Factions

Anything on this page is subject to change throughout the development progress of the game. We will thoroughly test and validate any feature before it goes live.

House Caspari

The House of Caspar rules over most of mankind's territory in the new world. Initially, the House was baron over the land as vassal for House Mazan. When humanity's expansion in the new world stagnated and its cost (crippling both in terms of lives and expenditure) became unjustifiable within the Mazan royal court, colonial ties were severed and House Caspari was made ruler of a new kingdom. Absent the support of the world’s most powerful dynasty, the young kingdom finds itself surrounded by threats: a rival Elven Alliance to the east, an isolationist but powerful tribe of magicians to the south, and the frontier—full of orcs, beastmen, and other terrors—to the west.

The Heroes Guild

The Heroes Guild is an order open to any and all brave adventurers. A beacon of hope in Newacre, the Guild’s Andra detachment provides much-needed support to the local townspeople. Unbeknownst to many, the Guild also functions as a proving ground—or, perhaps more accurately—a filter: those who show themselves worthy amongst the ranks of the Guild graduate to the frontier to join Allowyn's Shield, a mercenary band contracted to defend the realm of man.

Allowyn’s Shield

At the edge of the realm of man lay the garrisons of Allowyn’s Shield, the mercenary band contracted by House Caspari to repel the dangers of the uncharted West. The band’s moniker (an allusion to King Allowyn) is a misnomer; in actuality, Allowyn’s Shield is considered by its members to be a brotherhood of settlers. Under the command of their ambitious leader, the band regularly raids orc settlements and ventures further into the dangerous wilderness, expanding their territory and arousing the anxiety of their patron.

The Inquirers Guild

The Inquirers Guild is an order of torturers who, under contract of the House of Caspar, function as jailors and truth-seekers. Their effectiveness in reliably administering penalties imposed by the magistrates is owed to the uniformly devout nature of their composition. The inquirers are fanatic in their adherence to the tenants of their order and will attack in the face of a bribe.

House Mazan

Having shone brightly across the realm of man since the Founders Wars, the heraldic bearings of House Mazan are renowned and immemorial. Masters of war but always prudent in its economics, the ancient dynasty rose to prominence among the Great Families over centuries of effective diplomacy and warfare. In recent times, Elven resistance in the Virlands prompted a rare cession in the Andra, and the dynasty’s western-most holding is now the small trading key Respite Island. With the sun having set in the West, ambitious sentiments and seditious plots—long suppressed by the House’s inviolable supremacy—have begun to swirl within the imperial court.

House Bloodworth

Formerly among the Great Families of the Virlands, House Bloodworth bet big on man’s unrelenting trek into the uncharted west. When debilitating financial losses and the deaths of many of its key members prompted the Family’s collapse, no support could be found in the House’s vast network of alliances. While the imperial court is by its nature indisposed to mercy and charity, House Bloodworth’s sharp decline was owed in large part to its reputation for subterfuge. By legend, the Bloodworth lineage possesses vampiric abilities, including—by some particularly phenomenal tales—to consume the blood of others for regeneration.

Through Newacre’s budding alchemy trade, the remnants of the Bloodworth dynasty are now rebuilding under the direction of a young woman. Their unlicensed operation has contributed to the town’s addiction and overdose epidemic, arousing the ire of some of the region’s most powerful entities: to the Office of the Exarch, the Bloodworths are a criminal enterprise that must be brought to justice; to the Azure Company, they are a rival that threatens the Company’s industrial hegemony.

House Van Es

When House Mazan cut ties with the Andra, many former colonies sought independence from the land’s successor kingdom—it is under these conditions that Sovereign Esart was founded. Esart is built upon a vast bridge network known as Jovian’s Crossing, which provides passage between the Elven Kingdoms and the dominion of the House of Caspar. The independent city state’s unique position between rival kingdoms has made it a prosperous trading center, and the increasing hostilities between the kingdoms has driven a new abundance of customers and debtors to the city’s merchants.

The city is ruled in principle by House Van Es but by virtue of the numerous high-ranking positions filled by democratic election, the city’s merchant class exercises significant influence on its politics.

The Sovereign Wizards

Teir Otho, Land of the Sovereign Wizards, was once a deeply spiritual land governed by traditional magical principles and practices. In its contemporary constitution, it functions as a business enterprise and tourist attraction, with the formerly sacred Vale of Trials acting as the nation’s citadel and enabling its thriving industries (gambling, harlotry, and sanctioned combat). Competitors from across the Andra journey to the Vale of Trials to fight in the Council's Arena, which by powerful sorcery generates a new battlefield for each fight.

Zeek’s Maze is a vast labyrinth created by Teir Otho’s founder, who sought to devise a selection process for his successors based on excellence in the various magical disciplines. Regrettably, the Maze has proven far too difficult; it is not known to where the Maze resolves, nor if anyone has ever completed it. Each who entered were never heard from again and are presumed dead. Even after this selection process was abolished, many would enter the Maze to prove their merit to the populace, resulting in the Maze’s entrance being sealed with a powerful arcane locking mechanism. As Teir Otho's next succession crisis looms, many are calling for Zeek’s Maze to be reopened.