The Healer

Story of a healer of adventurers.

Jaconia is a round shard of a world. A tiny part of what once was a great supercivilization called Borvaria. But they used too much magic and the cascade of open gates to another dimensions caused everything to come crashing down.

Only few wizards predicted the holocaust and created Jaconia through their protective magics. And even though the wizards do not die of old age, there are none left alive of the ones who saw the destruction.

But centuries pass and people go around their business. The wizards of Jaconia fought a civil war and the winners decided to draw themselves from the affairs of the mortals. And at least on the surface, the city states of Jaconia adopted mortal rulers and most of the wizards drew themselves to be isolated in the city of Circol. They let mortals dabble with alchemy, but active use of magic was prohibited and carried the penalty of death. Only true wizards, members of the families that reach from the gloom of history were allowed to drink the elixir of immortality and become wizards among the old ones.

The city states evolved and nowadays they are approaching something that we would consider a renaissance. Northern states are the strongest ones, Farrignia as the proudest member, while the southern Jaconia is more or less lawless region of great forests and rivers. The outer edges of Jaconia consist of a vast desert. “Desert of the Wolf”, is inhabited by the nomads of Jaconia. A mysterious people with living tattoos, own wizards and faith.

The main formal religion of Jaconia is the faith of Artante, the God of Kings. His church is the only one that has power that extends from spiritual life to the world, with inquisition and participation in royal affairs the church.

The two remaining largest religions are the faith of Tiraman, father of the birds. His faith is centered around charity and goodwill and he is hailed especially among the poor populaces of the vast cities and countrysides.

The cult of the Twin Mother is originally a fertility cult practiced by the nomads but it has spread among other populaces as well. It explains the events of the world by a dualistic mother nature force that has capabilities for good and evil alike.

The cult of the Dead God has been around for centuries, but nowadays resembles more of philosophy rather than religion. Few hundred years ago part of the sect grew very dominant and decided to demand from the wizards that they must share their knowledge of the elixir of immortality. The wizards stepped down from their high towers and wiped the sect out in a massive show of power.

Lesser beliefs are local and smaller in nature. They consist of cults of hero worship, power and even demonic possession. The religious life of ordinary people mixes things from all of the religions and adds on top a local supertitious elements. None of the religions are strong enough to persecute others in a grand scale and only the faith of Artante has clearly distinquishable dogma and a defined clergy. Even Artante-worship is very diverse in the frontier, ranging from village priests to deranged cult-leaders.

But in midst of it all, Borvaria still exists. Once a proud kingdom of super-magicians but now endless ruins filled by deadly wild magic and chaotic beasts. Since the tragedy there have been adventurers who wander across the magical barrier to find long-lost riches and items of ancient magic. Many of them die but some come back with a fortune. They are called Praedors.

In a strict hierarchy of Jaconian society Praedors are a caste outside of normal way of life. They are despised and persecuted by some, and in the same time used by nobles to do their dirty work elsewhere. Some of them have collected vast riches, but others spend it almost as quickly and end up right in the beginning.

Britius a priest of Tiraman, a “grey brother” among many of the people who spend some of their time by helping others less fortunate than him. But for the praedors, of many who know his name and home in humble room near the great marketplaces of Farrignia do not care. They know him as “The Healer” and what he does can't be reproduced by the healing potions of the alchemists. He can help a man to face his past and cease the adventuring life of praedors. A life style that leads mostly to death rather than serenity among the riches.