At first glance, the vast lands of Istania are peaceful areas, where you can meet many nice inhabitants of villages and small towns, who eagerly welcome and host every traveller. In small border towns full of narrow streets, merchants and traders run their stalls where you can buy rare and unusual goods. Those who have spent more time in Istania and survived know that this is a very deceptive impression, because life can be lost very quickly here.
From small towns to huge cities in central Istania, secret societies, sects and guilds are hidden in each of them. In no other Human land is there such a perfectly organised crime as here, which deals not only with the trafficking of illegal and stolen goods, but also with brutal murder and the sale of slaves to ritual sects and churches. Many criminals look very innocent and lead a normal life, but in the evenings it happens that the mother of the family or the pastor of the convent wear unusual attire to pursue the goals of the guild to which they belong.
City guards are as often corrupt as the ruling class, which happens to plunge entire cities into poverty and the stench of garbage, for they are littered with the tributes that allow the rich to live their prosperous lives and succumb to depraved delights. Many of them travel through the city in their terrifying masks to hide from the masses not only the face, but also the marks of belonging to bloody sects, worshiping the goddess of depravity Ehidne and Seth, the god of cruelty.
Everything in Istania is hidden in the shadows so as not to scare those who come here, because without suspecting anything, the newcomers fall into the trap more easily. Those who succumb to hospitality and kindness easily become victims of theft, but unfortunately in most cases they die without a trace, and their corpses, hidden away from busy roads, rot behind barns or chapels…