Thick, ancient forests spread across a massive vale, surrounded by mountains and crisscrossed by rushing rivers and babbling brooks. Fireflies are thick, shining softly in the dim light under the trees. The sun perpetually hangs low in the sky, the temperature never too hot or cold. All manner of strange beasts prowl the land. Near the valley’s edge, strange sounds ring out, the wailing of hungry metal beasts. In a few dark and corrupted places, a foul mist corrupts the land. And among all this live the Sylph, mystical beings infused with the Nine Forces of Nature Cosmic Power: Anima, Flame, Water, Tempest, Stone, Verdure, Sun, Stars, and Moons.
As the name suggests, the Vale of Dusk exists in a perpetual state of twilight. The sun circles the world such that it appears to skirt the edges of the Vale constantly. Most of the Vale is filled with ancient trees that have long since grown into a tangled mass, but there are a few places open to the sky. The combination of eternal twilight and thick tree cover make the Vale a fairly dim place to be most of the time, though there are many fireflies which constantly illuminate the environment with an ethereal glow.
The Vale is a place where the Forces of Nature reign, and that makes it simultaneously vibrant, mystical, ethereal, and untamed. There are, however, areas of darkness and foul mist that have begun to appear in recent times. The Scourge can manifest in many different ways, but the most common is a sickening pink mist that can roll over an area. Momentary exposure to the Scourge-Myst causes few side effects, but if a creature (Sylph or otherwise) stays inside of it for too long it can warp their perceptions of reality, eventually turning friend against friend and causing all sorts of hostile behaviors. Long-term exposure can warp the body in grotesque ways and even prompt cravings for flesh. Any flesh.
Types of Characters:
The denizens of this world are known as the Sylph. They could best be described as “fairies,” but make no mistake: these creatures are not whimsical beings of childlike glee or highly political and scheming “fae.” The Sylph embody the nine Forces of Nature, with each one typically leaning towards one particular Force, at least for a time; their forms are mutable, and can change.
Almost any Sylph that comes to the Garden will have been alive for at least a century or two of time as reckoned by mortals. This means that they will be familiar with the Scourge-Myst as well as the time before it.
Read the full Vale of Dusk Culture Packet here.
This world currently has a medium population of player characters.
