The Fourth Age of Man on Duria

Upon the return of the Elder Gods, humanity across Duria began to work towards rebuilding almost overnight. The civil war in Koramia came to a close and the newly reunified kingdom allied with their old enemies, the legions of Ciritasnia, to fight against the orcs that occupied the western shores of the Divian Peninsula. The Holy See of Cambrecia, long a supporter of Imperial power on Duria and an oppressor to its subjects recognized not only the legitimacy of the people who had fought against the Potentate during the Dark Times, but also proclaimed its neutrality in the internal affairs of Duria’s nations, even in areas of religious differences. Rebels in Lun Dorak founded the nation of Stenoa, establishing a democratic republic out of escaped slaves and former brigands. More than a few nations on Duria, their hereditary nobility dead from war and disease, chose to establish republics rather than continue to fight over who had the right to reign.

Despite the return of the Elder Gods, the druids continued to expand across Duria. In some regions they were scorned by the newly re-empowered priests, but in most human nations druids and priests found ways to work side-by-side to provide their services to the populace, even if relations were often somewhat strained between the two groups.

Meanwhile, the great Mage Guilds of Gallorea and Aurea began to spread to the human nations of Duria (barring Lun Dorak, where they are still prohibited). The Mage Guilds provided a certain stability and accountability to the wizards of Duria, promising to help secular authorities police their numbers to ensure that a new Mage-King would not rise to wreak havoc across the continent again. Distrust of mages continued, of course, but that the Mage Guilds were more than willing to assist in capturing and executing those mages they considered Renegade (i.e. those not belonging to one of the Great Guilds) convinced most people of their sincerity.

In some regions, particularly in the south and among the nations of the western Sea of Blades, nobles and wealthy merchants have begun investing in science as a means to prevent another magically-induced Interrannum. The idea of being able to accomplish great deeds without the need for divine or arcane magic is appealing to many people. The movement is particularly popular in the Freecity of Neptaris, where some local craftsman have begun to build seemingly magical wonders out of little more than boiling water and a few spinning gears.

More importantly, however, there seems a pervasive hope across Duria that the Fourth Age of Man will bring even greater wonders than the Third. Because the Interannum was only four decades long, much of the knowledge and social structures of the Third Age of Man remained intact. For certain, some of the villains of the Third Age: the mages of Lun Dorak continue to lick their wounds in the east, the orcs of the north remain a threat should they be unified again and the Imperial legions in the west could again threaten the free peoples of Duria should a strong Emperor reassemble the shattered Zetian Empire. But despite these threats, humanity has rebuilt much of what was lost in only three score years and, in some cases, even moved beyond what was known into entirely new realms of knowledge.