Eberron

The world of Eberron has a rich history built on heroic deeds, evolving magic, and the wounds of a long, devastating war. Good, evil, and a thousand shades of grey paint the landscape in broad strokes.

The realms of the world were crafted from the bodies of the three Progenitor Dragons: Siberys, Eberron, and Khyber. The body of Eberron became the very planet upon which history is writ. Siberys’s body became the Ring of Siberys, a planetary ring that surrounds the body of Eberron. The bones of Khyber became a subterranean realm akin to the Underdark of Faerûn, a vast network of caverns beneath both land and sea.

Magic is built into the very fabric of the world. It pervades everyday life. Great cities where castles scrape the sky prosper throughout the continent of Khorvaire, and a thriving aristocracy of merchant families controls much of the world’s economy thanks to the edge given them by the mysterious and rare Dragonmarks. Its people harness magic as a tool—to build cities, to sail ships through the skies, and to create both wonders and weapons.

Peoples

Humanoids of all kinds have made their mark on the continent of Khorvaire; those found on Faerûn are joined by Changelings, Shifters, Kalashtar, and the Warforged. The Warforged are constructs formed from wood and steel, then magically imbued with life and sentience. Warforged were originally created to fight in the Last War, though many survived that conflict.

The Last War

For hundreds of years, the continent of Khorvaire was united under the kingdom of Galifar. This peace came to an end with the death of King Jarot in 894 YK, just over a century ago. Conflict over the succession spiralled into outright civil war between the Five Nations.

The Last War was a bitter struggle that forever changed the shape of Khorvaire. It was a century marked by shifting alliances, with years of stalemate interspersed with periods of intense battles. This gruelling conflict left deep scars on the land and the people, but there was worse to come.

On 20 Olarune 994 YK, the nation of Cyre was consumed in a magical cataclysm now known as the Mourning. The cause of the Mourning remains unknown; many fear it was caused by unbridled use of war magic. Shock and fear brought the nations to the negotiating table, and the Last War came to an end just over two years ago in 996 YK with the signing of the Treaty of Thronehold and the establishment of twelve recognized nations and a tenuous peace.

The conflicts, the anger, and the pain of the long war remain, however; betrayals and dark magic not soon forgotten.

The Mournland

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Once, Cyre shone more brightly than any of its sibling nations. It was the centre of the kingdom’s wealth, a monument to its artistic and arcane achievements, and the site of great centres of learning. It was also the home of House Cannith and its massive foundries: built on or in mountains, gracefully spanning canyons, or erected in vast labyrinths deep underground.

And then it all came to an end.

Some say that the dead-grey mist began Cyre’s capital Metrol, initially flowing out of the royal palaces of Vermishard. Others swear that the disaster began in the Cannith stronghold of Making. All that is known is that the mist swiftly spread across the kingdom, transforming the lands and creatures caught within it. Over a million people died in the Mourning, including nearly all of the inhabitants of central Cyre.

And though the vast majority of people caught in the Mourning died, thousands did survive. Most have no clear memory of the event, and there’s no explanation for why they were spared. The superstitious say that these people are cursed, that anyone touched by the Mourning is now an agent of darkness.

Today, this region is a festering wound across Khorvaire. A wall of mist surrounds a land twisted into strange and terrible shapes. Remnants of the Last War’s battlefields, such as the fire-spewing war machines known as colossi, lie strewn about the Mournland, and remnant Warforged and scattered survivors wander the land.

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