The Red Village

Whispers of the Red Village echo across the land. Maps of the Forgotten Forest, stained brown from the touch of hundreds of curious hands, are traded between the brave and the foolish. Some leave to seek it, chasing stories of endless chests of golden coins and eternal life. They never return. Some places are best lost to history. The Blood Queen rules the village and the Darklands beyond. She is merciless, driven by an unquenchable bloodlust and desire for violence. She is neither dead nor alive, neither human nor demon. Powerful, captivating, terrifying, she draws the fiercest warriors from across the land to fight for her entertainment. Answering a call that they cannot hear, these warriors travel across the seas, chasing visions of the unknown. When they arrive, she promises them an endless life and unimaginable riches in exchange for their service. None refuse. Those who are doomed to fight in the village are known as Champions. Champions may not leave the village; they are destined to fight, to bleed, and to die over and over for all of eternity. Traded between powerful Battlemasters who keep them, house them, clothe them, train them, and submit them to Tournaments, they are showered in riches for their wins and suffer endlessly in defeat. When the Blood Queen Calls they must answer. With another’s blood, or with their own.