Refugees around the world know of a sanctuary, Azurestone, where no nation claims dominion and all peaceful souls are welcome. Named for the bright blue walls surrounding the city, poets and bards world have composed countless works in praise of its beauty and holiness.
To reach the fabled city, one must travel through Ophion’s Repose, a frozen wasteland tainted by the eternally decaying corpse of a slain demigod. Those who fail to reach Azurestone become infested with the rot feasting upon the divine carrion and are transformed into the naraka, half-fungal creatures wracked with the unending death pangs of the demigod.
A band of adventurers discovers Azurestone while exploring Ophion’s Repose only to find another group also takes refuge there. Prince Atreus, heir to the throne of the kingdom Epiros, and his companions welcome them. A hero renowned for his selfless valor, Atreus begs the abbot of Azurestone for the city’s greatest treasure, the Star of Eurynome. The artifact protects Azurestone from the influence of Ophion’s corruption. The abbot refuses and the prince seems to accept it.
However, the Star disappears along with the prince’s group later that night. The abbot asks the adventurers to chase after Atreus and return the Star. The priest begs the adventurers to be merciful, as Azurestone believes in redemption and peace above all. If the Star is retrieved with bloodshed, it may lose its blessing.
The adventurers do not need a tracker to chase after the prince. The Azurestone priests hand out Azure Charms to all visitors, including Atreus. They only work within Ophion’s Repose, but they provide protection against the cold and Ophion’s corruption. More importantly a Charm wearer can track and send Messages to other Charm wearers.
Atreus seeks to climb Fog Peak Mountain and unleash the Star upon Miziya, a nation at war with his kingdom. His personal sage, Thason, has discovered that the Star has a hidden power. By expending all of its energy at once, it utterly transforms the landscape as far as the eye can see. By reshaping the summit of Fog Peak Mountain, Atreus can devastate Miziya with a flood, slaughtering thousands of its citizens and destroying its ability to wage war.
Normally the prince would never carry out such a reckless plan, but the war has made him desperate. He cannot bear the possibility of seeing his kingdom in ruins. Furthermore, Thason has urged him on this plan, arguing that the ends justify the means.
As the adventurers trek across the blasted wilds of the Repose, they confront numerous challenges, both natural and unnatural, such as avalanches, snowstorms, mystical anomalies and savage monsters. Thason knows the secret weakness of the naraka. As former mortals cursed with a cancerous immortality, the naraka are immune to the cold but feel constant pain from the fungi eating away at their souls. Healing magic temporarily dulls their pain and they will do anything for it. The sage hires them to stop the adventurers.
The naraka wait for the adventurers to enter the ribcage of Ophion, a maze of titanic bones and otherworldly organisms feasting upon the flesh of the demigod. Eons of decay have created a unique ecosystem of bizarre scavengers and predators, never before seen by mortal eyes.
Meanwhile, the prince’s companions sacrifice themselves to protect Atreus causing an unbearable guilt to rise up within the prince. The sage charms several of the monsters as well. As they near the exit of the corpse, Thason prepares another trap for the adventurers, using the charmed monsters and summoned elementals. Atreus discovers the sage’s trap and orders him to stop before it is complete, thus giving the adventurers a crucial edge. Atreus is unwilling to kill the heroes but can’t give up on his mission, as his friends have given their lives to see it through.
As the journey continues, the adventurers and the prince grow close through their shared hardships. The heroes can communicate with Atreus through the Charms and may gain a chance to redeem the prince. As a noble warrior, Atreus is moved by the heroism and selflessness of the adventurers and begins to question himself.
The two groups finally meet at the summit of Fog Peak Mountain. In the distance, all can see the capital of Epiros burning. It is too late to use the Star to end the war. Thason urges Atreus to use it to wipe out the rival kingdom and start a new kingdom amidst the chaos of both nations. Wracked with guild, Atreus is paralyzed. The adventurers must redeem the prince, urging him to make the right choice, as they battle Thason and the remaining neraka under his command. The fate of Azurestone and two nations hang in the balance.
