Eons ago, when dragons still ruled the skies, Dwarves worked their mighty forges under the Earth and the Giants prowled the Northern lands; Man faced extinction. Man uncovered the root of all life, Anima. Harvesting the Anima of the creatures they vanquished, they imbued themselves with terrible powers. Man flourished under the power of Anima and waged war against all creatures different than themselves.
When the dragons went extinct, the Dwarves sealed themselves away underground in fear, and the giants were no more; Man turned upon one another. These wars ravaged the land, entire cities destroyed overnight and countless lives were lost. Mankind was reduced to less than quarter of its populace.
The Lord of Light became terrified at the idea of anyone consuming enough Anima to become a god, to stop the birth of this Lord of Darkness and punish their hubris, he severed the link between Humanity and the Spiritus Mundi, a great collection of Anima that gathers in the Heavens and controls the cycle of rebirth and death.
Humanity could no longer age, they became sterile but they could die only to be reborn again. The countless corpses of those who had fallen during the wars were reborn as Anima-hungry demons, who hounded Man and stole their ill-gotten Anima.
The Lord of Light released his 13 "Archdemons" upon the world to keep Man in check. They carry with them each a Runestone. It is said that anyone who can gather the 13 Runestones can end this terrible nightmare...
