Our new world has been named! I introduce to you: Exoria! This time, the whole world is Exile!

The world of Exoria is made up of mostly unexplored wilds.  Vast expanses of untouched, uninhabited forests, deserts, and mountains span the distance between small pockets of civilization.  The oldest city-state boasts at least 950 years of recorded history, and it could seem odd in all that time that no civilization ever became an empire.  But the nature of magic on Exoria makes it nearly impossible to march armies or conquer neighbors.

The wilds are often split by chaotic and dangerous magics.  Occurances of randomized energy rip unexpectedly through the landscape, leaving devastation and occasionally changing the face of the landscape in their wake.

Arguably worse than the randomized magic are the fractures, the portals.  Fissures from other worlds, or other planes, rip open into Exoria and spill magic, monsters and mayhem into the wilds.  There are areas that are sheltered from the worst of the storms and the cractures, and in these areas pockets of civilization emerge.  Some of these shelters are mortal-made; people have found some ways to ward off the random magic, or discovered areas that, for some reason, the magic never strikes.  

No one knows where these fractures will emerge.  Scholars have tried to learn as much as they can, but the nations are spread thin, and it is difficult for different cultures to share information efficiently.  While many are studied, and there are even some scholars who keep lists and data on the planes that seem to regularly break into Exoria, there is so much that the mortals of Exoria still do not know.  Things seem to only be able to come through to Exoria, but there is no record in history of anyone being able to go back through these fractures.    There are some common planes that open up fractures.  These planes are predictable, the things that come through from them often studied and logged.  But then a fracture will from somewhere new and all bets are off.

 Why do some areas seem safe from fractures?  Why do two fractures never form within a certain distance of each other?  Why are there some stable fractures that have been in existence for hundreds of years, but others open and close rapidly?  Why can some fractures be closed by mortals, but others wreak havoc with no sign of being stopped?

These questions plague scholars of every civilization. Many try to travel to other nations to share information, and to do this they often have to work with the caravans that brave the wilds.

Despite the danger, trade and travel still have to happen, and those nomadic families, trade caravans, traveling circuses and rogue scholars are considered heroes by many, and insane by all.  These bands of folk make their way from nation to nation, city to city, trading, learning, and often escorting travelers who want a new home.  Some have carved out trade routes that they have traveled every year for decades.  Others run fast routes with important materials.  

The Exoria Trade Caravan (actual name pending) has done the loop of kingdoms once, and is making a name for itself as it moves into its second year.  Some researchers have joined the band, some traders, and a small troupe of entertainers have joined on with the family, all excited for a prosperous and educational year, traveling the world.