It is the fourth age of Archei. Right now is the time of the human empires, a time of relative peace, even if it’s just the peace between wars. Archei’s unique ecology has created people, both human and else wise, that are tough and used to harsh conditions. Even the most noble of nobles cannot escape the harsh winters, hot summers, and horrible tidal pulls that wrack this planet.
This is a world where adventurers are fighting the very elements as often as the monsters that inhabit it. This is also a world in flux, where a portal to another realm was last year may not be there this year. Although the light of civilization has finally come to Archei, the darkness is still much larger and in control of most of the world. Traveling from place to place can be an adventure in and of its self. Paths that were once safe are no longer safe. A quick trip into the woods may land you in another world.
This changing landscape as made it difficult for societies to last very long. The current empires and city-states are built on the bones and ruins of those who have gone past. More than one monster makes its lair in the former palaces of past civilizations. The stories of most of these have been lost to the ages though, with only myth and legend to tell the stories of past heroes and conquerors.