<br/>At the dawn of the First Age, the gods gave power to men that they might slay the gods' Primordial enemies. Anointed by the gods, these beings were thereafter known as the Exalted.<br/><br/>The greatest of the Exalted were the Solars, the Chosen of the Unconquered Sun, the mightiest of the gods. So great was their power that, when a Solar died, his power was quickly made manifest in a new individual - a reincarnation of sorts, but into a mature adult rather than a newborn.<br/><br/>The Exalted triumphed over the enemies of the gods, and in reward, the gods gave the Exalted dominion over the Earth. For a timeless age, the Exalted ruled justly over Creation, and their kingdom was invincible.<br/><br/>But the enemies of the gods had pronounced a terrible curse against the Exalted. This dark magic ate away at the hearts of the Chosen. The benevolence of the Solars turned to tyranny, and peace turned to civil war. It was prophesied that the madness of the Solars would bring about the destruction of the world. Seeing no other alternative, the lowliest of Exalted, the Dragon-Blooded, murdered the decadent Solar Exalted and locked their souls away.<br/><br/>And so, a Second Age descended upon Creation.<br/><br/>The greatest of the gods' servants no longer walked the earth, and the Realm of the Dragon-Blooded was but a shadow of the lost old Realm. Solar Exalted whose power escaped to be reborn were slain by Dragon-Blooded inquisitors known as the Wyld Hunt, and the Realm claimed dominion over Creation. For more than a thousand years the Solar Exalted remained imprisoned and defeated - until now.<br/><br/>The Scarlet Empress, the Dragon-Blooded ruler of the Realm and controller of the Wyld Hunt, vanished five years ago. Without her might to enforce order in the Realm, the Great Houses of her Scarlet Dynasty have fallen to squabbling over the reins of power. And in this time of crisis, the Solar Exalted have returned. It is as if a gate was opened and the heroes of old rushed through it and returned to the world.<br/><br/>The city of Spear Tip. A large city by second age standards rested at the top of a large northern mountain range. The city suffered intense blizzards and freezing colds and yet survived and prospered. This was from a great artifact old old, one that warmed the city and kept it functioning despite the extrema weather that fell around it. The other attraction of the city was the caverns below. A recent scavenger lord came out of there with a dragons horde of treasure, enough to retire many times over. He said that 10 times that amount remained below,but he was ill prepared to carry that much to the surface. He spoke of other riches that he passed up, Fist size jewels, pure jade talents, and artifacts of unknown value. This man and his few surviving crew members spread the word, and the city boomed.<br/><br/>Other already knew of the riches, and the trap that was laid. Some first age beings remembered a primordial race that was sealed in the mountains there. A Race that was cold and elegant. The race was hunted for some time, before the Solars grew bored and simply sealed the entire place up, the creatures much like the lithian pirates weren't worth the effort to destroy. Unlike the pirates, there was a simple answer. To seal away the Mountain forever.<br/><br/>The Solars made maintenance simple, but after all this time, in the second age, the Seal is finally gone. The Lover, she knew the race well, and sent one of her death knights to go down below. "Beware the trap my darling."<br/><br/>Others simply hoped for the riches, or were guided by lost memories.