters of the great nation of Tsuandan, or so their campfire lore speaks. Today, their reach encompasses the Silk Road, giving access to the wares and riches of many nations. Trading caravans often employ tribes of ogres for protection, often against their own kin. These mercenaries can be as treacherous as they are hungry, for they have come to respect the power of coin, at least so far as outsiders are concerned.

Appearing from nowhere and swarming the lands like a tsunami, the Warborn have emerged in every continent across the world for as long as any can remember. With a never-ending love of conflict, and many hidden enclaves of which few outsiders are aware, it is only a matter of time before you face the twin threat of the Orcs and Goblins.

The nomadic orc tribes seem to self-generate periodically in large numbers, and are always on the move. Thanks to unfathomable methods of reproduction and with no fixed encampments, they are like a brushfire, stamped out one minute only to spring up again the next. Trickier and more treacherous than their larger relatives, the mysterious goblins protect their own existence through a complex network of secret enclaves, waging war through a union of cunning tactics, improbable monsters and the use of potent hallucinogenic substances.

Most enigmatic of the Elder Races, many believe the Saurians built sophisticated civilisations when the elves were still dressed in animal furs. Obsessed with purposes only they can comprehend, the scaled legions are found wherever they are least expected, dealing bloodshed or bestowing aid with equally indecipherable motives. Do not try to understand or bargain with them, for they ruled this earth at its dawn, and they have not forgotten the true glory of the Saurian Ancients.

Described in the oldest myths as tyrants, the time of the Saurians and the Dawn Age ended when they were cast down by subjugated races, or else swallowed by the sea in some great cataclysm of that turbulent time. Ruins that remain, even in the heart of Vetia, attest that Saurians built structures greater than any seen today. Their descendants endure, and sightings have been reported from ocean, desert and jungle alike. None can know the true scope of their civilisation, but all accounts agree that their warriors act with an unnerving unity of purpose.

From the greatest forests to the humblest desert oasis, wherever trees take root, there you may feel the weight of unseen eyes, or sense a tremor of movement among the boughs. Yet raise a blade to those sacred groves and you may feel the wrath of their protectors – the Sylvan Elves.

Believing themselves the oldest and truest of the Elven civilisations, the woodland Fae are a source of frightening stories across the world. Proud and merciless, their ancient magics and mastery of their primordial homes grant the Sylvan Elves a reputation of mystery and treachery that is well deserved. It is said the elves nurture the very spirits of the wood, who follow them to war beneath the canopy. Those same spirits are murderous when roused, and terrifying when combined with lethal Sylvan archery and a human borders.

Across the world, and nowhere more than ancient Naptesh, civilisations have entombed their nobility to endure untold centuries. Yet not all that rests beneath earth, sand and stone stays buried. Returned to reclaim lost kingdoms and to cast off the shackles of flesh and time, the Undying Dynasties arise!

Naptesh is no longer the land of fertility it once was. Crumbling monoliths and the tombs of the great Pharaohs are but shadows of their former glory - yet the dead still linger. Here, and in tombs across the world, honour guards stand vigil with a discipline and loyalty that has surpassed the grave. Living stone constructs crush any foolish enough to come searching for treasure. Thousands of years in the earth have not dampened their appetite for war, and these ancient monarchs show no sign of returning to their tombs.

In the shadows of humanity’s nightmares, an unseen menace lurks behind a mask of civilisation. The masters of undeath, blood-drinking warlords pull the strings of the dead and the living alike, conducting their power-struggles in secret, with armies raised from the grave. Walk in the light, lest you fall under the thrall of the Vampire Covenant.

Summoned by dark sorcery, the recently slain and long forgotten dead rise from their graves able only to serve. Terrifying phantoms haunt the ruins of forgotten castles, and dreadful undying monsters seek the flesh of the living. These are only some of the puppets of the ambitious vampire lords, the most dangerous of the creatures of the night.

Beneath the surface of their former empire lies a hidden threat that few remember. Waiting only for the right moment to strike, these creatures are as treacherous as they are ruthless, infesting any nook or cranny they can find. Empowered with diabolical technology and hordes of pestilent beasts, their greatest wish is always to reinstate the inescapable dominion of the Vermin Swarm.

Long ago, Sunna was able to unite the tribes of men and overthrow Vermin supremacy over Avras and most of Vetia. Since that time, the rat-people have laid low, but they have been far from idle. Their great Houses, heritage from an Avrasi past, are divided and pursuing their own ambitions for now, yet every one of them is a threat to the nations above. If the Swarm’s political and religious institutions could come into alignment, who knows what devastation they might wreak.

Behind its high walls, civilisation believes itself safe. Law, morality, order – these are its shields. But from places of power and even within their very borders, a threat grows. Come to tear down those walls, to break chains and destroy the very foundations of order: tremble before the Warriors of the Dark Gods!

The seven Dark Gods require followers - the Paths to Ascension are treacherous, and those who fall by the wayside are fuel for the fires of the Abyss. Yet there is no shortage of those willing to swear their soul in exchange for the power of the Seven and even the slim chance of immortality or true greatness. Clad in hell-forged armour and wielding weapons their former bodies could barely lift, the Warriors of the Dark Gods are a terror to behold, even without the monsters that often accompany them into battle.