In the beginning, Ardenmyst was pristine and lush, the land and nature in balance, thriving and full of life.

Then, the Humans arrived upon her shores, and began destroying her forests to build their structures, mining her veins to burn her coal, and hunting her wildlife to near-extinction.

In her infinite wisdom, she chose raccoons, with their intellect, ingenuity, and resourcefulness, to become the saviors of Ardenmyst. She imbued all of the remaining raccoons with a spark of her magic.  

The Spirit's magic made them grow, allowed them to walk upright. and gave them the ability to speak. It was her hope that through communication and negotiation, the Coonkin might teach the Humans more sustainable ways to live, and help them learn to co-exist with nature.

But she also knew some Humans would not readily accept them as equals, and that many of them would respond to their intervention with selfish aggression and violence. So that they may learn to protect themselves, her Spark would allow each of them to manifest a magical defensive ability.

The Spirit's home would become known as The Academy of High Magical Arts, existing within a space inaccessible to Humans.

Here, the Coonkin could live in safety, and learn to hone their abilities, which presented as a variety of magical classes. Some were gifted with pyromancy, and the ability to conjure and control fire. Others were blessed with frost magic, able to summon freezing ice. Some become experts at restraining their opponents, through the mastery of summoning binding chains in their paws, or entangling roots from the ground.

When the Coonkin had trained enough to master the energy of their spark, they returned to Ardenmyst, full of hope for a peaceful meeting.

Their reception was ill-received by the Humans, whose greed and pride led them to choose conflict over peace.

Many lives were lost in the ensuing battle, as blade met magic, and both armies tasted blood.

After much loss of life, a truce was called by the leaders, and after intense negotiations, a treaty was drawn up, signed by both sides.

The killing stopped... for a time.

Many Humans and Coonkin on both sides were eager to learn from each other, and readily welcomed a co-existence.

The Coonkin quickly excelled in the construction of machines, which could be imbued with their magic, and powered via their Spark instead of through the burning of coal and oil. They built a factory on The Academy grounds, where their Artificers invented and produced the technology which would come to benefit the Humans of Ardenmyst, without harming her environment.

This would come at a cost, however. As the Coonkin spent more time with the Humans, and as they imbued more of their magic into machinery, some children began being born with no Spark, no magical ability to manifest, nothing left to inherit.

"The Sparkless," they would come to be called. And with no inherent magic, they were vulnerable.

There were some Humans who did not respect the Coonkin, and were against the signing of the treaties. These were mostly the affluent business owners, the industrialists who benefited the most from harvesting the land for resources. Those not in control would often become loyal servants or mercenaries employed by the land barons.

As it began to become known that the Coonkin magic was diluting itself, these resentful and controlling nobles sparked a feud that would persist for generations.

Mercenaries would kidnap Sparkless Coonkin and deliver them to their estates to the north. Much of law enforcement were bribed to look the other way, knowing that the Coonkin who did still have magic wouldn't jeopardize the treaty by directly intervening or seeking vigilante justice.

These prisoners were often set loose on the estate, to be hunted for entertainment. After which, their meat would become supper for a feast, and their hides would become hunting trophies and furs to be traded, in an underground network that would come to be known as The Shadow Market.

As word spread that the Nobles were kidnapping Sparkless, those at risk began to flee further into the frozen North. A settlement was formed, named Chillhaven, and those who dwelt there became known as the Frostpelt tribe.

The Nobles would continue to send their hunting parties north to capture and kill any Frostpelt they could find.

The Humans were hunted in return, as the Frostpelt scouts patrolled the southern borders of Chillhaven territory.

The conflict in the north and the illicit operation of The Shadow Market continue to this day....

Now, more than a century after the treaties were signed, a dark sorcerer has taken matters into his own paws to put an end to the conflict once and for all.

Believing that the creation of the Coonkin shouldn't have even been necessary, his zealotry will lead him to seek the complete extermination of both Humans and Coonkin alike, hell-bent on restoring Ardenmyst to a time before either race lived on it.

A student of dark magic, he will raise the dead, control the weak-minded, and bend the shadows to his will in order to see Ardenmyst cleansed of the filth that has tarnished her landscape.