Shattered Swords is set in the Silver Marches, part of the northern wilderness of Fearun, within the Forgotten Realms. It is the year of shadows, 1358, and the darkest age of Fearun's history has begun - The Time of Troubles. The gods have been cast out by Lord Ao, chief of them, and stripped of their divinity, unable to leave Toril. With the Gods cast out in Mortal form, the Weave – the magic of Fearun – has begun to act strangely. Even the simplest spells can warp into something wondrous, or deadly. Strange things happen around the world; Forests appear overnight, then vanish within days.