Plane of Varys
Varys is one of many planes of the Fringes that was overrun by powers from beyond Reshomme during the Great Breach in the Fifth Age. Since that time it has been a frequent battlefield for the forces of Law and Chaos and, between the effects of the breach itself and the terrible wars since, the plane lies mostly in ruin.
When the Great Breach first occurred, Varys was shattered into several fragments by the wild energies unleashed, and was only saved from complete destruction by the arrival of the Karithaia - a great machine of Law brought to the plane by Jurakell. The Golden Chains of the Karithkaia now bind the pieces of Varys together, and can be used to move from one to another - though with considerable danger.
Through most of the Fifth Age a massive war raged across the plane, fought between armies governed by the will of the Karithkaia and beings of the Wild Sea, or those on Varys who had been touched by Chaos. At the end of the Age the armies of Chaos were led into a final, apocalyptic battle by the Demon Hjae Sarria where they were defeated utterly.
Unbeknownst to her enemies however, Hjae Sarria had planned for this outcome all along - with the battle nothing more than a ruse so that she might reach the sacred Heartstone and taint it with her power. This she succeeded in doing, though it meant her death, but the effects remained unnoticed until the appearance of the Heart of Chaos during the Seventh Age.
Such was the terrible power of Hjae Sarria's ancient curse that when it came to fruition almost the entire population of the plane was touched by the chaos she had channelled into the Heartstone. The great wars of old were acted out again and again and the Karithkaia sealed the plane completely - preventing all travel between Varys and its neighbours - a condition that has never been reversed.
By the Eighth Age the wars are all but over, with the plane devastated and mostly depopulated. Only a few states remain, most notably the Golden Land that surrounds the Karithkaia - absolute in its devotion to Law - and the ever-shifting land of Carhadhaen, where decadent lords of Chaos rule. Elsewhere bandits, monsters and minor demons roam the land, as well the armies of various petty warlords - many of whom draw considerable power from the Heart of Chaos. Other notable features of the plain include The Harrowing, the Stone Flow, the Bone Waste and the Death Mark.
Varys now seems close to its end, as the Heart of Chaos slowly transforms and devours the plane - fuelling a phenomenon known as The Blaze - a towering wall of wild energy that surrounds the plane and beyond which lies a nightmarish and ever-shifting world of pure Chaos.
