Lore

Great Cleave sits at the intersection of several major historical threads: the war against Corruption, the legacy of the Ancients, the Arthurian age, Myrddin’s experiments, and the rise of the Varangian Knights.

A Northern War Zone

The snow-covered mountains have long functioned as a defensive frontier. Rangers fight to keep Corrupted forces from strengthening their foothold and moving farther into the settled territories. Ruined camps and fortifications show that this struggle has continued through repeated failures and recoveries.

The Empyrean Forge

Deep within Great Cleave lies the Empyrean Forge, one of the most important surviving Ancient industrial sites. The Ancients used the facility to create constructs and war machines. Even after the destructive war that ended Ancient rule, the Forge was abandoned without truly becoming inactive; its supernatural fires continued to burn.

The facility offers rare evidence that Ancient constructs were engineered rather than simply summoned or discovered.

Myrddin’s Experiments

Centuries later, Myrddin entered the Forge to study Ancient engineering. His experiments opened a gate into other realms, allowing elemental beings and magical forces to enter the facility. Those energies fused with the Forge, producing new creatures shaped by both elemental power and Ancient Azoth technology.

The event is another example of a recurring Aeternum pattern: later scholars discover a functioning Ancient system, understand only part of it, and create an entirely new danger.

Artorius and the Varangians

Great Cleave also connects to the era of King Artorius. Ser Loth and other Arthurian figures appear in stories tied to the region, while the Varangian Knights later sought the power contained within the Forge.

Their interest was not archaeological. Ancient technology represented a weapon and a source of magical advantage.

The Meaning of the Cleave

Great Cleave is a frontier in more than geography. It divides periods of Aeternum’s history: Ancient machines beneath medieval legends beneath modern battles against Corruption. Every faction that enters the mountains finds the remnants of someone else’s war still waiting for them.