The beginning
Like many tales, this one takes place centuries before our time when magic filled these lands. Gifted by a Goddess who has long since faded into myth and legend. creatures born from "her influence" , absurd hybrids that became pests and vermin of each land, thriving and harmonious but with all gifts there's a counterbalance with the creation of these creatures the 5 Nebula crystals were formed. Fell to earth landing in each kingdom fusing with the blood of the people, rewriting their genetic material imbuing them with magic the crystal contained.
5 coloured crystals, 5 powerful kingdoms.
The Ambara crystal, the healers. Always able to heal others but to their own detriment.
The Crimsa crystal, the warriors, possessed an unbridled rage on the battlefield and strategic capabilities.
The Lilnia crystal, the trickster's masters of sleight of hand and deception the bandits and thieves of the land.
The Jadi crystal archers held extreme accuracy and dexterity with the hunters and long-ranged weapon users.
The Aquian crystal, the inventors possessing extraordinary intelligence. For a time, these kingdoms worked hand in hand until they began to gain a hunger for the power they had been consumed by, warping the kingdom's rulers into hellish monsters purely set on their growth in power. So the goddess had placed a binding curse upon the crystals so that if the one that possesses the crystal dies, the distortion reanimates the corpse into a ruthless killing machine. Preventing the spread of its distortion using the face of a loved one to convince you to give in, but if left warped long enough, the distortion contorts the corpse into a demented creature.
As a final form, Thier megalomaniac ruers had caused a divide. Hiding away as their final threads of humanity snapped. The kingdoms were left fragmented desperately trying to conserve what slither humanity they had left and despite the biased their own kingdoms set when addressing the other 4. they had found harmony in their way of life until rumours spread that the old rulers had resurfaced. the kingdoms sought each other, and guilds were formed to hunt the beasts down.
Only for those guilds to go missing and never return.