- ๐จou come to in a stupor, feeling dizzy, almost delirious, entombed in a stony chamber lit only by the moon and the dancing lights of an aurora streaming through several tiny windows. As your eyes adjust, your surroundings become no more familiar - the room is large, round, and cavernous, like the interior of some ancient spire. The remnants of furniture - mostly tables and bookshelves - seem to litter the room, their former contents lying ruined across the floor, far beyond salvaging.
๐aying a hand on the wall to feel your way around, you are surprised when a glowing message seemingly imprinted on the wall suddenly appears. Not only that, but at the very same moment you see a luminous symbol appear on the back of your hand. The note on the wall is written in small, scribbled font, but you can still make out well enough what it says:
dear far traveler,
if you are reading this, that likely means two things: one - that you are alive, and two - that the people who left this message for you are not. do not grieve for us, however; you have a much greater destiny. we apologize sincerely for your abrupt delivery to this place, and for how alien it may seem to you. the circumstances are these: this realm, xioras, has recently fallen into devastation. powerful lich has risen again with the intent of sending all the land into ruin, turning all humanoid races into armies of undead servants. his first targets were those gifted with what we know as a 'dragonsign' - a mark of the power of dragons, first gifted to humanoids many ages ago. the possession of these signs is linked to either lineage or a birth on a day of great astrological significance - however, it recently came to be known by our order that individuals from other planes or realms of existence may also be born with these signs, and indeed may not even know it.
there are no known dragonsigned survivors here in xioras. the greatest of fighters, leaders, spellcasters, assassins, and beyond have been either killed or taken captive to an unknown fate by azaari, the most powerful lich this world has ever seen. the infernal plague he has spread, which he seems to have some strange control over, has taken out great swaths of what he considers the 'lesser' population, and shambling ghouls, skeletal thralls, and specters of all forms run rampant throughout most of xioras, picking off those the plague has not already taken. few outposts of resistance remain now, and communication is difficult without being intercepted by azaari's hordes. we were once the secret seven, a group of the last remaining high wizards in all of xioras. our desperate plan was to find a way to bring in some sort of force that could potentially stop azaari - a force from another world. what we have hopefully brought are many dragonsigned from other worlds, though the portal has never been fully stable, and you may indeed not be signed. nevertheless, xioras needs your help.
azaari is unlikely to come looking for anyone here, at least for a while. this tower may be safe for a while, but do not count on holing up here forever. your sign gives you power, whether you believe in it or not. it is a lot to ask, but you must find it within yourself to channel that power, now or never. please, for the sake of xioras, and all it has to offer, you must fight.