# Lore

**Echoes of Valor** primarily takes place in Andra, a young continent on the edge of the realm of man. By the time of the Player Character's adventures, the age of exploration has given way to the interests of warring kingdoms and the settlers’ spirit has been suppressed by promises of glory through new industry. For more than a century, civilization’s expanse has been restrained by the treacherousness of the frontier and the fear of what may lie beyond. Still, the region’s reputation as a land of adventure endures, and ambitious tradesman, mercenaries, and heroes journey across the great sea, abandoning the safe and familiar for the unruly eastern reach.

By happenstance, the player is one such traveler. He or she is selected by the masters of the Heroes Guild for field agency and, as a result, the Player and two other selectees journey to the new world with the objective of joining the Guild's Andra detachment in Newacre. By proving themselves within the Heroes Guild, adventurers graduate to the ranks of Allowyn's Shield, the mercenary band contracted to defend humanity's borders. The Guild's field agents are then to support investigations of mysterious and deadly events occurring beyond the frontier.

<figure><img src="https://200910382-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FOo9XYVTSKi2wMkaSJeDW%2Fuploads%2Fkn7Ca8NFlJo5LoC0lNmL%2Fimage.gif?alt=media&#x26;token=9c01a22a-cc86-480c-8a96-52d2d45a7943" alt=""><figcaption><p>The Heroes Guild in Newacre; here, the Player can recruit new party members and check the job board for quests.</p></figcaption></figure>

The Caspari Empire rules over most of mankind's territory in the new world, but its kingdom is in peril. It has been over three decades since the Fatherlands cut it loose, colonies no more--no valiant revolution, no heroes; just an irritation disposed. It now finds itself surrounded by threats: a rival Elven Kingdom to the east, an isolationist but powerful tribe of magicians to the south, and the frontier—full of orcs, beastmen, and other terrors—to the west. Internally, new industry clashes with long-standing tradition, lawlessness reigns, and mysterious and deadly occurrences raise questions about what may exist in the uncharted west.

In Part I of **Echoes of Valor**, the player arrives in Newacre, formerly a modest village of proud descendants of settlers, now home to the budding alchemy trade. Industry brought wealth to the young town, but with it the disintegration of the social fabric, drug addiction, greed, and suffering. Tension between the old and the new is palpable, and the Player Character quickly finds themselves engaged in the machinations of those involved. The Player Character befriends a cunning information broker, a rebellious alchemist, and a crime family in their bid to rebuild through the black market alchemy trade. He or she acts as a diplomat for the Casparians to forge alliances with—or undermine—other nations, such as the independent merchant town of Esart, and Teir Otho, land of the sovereign wizards. The Player Character solves a murder mystery rich with political intrigue and builds up his or her keep north of Newacre.

<figure><img src="https://200910382-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FOo9XYVTSKi2wMkaSJeDW%2Fuploads%2F8pi2v7WAFsmb89Qa47XH%2Fimage%20(1).gif?alt=media&#x26;token=9ca3fb4a-1a67-45bc-8281-b3bc6d89cff7" alt=""><figcaption><p>Newacre Town Square</p></figcaption></figure>

The beacon of hope in Newacre is the renowned Heroes Guild, the refuge of the continent’s up and coming adventurers. Those who enlist with the Guild all have the same goal in their sights: adventuring on the frontier, where elves fight orcs and beasts fight mercenaries; where the trees talk. In Part II, the Player Character journeys beyond the known world to explore an untrod wilderness, fight fantastical monsters, and investigate the scheming of a secret cabal of wizards known as the Soul Reapers.
