Tolg

In an age past, a god-spirit of storm and seas sank this plane and Drowned it. Three bastions of the living survived through these times- the glass city of Gratitude that stands as a hub of knowledge and remains the home of the elves, the iron Empire with its navy which discovered the ways of gunpowder and beast oil, and the fertile, free land called Providence where beastfolk have always lived. Over a hundred years ago the storms died down and lands began to reemerge from the sea. Even so, today few are marked on the map as one storm could sink many islands and peoples, as has been seen time and time again. Between the storms and sailors, these seas are a place where no laws apply no matter how hard the Emperial navy tries to enforce them.

Before

This version of Tolg was once a developing world, with many cultures learning to make peace with one another. Unfortunately, two nations- Cradle and Il-Oovi were diametrically opposed in their beliefs: the people of Cradle believed in the Tall Papa, creator of humans, and that the land belonged to them, while the reptilefolk of Il-Ooovi followed the Sky Serpent, Oovi, and wished to worship and build their ziggurats using materials found in the holy Jaeter Grove. Both have stories of how Oovi and Tall Papa fought before the time of mortals, and both blame the other for their respective deities' current slumber, or death. These two cultures warring in the direct center of the Tolgan continent made relations between the surrounding nations difficult, so a second peace treaty was negotiated and the second Great War was ended. During this tumultuous time, the western nation of Cim-Khetar dug deep into the earth, into a past they had long forgotten, and awakened the first undead who subsequently overran their capital and the entire coast. During the quest to stop the undead expansion, Xinthua Tzeqal, a lizardfolk scion of Oovi, discovered a way to wake his god from its slumber. After the undead threat was defeated, Xinthua enacted his plan alongside Oovian priest Dirka Darn and the Sky Serpent awoke, Drowning this plane of Tolg and cutting it off completely from all other Tolgs and major planes in reality.

Now

The names of those people and deities are forgotten after hundreds upon hundreds of years of rainfall. Once the serpent of the sky, Oovi- now the Dweller- sleeps eternally at the bottom of the vast ocean that consumes the plane. The nights are long and cold and the sunless, overcast days are almost unbearably humid. Because the stars in the sky are visages of distant planes, the nights here are empty and black. There are no gods worshipped on Tolg, and no magic is cast recklessly- all magicks come from the Dweller and begets the Curse of the Running Eye. When afflicted, all spells cast cause uncontrollable tears to fall from the caster's eyes, and if they continue to press on they will eventually cry blood and go blind. At this point, the Dweller sees through the caster's eyes and they will become a herald to it, becoming a great sea monster and sinking their surroundings.
Not all hope is lost, however, as three aforementioned city-nations survived the Drowning. They live in fragile peace with one another, simply trying to rebuild. This peace is threatened, however, by the expanding militarism of Empire, the long-kept secrets of Gratitude, and the resource guarding of Providence. If not making a living in one of these city-nations, or a smaller village on some island that could sink at any moment, people will make a life for themselves at sea as transporters, fishers, explorers, and even monster hunters and pirates. This is where the setting now stands as we await more UnTolg Stories from the High Seas...