On the Eastern edge of Central Earth was a very poor kingdom called New Niteshade. This of course was previously called Old Niteshade at the kingdoms attempt to rebrand their land in an attempt to revitalize their dying tourist industry. You see, this kingdom, unlike the 6 others, was not thriving in the recent increase in dungeon exploration businesses. Not only are there merchants selling the gear needed to explore and reap the treasures inside these dungeons, but there are peddlers selling banners and paraphernalia of renowned heroes and even some infamous monsters. Like Carl the Carnivore, a ghoulish ex fisherman that turned his appetite on a village near his dungeon but for whatever reason his face drawn on shirts became a cult favorite.
Some heroes also became spokesperson for chains of hotels or dinning establishments, there was one hero, the most famous of them all, that always refused to sponsor anything. Ruby, Ruby the Rowdy, or Rudy the Rambunctious, she had many nicknames and titles after her many accomplishments and seemingly impossible victories. This 7th land, New Niteshade, was not visited by any of the top tier heroes because their dungeons were all beginner class. The forgettable Scurvey tier, most beginning adventurers would skip this tier and move on to the Frightful tier that was next. The reason for this was the Scurvey tier was so poor for new equipment and loots that there was almost no reason to do this level unless you had a quest that rewarded a decent item. New Niteshade only had this tier of dungeon and was on the brink of total collapse.
There are 13 tiers of difficulty from Scurvey to the extremely rare and even more difficult Omega. It was in this Omega tier that the hero Ruby was last seen.
Months after her disappearance the young scholar Jacob began scouring the lands in search of her. He was known amongst adventures and kingdoms alike for his in depth knowledge and record keeping of the stories and loots that were found inside the many dungeons that scattered across Central Earth. Not even Jacob himself knew the origin of the dungeons, as far as he knew they have always been a part of this land. What is known is that no one dared venture inside or even knew the loot that was contained within. Until one day a local Blacksmith of the 3rd kingdom, Imperium, was tired of the marauders that came from a local dungeon killing the local villagers. Armed with a custom battle axe he began a path of destruction into the dungeon and was barely able to beat the boss at the end. Breathing heavily and nearly out of breath and life he was amazed at the spectacle of a glowing chest appearing near the fallen bosses body and he opened it.
As soon as Hercule returned to town and began telling of his exploits and showed the people of his village the magically imbued staff. The staff on its surface seemed ordinary enough but when swim around would cast a fireball from the end of the staff. This was called the Burning Ember Staff, it was one of many new and exciting weapons that was contained in these chests.
All of these events are common knowledge even for those peasants that are unable to read or in New Niteshade where they don't have any form of education. For Jacob, however, he has more knowledge about these subjects than any in the 7 kingdoms. It is this knowledge that has brought him here to the armpit of these lands, New Niteshade. Jacob has heard rumors of a very strong and unknown female that seemed to be suffering from amnesia and was helping a village that had been tormented by a nearby dungeoun after a dragon had destroyed all their crops the year before. Jacob is well aware of tales being spun about events or people that often don't live up to the hype, this however, had to be investigated. There has been a quiet rumor about a red haired female with some tattoos that had some scars across the visible parts of her body. He had hoped with all of his might that Ruby was indeed alive and well, he was also hopeful that the long 3 week journey from the 4th kingdom to the 7th when he heard the initial whispers of this story. There was a very selfish reason for his quest to find Ruby, she had so much information, probably more than him, about the more difficult tier dungeons and of course the most deadly Omega tier that she vanished from.
In the village of From, on the outskirts of the castle in New Niteshade, there was nothing but devastated and destroyed buildings and a crumbling roadway that had a sparse number of travelers along it. Trade and commerce had always been more rare in this kingdom then the others, but after a terrorizing dragon destroyed all the crops and some of the livestock during a week long attack last year, their dim futures seems all but extinguished.
In this village there was a farmer named Greg, Greg was also the local teacher and spiritual advisor and legal consult. Greg wore many hats and tried to fill any positions that the townsfolk needed. He had been a very cheerful and optimistic person as long as everyone had known him. His son was equally optimistic and adventurous and was always getting into harmless mischief. That was until Greg's wife died soon after the dragon's attack and the dungeouns in the area began raiding and attacking the village. She was killed in one of these raids, the people that lived here had no fight in them and there wasn't even a counter attack to stave off any future attacks.
Then Greg's son, Steven, was roaming around a creek that dried up ages ago looking for treasure. Little Steven has often dreamed he would find some magical artifact or weapon that would allow him to defend his village and help his dad overcome the hopelessness that had invaded his soul since his mum passed. During one of his scavenging missions Steven had found a large crater that he was sure wasn't there when he traversed this same path weeks before. The curiosity took over his logical brain and he clambered down the slope of the crater that was nearly 50 feet deep. At the epicenter was a smoking mound of what looked like something covered in charcoal or soot. He approached cautiously when he was within an arms reach and when he was even closer he could hear a wheezing sound and what he thought for a moment was snoring. His hand reached out inches away from the outer surface of this alien thing and before the very tips of his fingers on his outstretched hand touch the surface it exploded and shot mud and grime all over his body.
Underneath the black dirt was a female with vibrant red hair that was cut in a most peculiar fashion. The right side of her head was shaved almost down to the skin, while the left side held near shoulder length hair that was cut across her face at a diagonal from the right up to the left so as to cover almost her entire right eye. On her exposed left eye was a rather gnarly scare that ran North to South missing the vital parts of her eyeball.
Across her body was a metallic armor that had the appearance of forged steel but wrapped around her body like a soft silk gown. Her left shoulder was exposed and her right leg had a missing piece of the armor around her knee area. There was a dragon tattoo that was visible around her right leg and several weird markings and designs on her exposed shoulder.
Steven was startle and very afraid, but the manners his mom and dad instilled in him cane through even in his trepidation.
"Are you ok miss" Steven asked
"Where am I?" The strange lady replied. "Who am I?"