Lore
What Coen knows about the valley he was born in: its history, its institutions and the bargain that keeps the plague out.
14th-Century Europe
Some say we're living in the end of days.
Arimaspians
We don't know much about ancient peoples who lived in Vale Sangora before us.
Banditry
Most of the war chronicles I've read were about valiant knights and their glorious deeds.
Black Death
The plague, or 'the great pestilence', broke out two years ago.
Blood Covenant
After becoming the Knyaz of Vale Sangora, Brencis banned all religion – except for his own, which he calls the Blood Covenant.
Blood Guard
Most of Brencis's troops are just regular soldiers, but blood guards are different.
Brencis's Army
Brencis' forces are different from what other rulers have at their disposal.
Carpathians
The Carpathians are a range of high mountains, stretching in a long arc through the heart of Europe.
Dawnwalkers
Dawnwalkers, like me...
Golden Age
The tales say we're just a pale imitation of the past, an era known as the Golden Age.
Magic
Vrakhiri may have powers humans can only dream of, but it turns out that there are other arcane arts out there...
Manumits
Soon after Brencis's coup, people started whispering about a group formed to bring him down.
Silver Mines
Vale Sangora is a place of many riches, some of them – like silver – hidden deep underground.
Svartrau Cathedral
Until Greifberg Castle was built, the most impressive structure in Svartrau was its cathedral, dedicated to St.
Vale Sangora
Our home, Vale Sangora, is a secluded valley in the Carpathian Mountains.
Vrakhiri Blood
Vrakhiri blood may look just like ours, but it's much, much more.
Vrakhiri Court
Brencis doesn't rule alone.
What the loading screens tell you
The game slips 14 notes about the valley in between loads. They are short, they never repeat what the journal says, and most players read them once and never again.
- Bakr is the largest uriashi clan in Vale Sangora. How large exactly - only few people know, as uriashi kill most humans who venture too close.
- Vrakhiri turn their offspring by driving their fang through a person’s heart. But not all such transformations end well, with some results worse even than death.
- After taking over Vale Sangora, Brencis cut it off from the outside world. No one knows about the vrakhiri takeover - and no one will come to aid.
- Contrary to many legends, a crucifix or garlic will do a vrakhir no harm. Silver and sunlight, on the other hand, are two of their greatest fears.
- Even though Brencis convinced some uriashi to settle and work in Svartrau, most monsters still stick to the shadows and avoid humans - just in case.
- Those who dare to roam the forests, bogs, and mountains of Vale Sangora tell stories about numerous unexplained, spine-chilling phenomena they encountered.
- Little is known about the first people of Vale Sangora, who lived in an age obscured by time and worshiped forgotten gods and heroes. Their secrets remain buried deep underground.
- A dawnwalker shares many similarities with a vrakhir, but not when it comes to immortality. Dawnwalkers grow old very slowly, but they do age over time.
- Many magic rituals require carving symbols on the sorcerer's own body. This dark art is inaccessible to vrakhiri, as all their wounds heal almost instantly.
- AD 1349. Europe is being ravaged by the Black Death - a plague killing millions. Vale Sangora is one of the rare places protected from this grim fate… for a price.
- Skender Dragosti, the previous ruler of Vale Sangora, didn’t spare the whip and many of his subjects prayed for his downfall. It turned out that someone was listening…
- When the vrakhiri took over Vale Sangora, the nobility tried to oppose the new regime. Most of them were quickly dispatched and bled to death.
- If you get lost in the marshes, you might see eerie lights appearing out of nowhere. Some claim they guide travellers to safety, others - to certain doom.
- Some Sangoran folk tales mention small creatures who are obsessed with human teeth and love to steal them straight from people's mouths. To what end - no one knows.