Natural fantasy protagonists might not look as extraordinary as other heroes but, in reality, they embody the deepest meaning of heroism: humility, respect for life, looking for dialogue, choosing the hardest path, and fighting cruelty and ignorance with fiery compassion. From this point of view, the world has a desperate need for people like them.

When their village was destroyed by the hill clan during their hunt for miasma beasts, an old witch and a young blacksmith joined forces with a deserter and a wandering swordswoman in an attempt to outpace the army and prevent it from claiming a stone stele that, according to the seidr tradition, gives access to the power of the Triclopean God.

A mysterious and terrible virus, known as scarlet death, is infecting the predators of the region, prompting them to viciously maul weaker creatures and attack settlements. Catha, a Rasna warrior-poet, believes the epidemic originated at the brink of the continent in the dragon boneyards, where lay the remains of once-great creatures exterminated by the Ancients.

## MYSTERY, DISCOVERY AND GROWTH

Given its focus on stories about travel, exploration, and encounters between different people or discoveries from the ancient past, mysteries and growth are two key elements of natural fantasy. At the same time, this genre questions the consequences of the application of knowledge, and how it can be used for both good and evil.

Having reached the mechanical ruin buried among the dunes, the heroes discover that the great forest is part of an ancient project to cleanse the environment, started by a people who died out millennia ago. Its keeper is an artificial intelligence, meant to guide humanity in reconstruction, but turned cold and uncaring by loneliness.

Growing up in the tower-city of Ur, council inspector Kalia was soon met with the corruption rampant among her colleagues, who took advantage of their positions to extort money from villages in exchange for “protection”. Her principles will be harshly tested throughout the campaign, culminating in a fight with her superior officer, Corax, which will cause her to permanently do away with her badge and dedicate herself to helping others without the need for a fake authority to back her up.

> “This world is ancient and in no hurry.
> It reserves its deepest and most sincere affection
> for those who take time to understand and grow.”