Cairn:Setting
It is a world slowly recovering from a horrible conflict of titanic proportions known as the 'Outer War' - a gruesome series of desperate battles between the native races of Cairn and ghastly eldritch monstrosities from beyond the veil of reality. The true origin of the war is unknown, only that it began at the very pinnacle of Cairn's golden age and over the course of a single year caused untold amounts of devastation. At last the native bioforms won, but only with great sacrifice. Those beings that could not be driven out were destroyed. Those that could not be destroyed were locked away behind impenetrable barriers and mystic workings of unimaginable power.
It took over five hundred years for society to return to a shadow of its former glory and to eventually forget what had happened so long ago, surrounded by the ruins of what once was. Much was lost - knowledge, relics, powerful crafting techniques, legends, and more. Only the mystically-infused technology deemed 'magitech' remains, affording the peoples of Cairn some small luxuries even as its greatest artifices lay corrupted in the hands of mighty eldritch spawn.
One of the lost legends is of the glorious divinity known as Sola, ruler of the heavens, creator of Cairn's unique blue sun. It is said that Sola once existed, but at the very start of the Outer War the divinity disappeared, and was never seen again. No other divines have since come to pass, and none was known before Sola. Some have tried to ascend to divinity, but none have succeeded, utterly destroyed by immolation after tasting only the faintest hint of glorious power. And so Cairn is a forsaken realm, and those who die pass into the land of the dead and wait for either a blessing or an absolution that will never come.
Cairn is a godless world, and as such there are no deities that determine anything, protect anything, or rule anything. As a result, with nothing to guide them, the races of Cairn have come to rely on themselves - making the freedom of personal choice extremely important. There is no fate, no destiny. Only what you think and do matters, only your decisions are important. Thus, your actions are determined solely by you, and you bear all of the benefits and consequences of them. Choose wisely.
Due to the realm of the dead (called the Netherworld or the Endless Halls) having no guardian or regulator, and with the barrier between it and the mortal coil quite thin due to the Outer War, the dead can escape with considerable effort. This makes undead, while not common, not an unusual sight either. And this is alright with the people of Cairn - provided these undead aren't predatory or hostile - as there are far worse things than your neighbor's ghost popping up or grandpa coming back as a ghoul. Some even willingly choose to become undead, seeking out necromancers to transform them in exchange for money or service.
Now the main domain on Cairn is called the Empire of Morven, and is populated mostly by humans, with a human ruler - currently Empress Corona XVI. Other races and sentient undead are welcome also, but humans are the most prevalent.
Within the Empire exists small groups of elite agents called the Guardians of the Sightless Eye. Their job is to keep watch for signs of eldritch activity and investigate, doing whatever is deemed necessary to prevent the Great Enemy from returning to finish what they started. This gives the Sightless Eye great autonomy to accomplish their missions, and the ability to requisition almost any type of resource if needed.
You are one of these groups, chosen by the Empress herself to keep watch for those who would once more devastate the world and all within it.
