On the Ashlands, everyone believes that buried deep within some ruin, shrouded in danger and famine, lies a road to a new world. As long as one can find a unique key and open that door, they can enter the new world.
There, the land is bountiful, as if flowing with milk and honey. The sunlight is brilliant, seemingly able to wash away the cold and gloom. People no longer have to face desolation, monsters, infection, mutation, and all sorts of dangers.
There, children are joyful, adults are happy, and everything is wonderful.
Every antiquarian, relic hunter, and historian on the Ashlands knows that this is the new world.