Ballads of Oræd

A mist of brackish water blows by as you walk along the western coast of your homeland, the island continent Oræd. You close your eyes and imagine packing your belongings and setting sail, to discover the hidden Snake Elves who no outsider has seen, or to visit the Wish Wyrm in the Hills of Alchemy and ask for a boon. You see yourself running into druidic pilgrims out at sea, who would lead you to the giant oracle Olgatha, that prophet who could unveil your destiny. The vision continues, your ship cresting ever more distant waves until it suddenly plummets into a hidden rift. Demons wait below, while yet more crawl forth from a nearby hellmouth. A crash of water against rocky cliffs shakes you from the daydream, and the shrieks of demons are replaced by the calls of gulls. Perhaps the sea isn’t the way to go, with so much of the land here yet to be uncovered. Tales have reached you of renegade golems, treacherous warlocks, and lycanthrope cults, all to the north. A fossilised wyvern t