The Firmament

The Firmament, as the known civilized world is called, is ruled by three great nations who war with one another.  Each believes in their fundamental right to own the whole of everything upon the Firmament.

Avartine
Avartine is a theocratic society ruled by the clerics of the White Lord.  It is their belief that the White Lord will unify heaven and earth once every living person can be united together in prayer to their god.  Avartine is the greatest nation because it serves the highest spiritual authority in the world.

Vossen
Vossen is a military dictatorship dictatorship governed by a council of warlords.  It is their belief that they must conquer the world so that the Children of the Gods (as the mortal races are known) might live in harmony.  Vossen is the greatest nation because it protects personal freedom in the face of slavery to the Tower Lords and the fanaticism of Avartine.

Urashar
Urashar is a slave state dominated by the will of the Tower Lords.  They believe that they must garner as much power as possible to usher in an era of utopia by destroying the existing gods.  Urashar is the greatest nation because the strongest minds are given power without being limited by the petty concerns of their inferiors.

The Races
Dragonborn
The Dragonborn were created by Shu, the war god, to act as its fist.  Their culture is found primarily in Vossen where they are revered as keepers of law and honor.  In many ways, Dragonborn are the backbone of Vossen and influenced its culture to a more significant degree than other races.
In Avartine, Dragonborn are caricatured as bloody-mouthed demons who devour virgins.

Dwarves
Dwarves were forged by Pha to act as laborers and warriors to its glory.  Their culture is one of humble stoicism and quiet honor.  They are the most skilled smiths in all the world and the Vossen military purchases everything they make.  Dwarves live primarily in Vossen because they despise Urashar slavery and Avartine bigotry.
In Avartine, Dwarves are accused of kidnapping children to use as fuel for their artifice.

Eladrin
The Eladrin were born into the world by Obb to protect things and places of magic.  In this capacity, the Eladrin have not failed.  Eladrin settlements universally protect something of occult significance, whether a font power or a demon bound to the land during the rebellion against the Empire of Desolation.  Most Eladrin are found in Vossen but a high number owe unswerving allegiance to Urashar.
In Avartine, Eladrin are seen as witches whose touch blights the land and any flesh it touches.

Elves
The Elves were harvested from the world by Jor to protect the sanctity of the wild places.  Elves wander the wilderness in tribal bands that range over vasts portions of Vossen and Urashar.  They seek harmony with nature and need very few comforts of civilization.  In Vossen, Elves largely hold the front lines against assault from Avartine.
In Avartine, Elves are portrayed as half-sentient madmen who leap from the forest to devour human flesh.

Half-Elves
Half-Elves are a recent phenomenon on the face of the Firmament.  Because of Vossen's conflicts, Elves and Humans have served together in a military capacity.  Bonds of life and death are forged easily on the battlefield and children are born of these unions.  Half-Elves are among the most vocal supporters of Vossen military dominance.  A fair number migrate to Urashar to serve their side of the struggle but most are spies.
In Avartine, the very thought of Half Elves is considered absurd.  Most people do not know of their existence.

Halflings
Halflings were plucked from primal gardens by Ahm to act as its eyes in the world.  Halflings, like their divine patron, value freedom and travel.  Their settlements are actually roving family bands who keep their belongings in wagons.  Many act as merchants or mercenaries and their rootlessness often casts them in a sinister light.  However, Halflings are frequently well liked for their jovial demeanors and terrifyingly effective blade-work.
Halflings are depicted in Avartine as creatures who steal babies and replace them with evil identical copies.

Human
Humans were summoned from beyond the world by Zha in order to destroy the Titans.  For their service, Humanity has grown to become the dominant force upon the Firmament even though a majority of them reject their Godly patron.  Humans fuel most of the conflicts between the nations in the Age of Pyres.  Humans are just one among many people in Vossen, but utterly outnumber all others in Urashar.  In Avartine, humanity is seen as the chosen people of the White Lord.

Tieflings
Tieflings are tolerated in Vossen and Urashar, where they are evenly divided amongst.  They have no God to point to as their creator, although their ancestors were conceived through the union of devilish horrors and unwilling humans.  They served as the elite guards and educated nobility for the Empire of Desolation.  Although they were revered as demigods, many Tieflings aided the mortal races in their rebellion against their demonic masters.  Despite this, Avartine dispatches specially trained witch hunters to destroy Tieflings where they are found, even behind enemy lines.

The Gods
The Gods are rejected by both Urashar and Avartine.  Urashar sees the Gods as merely men and do not give them worship.  Atheism is the state-required faith.  Quite the opposite situation can be found in Avartine, where the Gods are taught to be the mortal enemies of the White Lord.  In their view, the Gods were once the White Lord's servants but now seek to tear down his holiest empire.  The Cults, as worship of the Gods is known, flourish in Vossen because religious freedom is highly fought for and valued.

Note: Clerics in Outback Bound do not automatically begin the game with the "Divine Fortune" Channel Divinity power.  Instead, they have the option to take a Heroic Feat "Chosen of (Deity)".  This gives them access to both Channel Divinity powers listed for each God.

Ahm (The Sun, Freedom, Travel, Halflings)
Channel Divinity: Avandra, Divine Fortune
The Cult of Ahm considers it a religious duty to explore the Outback in the name of mighty Vossen.

Jor (Wilderness, Madness, Hunting, Elves)
Channel Divinity: Melora, Sehanine
The Cult of Jor serves the Gods hunting out the Outback's natural resources.

Obb (Magic, Knowledge, Stars, Eladrin)
Channel Divinity: Corellon, Ioun
The Cult of Obb wishes to plunder the hidden items of magical origin found in the Outback.

Pha (Artifice, Civilization, Technology, Dwarves)
Channel Divinity: Erathis, Moradin
The Cult of Pha wishes to civilize the Outback and bring to it the light of Vossen's liberty.

Shu (Warfare, Thunder, Justice, Dragonborn)
Channel Divinity: Bahamut, Kord
The Cult of Shu wishes to subjugate the natives for slave labor or else train their blades upon them.

Zhe (Reincarnation, Judgement, The Moon, Humans)
Channel Divinity: The Raven Queen, Pelor
The Cult of Zhe seeks to root out the various evils festering in the Outback and send them to a new incarnation.

Timeline of the Firmament
No one nation can agree on the history of the world, so multiple interpretations are listed where they are found.

Time Immemorial (Millions of years before the Reaping)
The White Lord draws forth the Firmament from Elemental Chaos (According to Avartine)
The world is created from Elemental Chaos by an unknown source (According to Urashar and Vossen)

Time of Legend (50,000 years before the Reaping)
The White Lord defeats the Titans (According to Avartine)
The Gods defeat the Titans (According to Vossen)
Heroes of cosmic power rise up against an older, cruder order of godlike heroes known as Titans (According to Urashar)

Time of Mortals (20,000 years before the Reaping)
The White Lord creates mankind while the Gods create the other races as degenerate copies (According to Avartine)
The Gods create the mortal races (According to Vossen)
The mortal races crawl from the ruins of the Titanic War and reclaim civilization (According to Urashar)
The last of the Dragons are struck down.

The First of Many (12,000 years before the Reaping)
Invaders from beyond the world are driven out, but civilization is greatly weakened.  As the alien beings are driven off, they explain that this invasion shall be the first of many to come.

The Reaping (1800 years before the present)
Demons conquer the Firmament and found the Empire of Desolation.  This Empire, overseen by dark Gods and their Tiefling children, rules for a thousand years.

The Resurgence (800 years before the present)
The mortal races unite and overthrow the Empire of Desolation with magic, force of arms, and faith.  Tieflings steal Infernal Pacts from the demons and rise up against their masters.  The three great nations are founded in the wake of the Reaping.

The Age of Pyres (340 years before the present)
Avartine aggression against Urashar touches off a series of wars each lasting generations.  Vossen enters the war (a generation after it began) as Urashar and Avartine jointly launch an attack against it.  The resulting conflict extends to the present and shows no signs of ending.  No side is willing to deal a killing blow against another nation, fearing their remaining neighbor.  Although very little land exchanges hands, a state of total war continues without end.  Avartine hunts Tieflings wherever they are found.

Wavecleave Masts Discovered (12 years before the present)
Amid recent breakthroughs in Elemental Binding, Urashar discovers a means of empowering ships to move at incredible speeds.  This technology is promptly pilfered by Avartine and Vossen.  After a decade of unprecedented exploration, some intrepid scouts return with news of a new continent on the other side of the world.  Although the trip is dangerous and the land itself savage and deadly, each nation feels they will lose their war if they cannot capitalize on this discovery.  This new land is dubbed the Outback.

The Present
Each nation sends out forces to the Outback to subjugate its populace and reap its bounty.  Open war finds it way into the jungles and beaches of the Outback.  Few, if any, of those who set out return.  Still, every day brings more explorers, missionaries, pirates, conquerors, and lore-seekers.

Avartine
Avartine faith dictates the actions of the theocracy.  They believe that the White Lord chose humankind to be his vessel of dominance.  Once the world is fully subjugated before the White Lord, they believe, heaven and earth will merge and everyone will experience immortality.  This drives their every action.  Avartine has no nobility.  Each city is assigned an Exarch who in turn organizes the local clergy.  Clerics of the White Lord are given ultimate authority and can mete out punishment however they see fit.  Life is synonymous with faith.

Vossen
Vossen is a union of powerful warlords of various races who oppose the other two nations.  This council of military leaders claims ownership of everything and everyone in the nation in order to requisition every possibly resource in the land.  Although the people of Vossen value freedom, such as religious freedom and racial equality, the warlords are given absolute power.  The entire nation follows a military structure and everyone is expected to be proficient in the arts of war.  Any order given by a person of higher rank must be followed, on pain of treason.  Life is synonymous with struggle.

Urashar
Urashar is a series of city states protected by powerful mages known as Tower Lords.  These Tower Lords draw enchantments over their lands making them fertile and well defended.  However, this increased capacity comes at a steep price, for these same enchantments require that those who work or live in those lands bind themselves in magical oaths of service to the Tower Lords.  Free will, personal freedom, and even privacy is largely unknown to the people of this land.  Life is synonymous with power.

The Outback
Very little is known of this New World precisely because very few return.  Information on the land is an incredible commodity.  There are races claimed by no God save the strange tribal beings the savage locals venerate.  The land itself is rumored to be choked with magical artifacts and gold, but the truth is unknown.  Although the land is known as a single continent, there are several distinct landmasses separated by mountains, seas, flowing darkness, and elemental chaos.  It is unknown how many distinct regions exist.  Each government is offering thousands of gold for accurate maps and exploration is a very lucrative endeavor for anyone foolish enough to wander into the Outback's interior.

The inhabitants of the Outback are an unknown quantity.  Several distinct races have been identified, but none of them speak the common tongue of the Firmament.  Much is told of the savagery of the Kobold people, who are said to be head hunters without peer.  More frightening are tales of Orcs, beast-like men who prowl the jungles for the taste of sentient flesh.  Tieflings claim to understand some of the mad gibberings of creatures called Gnolls, but since they kill any being they encounter, no dialog has been established.  Some even say dragons stir within the continent.

Your Characters
1. Your characters must come from one of the three great nations but cannot be loyal to them as a rule.

2. Your character must have a secret in their past that they are attempting to escape.  This secret must be tied to why they have headed to the Outback.  You don't have to keep this secret to yourself.

3.  The characters have boarded an illegal freighter to get to the Outback with no questions asked.  This freighter will no doubt be carrying illegally acquired goods back to the Firmament and is, technically, a pirate vessel.  Your characters are operating far outside the law.

4.  The freighter is bound for Last-Edge, a "free port" (aka, pirate port).  It is loyal to no nation and serves as neutral ground in their war.  Last-Edge is a great place to find mercenary work, join up with a pirate outfit, or get paid for exploration work. 

Upon Entering Last-Edge

Last-Edge was built a year ago as a refuge for travelers beset by the orcs to the west and the goblins to the north and east.  It is centered on a steppe pyramid that rises hundreds of feet in the air.  Many dwellings and places of business are built into the walls of the central pyramid.  The city itself is made out of native bamboo, treated palm wood, and bits of destroyed Wastecleave schooners.  The city is rimmed on all sides by ramshackle tents and huts that could be blown over by a stiff wind.  A small community of hungry looking Halflings have parked their wagons here as well but none of them seem to have pack animals.  Families of kobolds, some wearing ritual vestments of the White Lord, squat in dingy tents.  A single road leads to the stairs which lead up to the main part of the city.  There are six levels to the pyramid.  The first is a marketplace where mundane goods are sold.  Street vendors sell very spicy roasted jungle birds and a strange tea made with jungle beans.  There is also a bank of sorts, run by god-knows-who.  The second level houses an upscale tavern, a low brow tavern, and a very expensive inn.  The third houses a Temple of the Cults and a Temple of the White Lord.  The third rung also houses a "hospital" and the local guardsmen.  The fourth is occupied by nationals, such as Urashar agents, Vossen revolutionaries,  or Avartine missionaries.  It serves as the embassy for each of those nations.  The fifth is occupied by the government of Last-Edge, which is composed of a council of Bosses.  The sixth is forbidden to everyone, save the Bosses of Last-Edge, on pain of death.  South of the city, on the water line, are a series of planks that pass for docks.  No ships are docked in the city at the moment.

In the center of the marketplace is a statue of a demonic being bristling with spines.  Posters advertising various mercenary jobs are hung upon these barbed spines.  As you pass over the writs and advertisements, a few seem to jump out at you:

12 Gold Bounty on Goblin Heads; Limit 5 per person per month

15 Gold Bounty on Orc Heads; Limit 5 per person per month

Hyeem pays Gold for Objects of Power; Trades welcome

300 gold bounty on a Dwarf warrior "Taglod" on behalf of Boss Duendae; the target is a known woman slayer

30 gold per Imperia of land mapped; An Independant Surveyor

The Docks Pay Fair Prices on Raw Goods; Never any questions asked about as to the goods source.

1,000 gold for an intact dragon body; Urashar Embassy

Damnation ends not; Chastise yourself before the White Lord every day at dawn

Vossen Pays 100 Gold Upfront and grants Citizenship to Volunteers; Let all the Races of the Firmament Unite within Vossen

Sailing Not Currently Advised; the Hull Churn is Back (attached: a picture of the 'thing' that destroyed your Wavecleave boat)

Piss in the Creek, Lose a Finger; Its the Law