Aurora

In the Lands of Aurora they say a person can attain vast fame or fortunes, they call it the land of great opportunity, and that even a pauper with only the clothes on their back could make a new life for themselves, if they are willing to risk their body trying to become a warrior, or their minds as they try and study in the many facets of the magic arts, finally if all else fails they could even risk their very souls with one of the many denizens of the land, as they trade promises of easy riches and rewards for a simple contract.

No one is certain as to the how or why the portals to Aurora appeared all those years ago, but once the panic and fear settled, as people initially feared them as a sign of the end times, then people started to investigate. Not much is know about the portals, as investigations into them proved fruitless, there were many of them that popped up across the lands, all with the same sunset orange glow affixed in the center of a giant black oval ring, held in place by purplish columns, with strange writings and runes written on them.

Of course there have been many who decided to go into the portals, but none of whom have returned, in fact it wasn't until some of the denizens of the world beyond the portals came through to visit, it was assumed that all those who had gone through had perished. So when the first visitors did begin to spill through it was encouraging to hear that many of the people who had gone through were doing well, but were unable to return as it seems that the portals were a one way device, and that the first visitors had come through to establish a form of embassy, so that the two plains could co-exist, and gave away their technologies, which helped revolutionize the abilities to build large buildings, and grow stronger and more bountiful crops, which in turn were sent through the portals in exchange for goods and items which couldn't be produced in this land.

In a the space of ten or so years the people of this land, which was named Drear, after much deliberation on a name, when the visitors asked, that the lands had transformed from basic huts and crude wooden settlements, to having vast sprawling towns with bustling streets of trade and carts travel between settlements which had until recently only rarely made the trips to the other settlements. Most of these towns were built around one of the orange portals which were typically housed in the grounds of a grand home for the visitors who'm traveled here to explore.

Thankfully Aurora is a diverse land with many races from the smaller races like gnomes and goblins, to the humans and elves and also the Orcish people, and despite old tribal differences it seems the most of the races live together quite happily, and in fact the only dispute seemed to arise over the usual things, which is over valuables and love. The visitors themselves seemed to also be a mixture of familiar races with small differences such as skin pigmentation and a few other minor details, the biggest differences were the knowledge they possessed, which allowed the peoples of Drear to make such rapid advances in their technology for construction and trade, in fact the currency that is now in common use in Drear is the same coins used it Aurora, meaning that trade could flow between the two realms, albeit in the strange one way manner, although it seems that if goods are broken down into their raw components they could then be sent through again, although this is still no use for people.

There are many tales of wonder and triumph that travel through the portals as books containing poems and tales of heroic deeds and exploits became popular items, deeds which were recounted at many taverns by minstrels and bards, which had led many other to look into trying to make a life for themselves in this exotic land. Many only have a simple trade or craft which they can try and away to perfect to look forward to, and while life had become safer and even easier than it had done a decade ago, there was a lack of glamour to the life, which left the younger generations yearning for more.

This is where you tale begins, as you like many others have found themselves unable to resist the siren call of wealth, fame or power and the chance of something greater, and have decided to step through the portal, be it to try and escape from the mundane normal life that would await, or to escape something all together more sinister. You are able to carry across a small number of items, limited only to what you can carry, although it is recommended not to take too much, lest you make yourself a target.