When the sun exploded, the continent of Ehlerrac survived the wave of flames because it was on the night side of the planet. Then the earthquakes and tsunamis hit and millions died as cities fell and the landscape were torn apart. The sun was now a sputtering orange ball in the sky, barely keeping the planet from freezing completely.The world started cooling rapidly and the survivors struggled to find food and shelter. Then a group of Nature Wardens started camps and used their magic to grow food. People of many different races came stumbling out of the darkness into these camps, grateful for the protection. The first few years were incredibly hard but the camps survived riots, hardship and the Orc Wars, to grow into large towns and later into five giant cities.

The setting starts a few 100 years later. The Nature Warden run cities are heated by powerful heat spells and lit by giant globes recast every morning by mages. Archways are enclosed roads, linking these 5 cities with the 2 dwarven cities and the one artificer run city built inside a chasm. Trading and manufacturing are helping people to better their situations and there are lots of work available. Three years ago explorers came upon orange crystals in an old crater. When light shone on the crystals, it generated a massive amount of heat. Artificers are now using these "sunshards" to help Ehlerrac to take its first tentative steps into an industrial and steam age. This is an exciting time on Ehlerrac and it's up to game groups to tell the stories of this dark, cold , but not dead world.