The Story Begins:

In the year 807, the Champions began to assemble, answering the call from the Thousand-Fold Assembly to join the Evensong Expedition. Their task: to protect the new enclave that will be constructed near the ruins of Evensong Keep, to locate the long-lost Shrine of Dreams, and defend it against the agents of Nightmare until the Rite of Restoration can be completed in the summer of 809. Only then will the threat of the Nightmare Lord be removed.

A large caravan began the journey north from the Land of Gold and Silver. Dozens of wagons carried the expedition, composed of administrators, farmers, carpenters, hunters, Favored, scribes, laborers, and more, as well as the families of those individuals. The caravan was headed for Evensong, where now, in 808, they intend to begin work on the enclave: clearing land, building structures, preparing to grow crops to sustain the endeavor.

The Champions have been tasked with leading the way along the ancient Stone Road, ensuring that the path is clear of obstacles and that the rest of the following Caravan can reach Evensong safely before the winter snows.

The Caravan has now moved into the cursed North, said to be populated primarily by smugglers, bandits, hermits and the Vespers who serve the Nightmare Lord.

The Evensong Expedition is led by Morgan Shepherd, Favored of Taomun and member of the Holy Council. It is said that it was her order, the Reasoned, who first discovered that the long-lost Shrine of Dreams might be found near Evensong Keep. She is also said to be the one who called for the Champions to be assembled from throughout Concordance, in opposition to other voices within the Assembly who would have preferred the Expedition be guarded by the Templar Order.

The Story Continues:

On June 24, 809, after successful execution of the Rite of Restoration, the entire Evensong Expedition including all the Champions (aka all Players), were declared Heretics and Traitors by the Inquisitor Prime. During the ensuing conflict, the former Champions of Evensong as well as General Monbaird and Seneschel Morris of the Templars escaped in the company of several Vespers. Holy Councilor and Commander of the Evensong Expedition, Morgan Shepherd, sacrificed herself to ensure their escape. The Champions are now exiles and criminals, deemed traitors, heretics and “cast into oblivion” by the Holy Council of Concordance, and thus severed from the Holy Body of the Assembly.

During the severance, the expedition members were stripped of their additional Grace granted by the Holy Council at the start of the expedition. They were also marked with the Brand of the Fell.

While the former Champions of Evensong have been officially stripped of their connection to the Holy Body of the Assembly, they find that they have no lost connection to their deities in any way.

After the chaos of the Holy Council’s actions, The Evensong Exiles were delivered, by the Vespers, to a campsite in the woods of the Northlands, several miles from the Evensong Expedition camp. Rumors and songs have begun to spread through Concordance that tell of corruption at the highest levels of the holy council. Some are saying that the actions of the former Champions of Evensong were justified. Some are calling them the true heroes of Concordance. Many fear them. Others head north to join them.