Barsaive. A small province, yet it has been the center of events that has reshaped the world. In it's mountains, the elven scholar Elianar Messias worked on translating ancient scrolls from a civilization long forgotten, recently found in nearby caves. After years of study, he finally was able to translate them. What he found terrified him greatly, driving him to madness. He plucked his eyes from their sockets and thrust them and his hands into the open fire in his study. He left behind a brief note, the only clue to his strange fate. "These are the Books of Harrow," it said, "They are our doom and salvation. Learn from them, or we will all perish."<br/>That night, something horrid stalked the corridors of the monastery, and six of Messias' brothers died terribly. The next morning Kearos Navarim, another elven scholar, took the six Books of Harrow and flead Barsaive with a few of his fellow brothers and what provisions they could carry, to a place where they could continue Messias' work. They settled on the island of Thera in the Selestrean Sea. There they established the Eternal Library and a settlement dedicated to learning and the unlocking of the Books.<br/><br/>Magic is cyclic, they learned, it waxes and wanes. In a couple of hundred years the magic level would peak, and possibly bring about the end of the world. As magic grew ever stronger, the barriers between this world and some hidden realm beyond the spirit world would weaken enough for the Horrors inhabiting it to pass through the barrier. It had happened once before, millenia ago, and it almost meant the end of the world. There was no fighting this Scourge, the scholars agreed, against this enemy there was no victory. The Namegivers of the world had but two choices: Hide or perish.<br/>Already the signs of the coming Scourge was starting to manifest itself. In the city of Majallan, in the human dominated lands of Landis, dark wraith-like spirits stalked the streets, driving men to violence against eachother. For a year, in the city of Dragolin, in the ancient dwarf kingdom of Scytha, every dwarf child shriveled and died before reaching it's first month of life, its essence devoured by something unseen.<br/><br/>The scholars knew they were running out of time. They start working on the Rites of Protection and Passage, a way for the Namegiver races to seek shelter and weather out the worst of the Scourge. Great underground fortresses, dubbed Kaers, would shelter most of the namegivers, it's walls of earth and rock strengthened by the most powerfull wards ever deviced. But there were other means of protection. The greatest of the cities would have the means to afford the construction of domes of Elemental Air that would stand a good chance of keeping the Horrors out. Some kaers were built under water, under domes of Elemental Water. The cost of protecting Thera alone would be astronomical, however. The scholars took the next logical step: their place of learning became the seat of a rapidly expanding empire.<br/>The Therans offered the Rites of Protection and Passage to other provinces, provided that they swore allegiance to mighty Thera and agreed to give Thera huge quanteties of Elemental Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Wood, and also all the Orichalcum they could spare, the most precious and magical of all metals. In the face of the coming Scourge, most agreed of course, and Thera soon controled vast areas.<br/><br/>In every corner of the empire people struggled to build shelters strong enough to be able to withstand the assault from the Horrors, and with enough supplies to last generations. Generations of Namegivers would never get to lay eyes on the sky or the sun, but hopefully their childrens childrens children would one day. They still had a couple of 100 years before the Scourge would truly hit, but it was still a race against the clock.<br/>In the year TE 565 in the Theran Calendar, and the 1008 year of the Throalic Calendar, the Scourge truly began. Both calendars mark the same event as the start of the Scourge: the sealing up of Thera. As the center and focus of so much magic power, Thera is beset by the Horrors earlier and with greater severity than the rest of the world. Thera's last words to her subject nations are wishes of luck and safety, and an affermation of her power. Then, the great Dome of True Air and Fire that surrounded the island ignited and sealed of Thera from the rest of the world.<br/><br/>Within the next 20 years, comunication between different kingdoms became impossible as the vanguard of the Scourge poured into the world. The Namegivers were still strong enough to fight the Horrors off, but it wouldn't last. In 1050 the dwarf mountain kingdom of Throal finally shut their gates, the Scourge had reached Barsaive. What people still not sheltered either found a still open kaer before it was sealed off, or they fell victim to the Horrors. Now centuries of waiting lay ahead of them.<br/>How many kaers were breached during the 400 year Scourge, no one could say. Some say half of them, some say less, some say more. No matter the number, all could agree that the loss of life was to much to comprehend. Those who did survive lived their lives in terror: would this be the day the kaer was breached? Some could hear the Horrors pound on their outer defences. All you could do then was pray and hope that they would give up and move on before they found a way in.<br/>One thing above all others helped maintain the spirits of the Barsaivians waiting for the Scourge to end: the Book of Tomorrow. Between the closing of Thera and the closing of Throal, the dwarfs had not been idle. The Book was commisioned by the king himself, and spread to as many kaers possible before they were sealed. The Book contained the history of both Throal and Thera, the great tales of the day and ages past. It told people how they would rebuild their lost homes and lands once the Horrors were gone. It described trees, the sun and the wind for those that would never live to see all those things with their own eyes. But most importantly, it gave the people of Barsaive a common language for the first time in recorded history. Even to this day almost every Barsaivan child learn the language of Throal beside their own native tongue.<br/><br/>In 1409 by the Throal Calendar, Throal sent out a scouting party to the outside world. None returned, the party destroyed just a few hours after they stepped outside the great gates. Each year after they sent out a new party. None returned untill 1412 when the female troll Vaare Longfang returned with the most of her party intact. She reported that the Horrors were still present, but they were fewer and less active. An airship was outfitted and an elite crew put together, the command being offered to Longfang. In 1416 the<em>Earthdawn</em>set sail and is gone for almost a year. A battered<em>Earthdawn</em>return, with an exhausted but jubilant crew. The Horrors still linger, but not in great numbers and only in areas of high magic where they can sustain themselves. A jubilant Throal prepare to open it's gates and slowly start reclaiming the world.<br/><em>Earthdawn</em>set sail again in 1418, tasked with finding as many kaers as they can and inform those that doesn't already know that the Scourge has ended. The ship is never heard of again, but despite that Throal opens it's gates in 1420.<br/><br/>Much is changed. Mountains gone, rivers redirected, lakes boiled away, hardly a straw of grass left. Few would have guessed that the world would be green again just a 100 years later.<br/>In 1449 the air armadas of Thera is first sighted over Barsaive in hundreds of years. Great Thera has awoken. The newly appointed Overlord of Barsaive is not greeted with open arms, however. The time between the end of the Scourge and the return of Thera has allowed the people of Barsaive to live free of the Theran yoke, and they liked that taste of freedom.<br/>Overlord Pavelis chose the strong hand over the soft voice, any resistance was swiftly and brutally struck down. People are first reluctant to provoke Theran wrath, but as it become more and more clear they would live their lives as slaves to their Theran masters, the people of Barsaive turn to Throal for help. Surely Throal, who advocated the principles of freedom in the Book of Tommorrow won't abandon them now?<br/><br/>King Varulus III of Throal knew his kingdom would not have any chance against the air fleets and legions of Thera. Together, the people of Barsaive might stand a chance. He sent messengers to the rulers of Barsaive. Together Barsaive must stand free, or fall into oppression and slavery. Though his words stir the hearts of many, the sight of Theran airships raiding and attacking at will stills their actions.<br/>An enraged message from the First Governor of Thera to Overlord Pavelis turns the tide. In it, the First Governor states that every man, woman and child of Barsieve owes their very lives to Thera and the First Governor personally. This blood debt makes all the people of Barsaive the personal slaves of the First Governor, and are his to do with as he wishes. When Barsaivan freedom fighters get their hands on a copy of the message and starts to circulate it, people can no longer turn a blind eye to the choice before them: fight or be enslaved.<br/><br/>The First Governor shifts troops to Barsaive from other provinces, and Pavelis gathered them into the mightiest armada ever assembled. With his army ready, Pavelis moved on Throal. The dwarf kingdom was unprepared to fight the force arrayed against them. The rest of Barsaive was not. Goaded on by the heroes of the time, Barsaive came to Throal's aid. Troll Skyraiders harrased the Theran fleets. T'Skrang river boats ran blockades and intercepted Theran supplies. Ork cavalry and elven archers assaulted supply convoys and basecamps before dissapearing into the night. Windling spies stole into Theran airships and camps to learn their secret battle plans.<br/><br/>Harassed and battered from all sides, Pavelis took a desperate gamble to break Throal's back before the patience of the First Governor ran out. He commited all his forces to a frontal assault on Throal, but as the armada runs the gauntlet on the last stretch of the journey, hit and run fighters manage to cut the armada to half and scatter their supply convoys. Faced with disaster, the Theran armada breaks, and Throal stands firm. The fleet withdraws to their naval headquarters of Sky Point in the south west of Barsaive, where they sit to this very day, holding but a small fraction of Barsaivan soil.<br/><br/>Unfortunatly, after lifting the siege of Throal, the factions of Barsaive returned to bickering and infighting for the next 60 years, their unity forgotten, at least for the moment. In the meantime Mighty Thera licks it wounds, building it's strength. A hundred years has passed since the end of the Scourge, yet some Horrors remain. Now, more than ever, it is a time for heroes.