This world was vibrant once. Not long ago, a little before your time, young one, there were cities and lands far to the east, and peoples of every sort. You could wander for weeks or even months without ever finding an edge of the world...and without being attacked by a monster.

Times change.

The Arcane changed. Or rather, it became was it was clearly destined always to be: the apocalypse.

Magic went mad. Wizards couldn't control it. Those who didn't immediately succumb to the monsters only made things worse trying to stop them. The gods had judged us and found us unworthy. The End had come at last.

But this city...we refused to go quietly.

When magic failed, we tried steel. When steel wasn't enough...that's when she saved us. The Great Industrialist, the engineer of our new city--she tamed magic into Artifice, and gave us the only weapons that have ever been of use. We turned the tide. We saved our city.

And now, it's the only one left.

As far as we know, beyond the walls of our city, save for a few sacred lands, civilization is over. The monsters won. They fear the Light of the Holy One, but outside sight of the old cathedrals, the land has become wilderness, ruled by the monsters.

But inside our walls, civilization endures. And not just as it was. We've come so far...so many wonders none could have imagined. Necessity, it seems, is the mother of invention. She's built railroads, and soaring towers. Her soldiers wield powerful weapons, and wear steam-powered armor. She flies overhead in airships, and surveys a land she means to reconquer, to assert humanity's dominance once again. If we are all that remains, then civilization will grow from the seed that is our city.

That is, assuming it remains safe. The monsters are not gone, and no wall can keep them at bay forever. They are magic incarnate--they can burrow through space, or spontaneously develop flight. They can appear seemingly from nowhere. And thus, our city is protected by a vigilant force of soldiers equipped with Artifice to make them fast enough to respond, and strong enough to contend with monsters.

Will you stand together with those who put their lives on the line for this city? Will you stand up and fight for humanity's future? The city needs YOU.