Baruk
A thousand years ago, Baruk was a thriving world, made prosperous by its fertile lands and peaceful citizens. Cities stretched for miles, spires raised to the heavens, magic existed side by side with technology. Wars were unheard of and peace reigned over the people of Baruk. Scholars and philosophers hailed the utopia as mankind's greatest achievement. But, perfection does not exist forever. In time, the balance had to be corrected. For all things in life are made of both light and dark. In the darkest reaches of humanity exists the potential for great evil.
It began as greed; a simple argument over belongings. Then, it spread to avarice and hate. It was not long before the wars began again. For six hundred years the nations of Baruk forced brutality on one another in a desperate grab for control and power. Each seeking to undo the other until there was nothing left for which to fight.
Cities were burned to the ground, entire villages wiped from existence. Whole populations of peoples were eradicated and governments destroyed. Thousands of species, both animal and plant, were lost to extinction due to the cataclysm that was the Six Hundred Years Wars. Magic and technology were wiped from the world, leaving behind an empty, broken world.
It is impossible that any life survived humanity's careless abandon, but nature has its way.
Only a handful of the peoples existed in the deepest recesses of the world. For the past four hundred years they have rebuilt their cities and pieced together meager lives. It has not been easy. The wars ravaged the lands. Fields that once supported entire populations with its bountiful harvest now lay barren and empty. Tools and technology once thought to be commonplace live on only in legend and myth. Vegetation covers the crumbling ruins of once great cities and the knowledge that belonged to Baruk's people has been irrevocably lost.
But, every few decades, an artifact is found. Sometimes it is a bit of metal or glass, a book left behind or an article of clothing. In rare cases, the artifact is much more powerful and resonates with the magic of a long dead society. Little is understood of these relics. Some say they should be burned, cast away and shunned as the very harbingers of destruction and chaos. Others look at them as a brief glimpse into a world completely misunderstood and forgotten.
