Preface: To Whom It May Concern
Are we not truly fortunate to live in these wondrous times? Alas, most but the youngest among us can recall an age when ravenous, strange beasts from the realm of nightmare were relegated to the safe confines of bone-tingling campfire tale and nothing more. Recent events have seen unprecedented changes to our world, and the barrier between the common and the dizzyingly strange has been shattered by the brutish hammer of circumstance.
For but a moment, allow me to illuminate the man behind the words you read. I am a chronicler of sorts, having been inflicted with a burning desire to record events, persons and places with as exacting detail as possible. I fully realize that my mind and memory are quite a rarity among the intellectual rabble of our world, and when I slough off this mortal coil, the heavens will weep at the loss of understanding that comes with my passing. Fear not, gentle reader! I am a more generous sort than that, and have dedicated my life to compiling this digest to hopefully aid any with the foresight to heed wise, articulate words.
You are welcome.
As we all know, the wild frontier of VALGAMMA’S RUIN was discovered ten years ago, and the process of taming (hah!) this fascinating region of Spurth has become the obsession of many. Myself, I will settle for mere understanding. Affectionately known as “THE RUIN”, this new land overflows with staggering beauty and bounty, but holds a nefarious devil’s bargain for the lush, honey-glazed promises it so sweetly whispers.
In short, the rumors are all true. This land is swollen with gold, acres and acres of lush farmland, and any other amenity one could dream of claiming. But alas, the flame can both illuminate as well as singe, and what is good in VALGAMMA’S RUIN is nigh-picture perfect, but what is terrible truly, truly tests the soul of even the most resolute among us.
As mere mortals, we are challenged by adversity and made steel through suffering. I doubt you would have read this far if you were not prepared to walk through the hot coals of your own personal forge, eh? Some of us are brought here by the promise of riches, pleasure, avarice, or illustrious curiosity. The motives are irrelevant. We are all tossed into this brutal frontier paradise where the laws of reality and nature take a backseat to the abominable.
If the hint were not already underlined, VALGAMMA’S RUIN is the most dangerous place in creation. Time and distance and nature itself function differently here, and those who do not adapt quickly find their lives, as well as sanity at risk. Monsters roam the deep darkness, and even the native wildlife is flush with odd features and perilous abilities. This place is permeated with a beautiful strangeness that I, myself, find intoxicating.
Though, this volume is not intended to detail every nook and cranny of this exotic and wild place (perhaps my next academic endeavor?), but to focus on the one small speck in this rowdy realm that has been (somewhat) wrangled into some semblance of order!
Indeed, this volume is a thorough guidebook to the town of OMEN: a bastion in the tempest Aether-storm of The Ruin.
Until recently, the five great peoples of Spurth had relatively little reason to comingle, with each focusing on their own goals and motivations tucked away behind the cozy borders of familiarity. When THE GREAT SPIRAL was finally calmed and Valgamma’s Ruin was discovered, it summoned forth enterprising (and villainous) souls from all walks of life and all corners of the world. The new frontier is far too hazardous to venture into alone, and so, Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Orc, and Settler alike must band together for mutual survival and benefit, learning how to cooperate and understand the diverse and befuddling practices of others. Personally, I find it all rather inspiring in a romantic kind of way, and this is the (somewhat soiled) dream of OMEN.
These pages depict the places and peoples you can expect to find, as well as the litany of dangers that life here entails. OMEN is a place surrounded by unknowable strangeness, ravishing beauty, and unfathomable depravity. I have spent years cataloguing and compiling every shred of my knowledge to complete this vital tome, and I am certain its elegant words will illuminate as well as amaze. I have published this volume at my own great and personal expense, and it is undoubtedly my magnum opus to the world.
OMEN is my home, and now it is yours. Perhaps we will see each other on its dusty streets and you can thank me personally for saving your life a dozen times over with the overflowing knowledge lovingly stuffed into this peerless dissertation. That would indeed be pleasant.
Until that time, read, and learn about the bold and new world that surrounds you.
Your brother in Ruin,
Barthello Cadger
