Story

Lore Rooms

Region One

Before this place turned to ruin, The Priest Krurhal Milarh Guarded us. From the corruption of men, From the corrosion of the world. When swarms of foolish men arrived, Calling themselves the Valkyries, eyes full of greed, hearts empty of belief, asking us to give them everything, Krurhal Milarh restrained them. Strong was the Valkyries' wrath; their bullets, terrible. And with cowardice and trickery, they deceived us. They pierced our walls and entered our city. Krurhal Milarh had no more Dominion.

Region Two

Once Krurhal Milarh deceived, the holy city was defiled. Unholy technology and non-believers made us shiver with rage, but the Eschaton held on. A single Valkyrie snuck through, avoiding the heart of battle. He was a fiend, and he commited a hideous crime. Where women and children were kept safe, he painted the walls red. This coward was once a regular man. See the pain he has caused? In this Alcove of Grief, Emmit Nelson fell to Hysteria.

Region Three

The cause of the Holy City's ruin is a single Valkyrie man, an old fool who broke the Eschaton's sacred Ritual. He doomed the world to darkness. In the midst of battle, he broke into the Cathedral where Ishaela Bha'gor was working her magic: conducting the ritual that would free our god and cleanse the world. As the air buzzed with eldritch energy, they faced off before the portal. But their fight caused the Ritual to fail. Reality cracked; dimensions collided. The portal exploded into a million shards, plunging our world into madness. General Leonard Waters lost his Legion. Priestess Ishaela Bha'gor lost our Salvation.

Kickstarter descriptions

Eshe

Slow but persistent was the world's decay... until the efforts of mankind's bravest and brightest to preserve humanity instead dramatically precipitated the fall. Centuries after that mysterious calamity, those who remain travel in groups through the windswept, dusty land, pooling their resources and skills to survive.

Eshe is the uniquely talented mechanic of her nomadic group, scavenging the wasteland for salvageable parts and effecting repairs on the group's perpetually decaying machines and weapons.

Still the group's numbers dwindle. One day, yet another trusted companion doesn't return from a scavenging mission, and Eshe is spurred into action.

Searching through the wasteland for her lost friend, Eshe finds herself trapped in a strange sandstorm that lures her into a mysterious pit. She has stumbled upon the source of power that led to the world’s destruction centuries ago. Having no choice but to go forward, she delves into a world of monsters and madness...

The Valkyries

The Valkyries were once a group of brave soldiers and scientists with the sole purpose of defending the remains of humankind.

After years upon years of steady decline, it had finally come to this. As disorder and despair reigned and infrastructure crumbled planet-wide, humanity's bravest and brightest took it upon themselves to create the Valkyrie Division. Top scientific and military expertise united in their utopian vision: they would found a new city, a shining beacon upon which humanity could begin to rebuild.

But the world was no longer the flourishing source of energy and resources it had once been. For all their wisdom and best efforts, the Valkyries did not thrive - even daily survival remained a challenge. So it was that large team was dispatched to wander the decayed world in search of solutions.

Lead by General Leonard Waters, the group eventually came upon a strange underground city in which people seemed to prosper despite the disaster that had befallen the world. These people called themselves the Eschaton, and seemed to have devoted their lives to some unknown god.

"There's something in this place that corrupts the mind." - Gen. Leonard Waters

An eerie contraption called the Shining Trapezohedron seemed to be the source of the Eschaton prosperity, and it was immediately coveted by General Waters. Surely the power of the Trapezohedron could be harnessed - perhaps even technologically augmented - for the greater good! It would be claimed by the Valkyries - by force, if necessary.

"Isn't it in human nature to want to progress?" - Gen. Leonard Waters

The Eschaton

As the world eroded around them, the pious Eschatons retreated into underground caves to worship The Elder One.

"Long ago, a tall, slim and well-spoken man came upon our ancestors. Nyarlathotep was the name the man introduced himself with, and he gifted us with a holy stone that would forever change the fate of our people. Behold the Shining Trapezohedron, the man said, for it is the key to something greater than all of us." - Bhaloli Sael-yot, priestess of the Eschaton

In their deity, the Eschatons see a chance for a fallen, hopeless humanity to be reborn. Following the words spoken from the Shining Trapezohedron, they use its guidance to conduct a holy ritual, focused on opening a portal to the dimension in which their god dwells.

No more shall it sleep, no more shall it dream. With the rift opened, the Elder One could descend to earth, cleansing the world so humankind could begin anew.

It was then that they encountered the Valkyries, who coveted the Eschatons' holy stone, and sought to harness its power for their cause. There would be no compromise; there would be war.

It was a terrible conflict, but the aftermath was far worse. Twisted and tainted by the eldritch energy flooding from the unfinished portal, the Eschatons and Valkyries had transformed into something unrecognizable... something inhuman.

And in their underground city they still dwell, patiently awaiting for their god to be freed...