The Great Seal
The Great Seal defines the world of Banished. It appears as a shimmering semi-translucent barrier around most of the largest land mass in Cilaria, the south eastern most island group of Karn.
Upon contact, all living things bounce back to their side of the Seal, unless they enter thru the Gate. Nothing gets out once inside and nothing gets in, unless it passes through the Gate. There are no records of people just ‘falling into the Great Seal’ or walking into it, unless the Seal was in a weakened state, as it was during the events of the Well of Storms and right after the Cataclysm. There are likewise no records of anyone exiting the Seal, other than the Emperor Gaius Augusts Rex V, who is rumored to have begged the Divines to grant him this unique ability, though no one ever saw his miraculous exits take place. Most do not believe even he could leave.
The town of Sanctuary lies directly in the path for those who enter the Seal, so long as they do not stray off the trail. The less friendly creatures who live inside the Seal know this and often hunt the unwary newcomers. Wardens regularly patrol this area, seeking to escort these people to safety so that they have some chance to survive and thrive within the Seal. For some of these missions, experienced residents are recruited to help.
The magic of the Seal garbles communication, even through visual channels. This is the reason that news can only travel into the Seal with new arrivals and what is happening inside it is mostly speculation for those who remain on the outside. There are occasional times when the magic of the gate itself allows limited communication via semaphore, so outbound messages must be precise and succinct and executed quickly.
This limited outbound communication is why Imperials only recently confirmed the death Emperor Dominus Augustus Rex V inside the Seal around the time of the Cataclysm. He had entered and hadn’t been seen in years, so it wasn’t exactly news by the time the Wardens were able to report on the events. The Senate rules in his absence and continues to delay announcing his ‘retirement’ to avoid officially crowning his son as Emperor for as long as possible so they can decide whether or not he can be managed effectively.
Unbeknownst to those who weren’t around when it went up, the Great Tree is roughly at the center of the largest landmass among the Cilarian archipelago. The Great Tree was used as the target when the initial spell was cast.
At that time, it was already inhabited by Wickermen, a malicious species that allied with the Fiends upon their arrival. When the future Wardens came to the Great Tree to establish a base of operations for the Ethereal prison, the Wickermen were pushed down into the roots while the Wardens occupied the boughs.
A few years later, Imperials began sending their unwanted people and prisoners to the Seal. The Dragonlords’ second sons and daughters also came. This gave the Ethereals new host humans to control as puppets in their great war.
Some of these puppets were controlled by the Fiend who possessed the Dragonlord Empress, for whom the Dragonlords had come. Unfortunately, some of them were taken by the Empress and they became known as Blood Eyed Dragonlords.
As the Ethereals continued their war, locked away inside the Seal, there was a simmering war for control of the Great Tree that lasted for centuries.
The Wardens’ ongoing war for control of the Great Tree ended when the Wickermen were defeated by the Wardens and their allies, the heroes of Sanctuary, during the Battle of the Great Tree.
The Battle of the Great Tree also brought a great victory for the Dragonlords who managed to remain free of the Empress’s control. She was slain and the Blood Eyed Dragonlords were released from her spell. Most only wanted a peaceful life after the horrors they had seen. Those who survived are now known as the Jasmine Dragons, a skilled order of farmers and artisans.
The free Effigy managed to capture Maruna, their creator, at the end of this tremendous battle and destroyed her as she fled, thus they too gained their independence in this epic battle.
It was coordination with all these groups, orchestrated by the Denizens of Sanctuary that made it all possible.
With the evil Wickermen were defeated, the Great Tree’s magic swelled as it healed, providing bountiful fruit harvests to sustain the refugees and prisoners within the Seal.
With the long war of attrition against the Wickermen concluded, the Wardens set about improving life within the Seal. They created institutions that helped improve the quality of life for everyone inside, including banking, mail, and news outlets as well as monster patrols and research teams.
The Denizens of the Great Seal had largely started to recover from the Cataclysm when its true cause was revealed.
In their efforts to destroy the Great Seal, the Denizens themselves had released an even more unspeakable danger upon the world The only good thing is that it is still contained within the Great Seal, giving them a chance to correct their mistake before these new threats escape to the world outside.
Denizens must end all six of the Forsaken and defeat the Fiends and Archons that remain, if they hope to escape their prison without unleashing primeval danger upon their world.
The best of the those among the Dragonlords who sacrificed themselves to protect the world from Fiends must work alongside the ‘criminals’ and outcasts of Imperial society and those born inside the Great Seal to save the world for all on both sides of the magical barrier that holds them captive.
Imprisoned with creatures powerful enough to destroy everything they have ever known, it is with a twist of irony that those who were once bitter enemies, Denizens of the Seal must fight together for common goals. Their own survival and the fate of the world rests on these brave, desperate few who remain prisoners inside the only thing keeping the rest of the world safe.