KICKSTARTER LINK : A glance at the Lore of Umbra

More than 5000 backers and 77% funded towards our $225,000 main goal! Again, we ask that you all keep spreading the word about the game to bring as many people as possible, so that you help us not only to fund the game but also to build an active community around it!

Many of you have asked about the story of the game, so today, we are going to give you some extra details about it. We already gave you a look at Lambach, one of the first bosses you will meet in the game, but let us now take a deeper look into the world of Umbra.

As we described in our Kickstarter page, Umbra’s story is rich, and an important lore has been created for the story. You will discover a large part of the game’s story thanks to the main quest, but a lot of information will be provided by reading a large amount of books found in the game. Each one will provide information about the universe, and might even lead you on to track a secret place full of treasure!

For this update, we decided to provide you with an extract of the current rough draft of one of the books that you will be able to read in-game. Once funded, we’ll be able to revisit and expand the drafts we have for the lore of Umbra, polishing the story and improving on the writing. We hope you will enjoy the world we are creating with your help!

The kingdom of Alia was one of the three different kingdoms ruling the known world. In the north, the Varg dynasty reigned over the vast frozen land and its barbarian tribes. In the south and east, the powerful wizards of the Laibon family reigned over beautiful and exotic lands. In the West, the Alia kings united many tribes into a strong and proud nation.

These kingdoms date back to over 1500 years ago when the dreadful Giants were marching over the world. These powerful creatures were feeding on anything they found, including humans… and their craving for flesh terrorized mankind.

Around this time, the first human touched by magic appeared. Magic was an incredible asset against the Giants, and this lead to the magician becoming a hero. Magic was seen as a gift from Amon, the only god mankind believed in.

The Magician taught the art of magic to others, and soon mankind became strong enough to defeat the Giants. It was thanks to the victory over the Giants, and to the sense of belonging brought to each group of humans around the world of Umbra, that the three kingdoms of Alia, Laibon and Varg came to be.

Curiously, these three kingdoms were separated by large natural frontier of mountains and a vast sea, making travel extremely difficult. The kingdoms lived in relative peace and separated from each other, only interacting at most thanks to the small caravans of merchants that had to make a living by risking their lives as they traveled between the kingdoms.

These small exchanges started to lead to technological advances from mankind thanks to a combination of expertise, experimentation and luck. Transportation became easier, which opened the door to the human of all three kingdoms to travel in large groups by land or sea to gaze at the architecture and at the natural marvels of the other kingdoms, something unthinkable during the Age of Giants. But among all the kingdoms, the only one who successfully managed to link magic and technology was Alia.

But then 300 years ago the Republic rose from the ashes, once the last King of Alia was beheaded after a violent revolution. The death of the King, protector of mankind on Earth, was seen as an insult to the God Amon. Therefore, the Priests and Magicians, key elements of the society of Alia, decided to escape before it was too late, disappearing into the shadows.

The creation of the Republic raised a lot of questions for the Kings of Varg and Laibon. They feared that they could become a victim of similar events on their soil. All relationships with the Republic were immediately cut to make sure the news about the revolution wouldn’t spread among their respective population. Anyone coming from the past former Alia kingdom was seen as a cursed individual and was not welcome among the Varg and the Laibon. Armies were trained and armed to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

The new leader of the former Alia kingdom was named by a council elected by the people – Nemrod was his name, and he had an impressive mastery of magic. Aware of the military preparation in the foreign Kingdoms, he decided to do the same and raised an immense army equipped with the best weaponry they could build.

Tension escalated until the inevitable happened: a war had started. The technological and magical superiority of the Republic, as expected, granted them the final victory, after several years of intense battle where thousands died defending their ideals. The Laibon and Varg dynasties were no more, and all kingdoms were united under a new order. All hail the Republic!

Since so many people died during the war, it became difficult for each army to retrieve the body of their killed soldiers. Entire cities were abandoned because of the slaughter, and those who survived the war abandoned the dead without burying or burning them. Raven started to feed on the corpses and the ground quickly filled with the black birds feasting on the remains. The sight of Raven all over the cities and hills devouring the dead lead humans to call the world they live in the Raven Realm. During the day, the Raven can be heard all over the realm, claiming their turf and warning all who might be fool enough to enter… but at night, it is said you can hear the cries and screams of people that seem to not be alive anymore, yet are able to walk or crawl through the plains as if something had taken over their bodies. People swear that corpses that used to be lying around on the streets would be found in the fields the next day, with a look on their face that was almost mocking the living.

But karma never forgives nor does it forget, and after many years of prosperity the Republic is now falling apart. Anyone who manifests magical powers is being hunted down because of their possible link to the past kings, as if their lives had no value or meaning in the greater scheme of things.

The influence of the Republic is decreasing, and groups of thieves and brigands have taken control of some of the cities. The increasing number of monsters that roam close to the human’s location have pushed the population to concentrate in fortified areas. Food is hard to find, leading to riots. The fewer mouths there is to feed, the more food each person gets, right?

As an officer of the Republic, you have seen the decay of a system you once believed in. The curse of Limbo affecting the population is now spreading even more, and it has eaten part of mankind’s history and its technological knowledge. Rare are the people who know how to work with technological artifacts. People who are losing their memory cannot be cured, and are therefore condemned to death.

In a mission to investigate the presence of monsters in a village, you developed magical powers. Your superior officer witnessed this firsthand, but instead of killing you on the spot he decides it would be wiser to capture you to lead some experiments to try and harness your magical power. He should have killed you the second you showed your new self because it was thanks to these new magical skills that you managed to escape into the wild. Confused and hurt, you run into a group of monsters who look ready to tear you apart. As you’re ready to accept your fate, a group of men who call themselves, the Templar of Amon, saved your life. You soon learn that this group needs your help to save the world of Umbra, as dark times are approaching and without your magical powers humanity could be eradicated.

But before you can take on the fiends that pose a threat to the world you will first need to discover and destroy the source of corruption that is poisoning the land and the water in the area. A creature named Lambach seems to be the source of this madness, and his links with the Republic instantly make your run towards his lair to search for a way to end his curse… or his existence.

With the help of the Templar of Amon, you will have to discover the true secret behind the Limbo curse and the corruption of mankind’s leader…