The Shadow
There are various religions and cultural folklore that speak of a time before the Shadow, and modern science, with its observations of the natural universe, tend to agree. But apart from the certainty that SOMETHING existed before, the history of Meridia begins with the Shadow.
The Shadow began with a solar eclipse. The moon, reaching the point of totality, shrouded Meridia in darkness. It did not end. For an entire month, the sun remained blocked by the moon, its position locked to forever shadow the planet from its star. The land began to wither, and a cold wind began blowing from the north. With it came an icy fog that settled upon the entirety of the planet, and soaked deep into the lungs of every creature, making it painful to take a breath.
As the winter came to the northern hemisphere, so too came demons. Emerging from the frozen continent of Arkona, a thousand ships sailed through what is now known as the Demon's Passage and spread to every continent of Meridia.
Possessed of a complete mastery of machinery and magic, the Shadow swept aside all opposition without trouble. In less than a week, the entirety of Meridia was subjugated and the survivors enslaved. It was here that the cruelty and limitless depravity of the Shadow was revealed.
The denizens of Meridia were used as lab rats as new diseases and chemicals were created and tested. Limbs and organs were routinely removed to be replaced with experimental mechanical replacements. Often a poor soul would simply be infused with various destructive forces to see how their frail forms reacted. But experimentation was not the only horror subjected upon the conquered, for the Shadow reveled in misery.
Torture simply for the sake of torture. Murder and despoiling of corpses in the most heinous manner. Psychological torture, often involving the mutilation of loved ones to force a reaction from the intended target, or forced intercourse between relatives, strangers, or animals. Everyone and everything was but a plaything for the Shadow.
For a millenium, the Shadow ruled over all of Meridia, keeping the various peoples ignorant of the others to avoid cohesion and revellion. All technology was banned for the "lesser races", and any who showed magical aptitude were harvested for their powers.
But a thousand years to the day, the mist that enveloped the land began to dissipate. The moon, finally breaking its synchronized orbit, revealed a startlingly brilliant sun, and a warm, tranquil day began upon the cursed world. The Shadow had lifted, and the cruel masters of Meridia had disappeared without a trace, while their home continent sank into the sea. The Terrors are the last vestiges of the Dark Land, splintered remnants of the Shadow's birthplace.
No one knows why, or where they went, but they left behind dark ruins laden with powerful knowledge and deadly traps. Will the Shadow return, or will its evil be swallowed by time?