((The Kirstar Peninsula))

((Long ago, the far southeastern portion of the Yulorian island was home to the great Kirstar clan, ruled by the matriarch, Arella Kirstar. When the Great War raged on the rest of the islands, the Kirstar clan drew themselves inward, refusing to participate in fighting and instead delving further and further into the recesses of magical research.

It is said that when the Nicoli Kirstar -- the prodigal son -- returned home from an extended absence, that he discovered a great portal to realms unknown in the labyrinthine catacombs beneath Kirstar Castle. It appeared to him that some of his clan had died in the process of opening it, and that most of the others, including his mother and father, had passed beyond this world into other worlds.

After the departure of the Kirstar aristocracy, legends began to build around their disappearance. Some say that many of them were not in fact killed, but transformed into horrible beasts that now dwell within the castle's catacombs. They also speak of the great riches that lie beneath the crumbling castle, but none who have ever ventured there have returned, and those few that have gotten close but turned tail at the last moment have returned forever haunted by those images of which they will not speak.

Centuries later, the city of Kirstar (now under the dominion of the kingdom of Taneth) is a bustling port metropolis. Most major trade from the mainlands comes into Kirstar, and it has the most diverse population of any of the Yulorian cities due to its constant influx of ships.

The city of Kirstar is ruled by a duke of Taneth who calls himself Arteras Kirstar, and claims to be descended from the great clan, though his claims are doubted by most. He resides in a mansion on a hill that overlooks the city's richest housing district. There is a great stone wall that surrounds the northern part of the city, which was once a fort protecting a small fishing village. Now sprawl has caused the city itself to surround the fort and spread all along the banks for a league in each direction from the center of the city.

On a tall hill, in the northwestern distance, the ruins of Kirstar Castle still overlook the city...

It is in this vast city that we will find our heroes.))