Lore

In Ancient Times
A thousand years ago the concepts of clockwork machinery had been around for centuries but were viewed as nothing more than simple curiosities for the rare ecentric man. Hundreds of deities reigned over mortal races with almost every race having their own pantheon. Arcane and Divine magics ruled the world, the true forces of power over the commoners. The various pantheons and deities fought and bickered, countless plots running constantly. One evening the skies erupted into fire. The elven pantheon aligned to strike out at one of the half dozen human pantheons, destroying almost every single member. From there the remaining human deities allied with the monstrous races, striking back at the elves who in turn allied with the dwarven deities. There was no room for neutrality as the war continued for a hundred and seven years. Angels, demons and devils fought side by side and against each other as mercenaries, demon lords standing back to back with archdevils in the employ of deities of justice and healing as they struck out at deities that would be their employers in coming years.

The century that followed was one of chaos. Prayers went unheaded and magics of all types were unreliable as deities fought, collateral damage echoing through the planes. Nations fell and entire races were decimated as the century of war passed. The event became known as the Upheaval.

The Aftermath
When the dust finally settled, the gods realized they had all lost. No pantheon stayed intact. Not a single elven deity remained alive. The true damage though, was the near complete loss of faith. Deities were no longer viewed as untouchable beings beyond mortal minds. They were viewed as all powerful children who's petty squabling resulted in the mass deaths of their own followers. Even arcane magic had become unstable from the sheer force of the magical shockwaves.

Most of the world of Choll was completely destroyed. In some regions, other planes of existence had opened up and partially merged with the material plane. In places where great nations had ruled, there were only craters and vast wastelands, or wild jungles filled with monstrosities that had never before walked the material plane. The vast tunnels and cave systems that hid away completely different cultures were opened up, some flooded and destroyed while handful of survivors from every part of the world fled to wherever they thought they might find safety. Most were wrong.

Only the tiniest fragment of the previously numberous mortal races remained. Even for the survivors, many were inflicted with horrible diseases and insanities. Knowledge of the world was lost. The location of great cities was forgotten. Worthless information about a world that didn't exist anymore. To no real surprise, many of the small clumps of survivors thought themselves the only ones remaining, and for all purposes, they might as well have been. Often thousands of miles, deserts, mountains, oceans, jungles and otherworldly horrors prevented excessive exploration. But each cluster still tried to hold on, to create a new life in a new world. Most turned away from the gods, but some redoubled their faith. Remnants of this war still remain, locked away. Ruins of a world that no longer exist still can be found, though all but the most dangerous are looted clean.

It is a brave new world filled with ignorance and cultures that are starkly different, even 700 years after the Upheaval ended many nations are only starting to try to push their borders outside of the safe regions they settled for themselves so many years ago.