In its infancy the world was beset by demons. Their pettiest whims were like whips that lashed at humanity, at nature itself. For many centuries they have been gone; defeated, trapped, banished. Humankind has used this time to grow fat and complacent, to swaddle itself in the blankets of civilisation.
Now, thanks to the rash and ignorant actions of a few foolhardy adventurers, the demons are starting to regain their power, and the many-faceted eyes of the Beyond are turning in the direction of this world once more.
The harbingers of the second demoniac onslaught are already at large in the world, and humankind's only hope may be the people of the wild North who never forgot the demons, never called them legend or fairytale.
The mighty-thewed warriors, cunning tricksters and gnarled wise-folk of the barbarian lands shudder as an ill wind blows, and prepare themselves for the bloodletting to come.