The World of Thalmyr, Bound by the Labyrinths
The First Descent
No record agrees on when the Labyrinths first appeared. Some scriptures claim they were dug by the gods to test mortal resolve; others insist they are the exposed veins of a living world, torn open during an ancient magical catastrophe. What all cultures agree upon is this truth:
Before the Labyrinths, the world starved. After them, the world survived—but at a cost.
When monsters began emerging from the depths, entire kingdoms fell. Yet those same creatures carried crystallized mana in their bodies—cores, organs, bone-metals—that could be forged into tools, weapons, and spells beyond anything known before. Civilization adapted. Morality followed.