Tales of Aeldaria takes place on the fictional continent of Aeldaria. It is a relatively large continent, roughly the size of Europe, though for the most part sparsely inhabited. Its climate ranges from arctic in the far north to Mediterannean in the south, and its landscape displays much variety. The most notable parts of the Aeldarian vista are its three large mountain ranges, the three great lakes, its multitude of rivers, and the vast woodlands in the continent's heart.
Though mainly inhabited by other races in ancient days, the humans of Aeldaria have long since become dominant, and the older races have been pushed aside and faded in to myth. This happened due to several reasons, the main one being the humans' discovery of iron, and the technological advancements and population increase that followed. Another contributing factor, however, was that the old races were too proud and selfish to forget their old quarrels and unite against the new threat, and thus divided they fell.
Some thousand years ago, Aeldaria's human civilzation was at its glorious peak. Over the preceding five centuries, the various small human kingdoms had been united — by trade and diplomacy rather than conquest — and the whole continent became one single great realm: Valoria. The heart of Valoria was the island city of Valoris, and from there the High Kings ruled with wisdom and fairness.
But nine hundred years ago, an ancient evil came out of the icy wastelands of the north. The Rimelords, creatures old as time itself, awoke after millennia of dormancy and launched their attack upon Valoria. For all their might and wisdom, the Valorians could not withstand the hordes of the Rimelords, and Valoris fell. The Valorians retreated to the southernmost regions of the continent to regroup and lick their wounds. Here began the age known as the Great Winter, and for thirty years the northern half of Aeldaria was covered in deep snow.
The end of the Great Winter was finally brought about by a young priestess named Illuran, who along with with a small group of companions set out on a periolus journey into the northern lands. Their destination was Grimfang Peak, the ancient dwelling of the Rimelords in the Landsend Mountains. Against all odds, this last desperate venture was successful. The Rimelords, arrogant in their power, had left Grimfang Peak largely unguarded. When Illuran shattered the huge ice stalagmite which was the source of the Rimelords' power over the seasons — by blowing one, clear note on her horn, the legend has it — there came a change in the weather.
As the skies cleared and the snow started melting, the hordes of the Rimelords scattered before the Valorian armies. The Rimelords, highly vulnerable to heat and light, literally dissolved on the battlefield, their spirit forms returning to Grimfang Peak like an icy wind. The Valorians were victorious. But Illuran herself newer learned of this victory, let alone returned to celebrate it. She and all her companions, save one, froze to death on the journey home. Only Illuran's brother, Acyn, made it back to the south, though he also perished shortly afterwards due to the injuries he had sustained.
Thus The Rimelords were defeated, but there was no hope of saving Valoria. After a generation of unnatural winter, more than half of the continent was barren and dead. All but the hardiest of animals and plants had died out, and nothing would grow in the infertile soil. Famine, plague and wars followed, and the north was cast into darkness. Before little more than a century had passed, Valoria had faded into legend.
Now, almost nine hundred years after the end of the Great Winter, life and some semblance of civilization has returned to Aeldaria, but the north is still just a pale shadow of what it once was. The great provinces of old Valoria have become independent kingdoms which are at war with each other more often than not. Where order and enlightenment once ruled, lawlessness and superstition is now in power. It is in this bleak world that the game takes place.