Long before the first colonists arrived in Albion, its native inhabitants had attuned themselves to the magic within the world by listening to whispers of stick and stone. This was a nature-loving tribe called the Keepers. There were others, though, who saw the pure power of the land and claimed it as their own. These would come to be known as the Avalonians.
The Avalonians were a proud and ancient faction, formed after the dragons went to their long slumber. They learned the power of the land through trial and error, infusing their tools, beasts, and even themselves with magic. After many failed attempts at mastering the crystallized magic of Albion, the Avalonians discovered a great white crystal, purer and stronger than its blue counterparts.
An apparatus the size of a lake was built around the enormous crystal, distilling pure, glowing magic in liquid form. This was the first grail. The city built to house this grail was named Avalon.
Arthur and the Order of the Grail drank from the liquid and pledged their lives to protect it, while a "lady of the lake" was chosen to judge who was worthy to drink from it. She was named Morgana, and was a wise and powerful mage. Thus began the golden age of Avalon, under King Uther and his two trusted advisors, Arthur and Morgana.
During these golden times, a young Keeper druid named Merlyn warned of the reawakening of the dragons. When his tribe did not listen to his warnings, he approached the Avalonians for aid. The Avalonians, understanding the lingering danger of the sleeping dragons, were willing to join forces with Merlyn.
The dragons were defeated by Merlyn and the Avalonians in a colossal battle that cost Uther his life. A new ruler was needed. As Merlyn learned more of Morgana's growing alliance with demonic forces, he clandestinely crowned Arthur as the new king, rejecting Mordred, Morgana’s son. Morgana, hurt and betrayed, spent the following years plotting and corrupting the court of Avalon against Merlyn and Arthur, who by that time had left Avalon to rule from Caerleon.
A war between the forces of Morgana and Arthur erupted. Overwhelmed by the power of the Order of the Grail, Morgana opened countless gates to hell, letting in innumerable demons. In desperation, Merlyn cast a spell that destroyed both armies and condemned Morgana to hell.
Afterward, all that remained on the battlefield were the nearly immortal Avalonians. The strongest retreated to Avalon along with the gravely wounded Sir Bedivere, mighty steward of Arthur, swearing an oath to return when Albion needed them. The other surviving Avalonians retreated to guard their hidden grail sources from corruption.
Thousands of years later, colonists began to arrive on Albion's shores, spreading across the land and pillaging everything in sight. Portals to hell appeared more frequently, Disciples of Morgana grew restless in their strongholds, and Keepers began to emerge from their caves.
Deep in the earth, a drop of pure magic fell into a grail. The Order reawakened, ready to cleanse Albion of its impurity.
