Shurima was once a powerful empire that spanned the farthest reaches of the vast southern continent. After an era of expansion and prosperity, its last emperor was betrayed by his closest friend, and the empire fell to ruin. Its gleaming capital was all but destroyed in an earth-shaking cataclysm and the empire was left in ruins, its people scattered and its mighty cities devoured by the sand. Now Shurima is a barren wasteland, an unforgiving desert where only the strongest survive and its people cling to the few remaining oases and strips of fertile land around the coast.

In the millennia since Shurima’s fall, tales of its glorious capital and gleaming sun disc became little more than myths and debased religions among the descendants of the empire’s few survivors. Most of Shurima’s inhabitants now dwell in small tribal outposts clustered near water or built upon the bones of ancient cities, venerating the glories of the past. Some hunt buried riches among the ruins of the fallen empire or earn a living as sellswords, warriors for hire who fight for rich paymasters before disappearing into the sands. Others try to forget the past, looking to the future and nations across the ocean as partners in trade.

Yet the ancient myths of Shurima do not rest easy and are stirring once more. Whispering winds from the heart of the desert speak of mighty cities rising from the earth, of a golden warrior marching at the head of an army of sand. Rumors spread of ancient heroes reborn, of a war between gods that will shake the very foundations of the world.

The city of Shurima has risen, and nothing will ever be the same.