So I'm just gonna go ahead and dump some random setting information.

A long time ago there was a great mythological empire ruled by the Elves. These
elves had a deep and personal connection to the power of magic, some say magic
originated from them or they originated from magic, but in the current age no one
alive would know such details. There's also some who believe there was more than
one nation of elves, or even that elves never existed in the first place, but these
things are considered heresies in Aityr.

At some point the elves seemingly disappeared from the face of the world, taking
all their great cities and wonders with them. All that was remained of them on the
surface was the creatures they had made, such as the half-elves and half-orcs.
(In this setting half-orcs are half-elf, not half human. And of course half-elves
would be considered half-humans to the elves but no one cares about that.)

Except as it turns out, that was only on the surface. Many years later someone
accidentally stumbled upon an ancient elven basement. They found little of value,
but the word spread that remnants of this ancient civilization still existed
underground. Since then, intellectuals and treasure hunters collectively called
archeologists all across the world have searched for any little bit of ancient
knowledge they could get their hands on, or even better, actual functional relics
of their power.

Though these ancient ruins can be found all over the world, it is now clear that
some places are far richer in this respect than others.

Ruled by what is now one of the last remaining half elven dynasties, The Empire of
Aityr claims it is the true and sole heir to the legacy of the elves, and indeed
their lands are some of the richest in these ancient elven artifacts.
Chief among these are the massive underground complex around which the former
capital and perhaps indeed the entire empire was formed, the place now known as the
Kaldmaran Abyss.
The Abyss is by far the single largest known elven ruin, and the knowledge garnered
from it has had innumerable benefits for The Empire. However, while the known size
of it is impressive, what makes the Abyss truly unique even to this day is that it
is the only elven ruin that has never been fully explored. While most elven ruins
have been safe to explore, and the upper parts of the Abyss were no different, the
lower floors are practically death traps.
Whatever dangers lurked there seemed content to stay, and for hundreds of years
they rarely threatened anyone as long as they didn't go too far. But then about
half a century ago, that changed. Something aggravated these deep inhabitants, and
they started to spill out not only onto the higher floors, but even the surface.
That is when these ancient ruins came to be known as The Kaldmaran Abyss. Many
warriors were sent into the depths to stem the tide, and failed. Eventually the
Emperor was forced to seal the ruins.
Realizing that the Abyss still held potential, the Emperor decreed that sentences
of death and banishment were to be abolished with immediate effect, replaced with
exile into the Abyss. Thus those criminals proven to truly have no place in society
could pay back The Empire for their crimes, with the promise of perhaps one day
returning to the surface if they uncover things valuable enough.

Enter Aityr the half elf. Even in that ancient age half-elves like him were a
rarity, and almost universally mistrusted by the common peoples of both orcs and
men. It was a time of great barbarism and little tolerance for those who were
strange or unusual. To make matters worse, Aityr was also a gifted magic user, but
in an age where magic was ill understood- by peasant and practitioner alike.
One day he disappeared from his village. Perhaps it was a burst of inspiration, or
a divine vision, or perhaps the abuse from his peers simply became too much for
him. He never shared his motivation for leaving, and it would be many years before
he returned to the place of his birth.