Characters
Order of the Candlestone
Ancient assassins revived.
Emperors and kings thought it had been buried long ago: the Order of the Candlestone was defeated, its assassins’ grim deeds forgotten, and its dangerous alchemy shunned. But Arasemis, an eccentric warrior-scholar, is determined to revive the Order and return the continent to its primitive origins—if he can control his apprentices. He seeks recruits from across the world, valuing their diverse skills and insights on how to undermine foreign rulers. Arasemis promises his students a vaunted position in history if they succeed in overturning nations.
Arasemis sleeps little. When not rigorously training his pupils in shroud alchemy, candle alchemy, wall-running, and other unusual skills, he cloisters himself away in his vast library. There, he studies ancient texts for clues to the locations of relics hidden by prior generations of Candlestone, stretching back eight hundred years to the colonial era. He seeks mythical swords, machine armor, and—perhaps—the promise of ships that sail the skies.
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House of Valient
Rulers of Delavon Ministry within the Kingdom of Donovan, and their vassals and subjects.
The Valients take great pride in their direct descent from Marshal Hilsingor, the renowned general of the ancient Brintilian Empire who led the colonial expansion into the New World of Pemonia. Today, the Valients are the wealthiest nobles in the Kingdom of Donovan, and control one of the most capable armies. The family patriarch, Maillard, serves as the king’s Lord Minister of Delavon, responsible for guarding the kingdom’s eastern land borders.
The Valients, particularly Maillard, are popular rulers of their lands. They spread their wealth by investing in trade, guilds, grain stocks, and the hospitals of the Messengian Church. The kings of Donovan have often called on the Valients to lead wars and contribute extra to the treasury, earning a permanent seat on the Council of Lord Ministers.
The House of Valient once ruled the entire kingdom, and some say they could lead it again, especially as the governing House of Avaleau begins to falter from corruption and misrule. Maillard has always demurred at these notions, emphasizing his family’s loyalty to the crown and his important role as a key mediator for the king.
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Donovards
Kingdom of Donovan. Royal House of Avaleau, and their vassals and subjects.
The people of the Kingdom of Donovan are proud, honor-bound, and deeply rooted in their history. They are acutely aware of their lineage and obsessed with reputation. Their modern culture remains steeped in old traditions and ceremonies, with both nobles and commoners taking pride in maintaining their heritage. The most crucial element of Donovard society is ancestry.
Donovan is the primary successor of the Brintilian Empire in Pemonia, against which it fought for independence before consolidating surrounding territories. As a result, Donovan became one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations in the New World, earning the resentment of its neighbors. Donovards believe other nations owe them a debt for their role in overthrowing the old empire, and that other Pemonians should recognize their kingdom as the leader of the continent and defer to their interests. After generations of wars, the Empire Alliance has maintained a relative peace, but this stability is beginning to crack.
The House of Avaleau has long ruled the Kingdom of Donovan, with a traditional balance between the king and the Council of Lord Ministers. Each of these nobles governs one of the kingdom’s provinces, called ministries. Among the most powerful lord minister posts is held by the House of Valient, an ally of the Avaleaus. However, their cooperation is being tested by a convergence of multiple crises, including an inept king, a depleted treasury, widespread corruption, and war on the horizon.
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Rugens
Rugenhav Empire. Imperial House of Theudamer, and their vassals and subjects.
Like Donovards, the people of the Empire of Rugenhav trace their origins to some of the first Brintilian colonies of the Old World and share many of the same rigid beliefs about honor and reputation. However, their lineage became much more mixed with the local natives, a heritage they proudly embrace, unlike the Donovards. Rugen society is built on a highly structured system where tribal pedigree and military service is bedrock, resulting in one of the largest standing armies of Pemonia.
The flag of Rugenhav—a wolf’s head and five crowns on a field of blue—represents the empire’s wars of unification of five old kingdoms, its origins as a maritime colony, and the high regard that Rugens hold for their well-trained wolf-dog breeds. The emperor sets the Meteor Law, a reference to the authority seen in his skystone crown, and delegates power to wardens who govern the provinces.
Although the Rugens typically present a gruff and dour exterior, they enjoy sour fruit beers, forest bathing to meditate and rejuvenate in all seasons, and walking among preserved tribal architecture to honor their ancestors. Gambling is strictly forbidden and rigorously enforced, with the sole exception of annual wolf-dog tournaments.
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Blackhoods
A growing gang of thugs, rioters, discharged soldiers, and mercenaries.
The Blackhoods are a growing band of thugs who claim to protect the independence of Mordmerg free city while robbing its inhabitants. The upheaval surrounding the impending collapse of the Empire Alliance fuels the spread of the Blackhood movement spreads to other cities, including Eglamour, the capital of Donovan. They also grow to encompass rioting farmers, resentful commoners, disgruntled merchants, unpaid soldiers, and many other facets of Donovard society.
The king and his vassals, including the Valients, must quickly devise a plan to contain the rioting, but there is no cooperation among them. However, the Blackhoods, led by their founder Navarron and well-funded by opaque benefactors, have momentum and show no signs of fading. If anything, they stand to gain further from the converging crises of the Empire Alliance, the faltering royal family, and potential war with Rugenhav.
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Arcanists
Candle alchemists, machinists, and many others who practice arcanae in secret.
Throughout the centuries, the colonists of Pemonia and their descendants alternated between embracing and rejecting alchemy for religious and political reasons. While observant physicians recognized the value of exotic New World medicines used by the natives—some proving more effective than Old World remedies—most people remained ignorant of alchemy’s true nature. They viewed it as mysterious and unknowable, something to be feared rather than understood.
This ignorance fueled a belief among the colonists and their descendants that Pemonia’s original tribes practiced magic. Colonial alchemists faced persecution for spreading “heathen magic” and serving as “conveyances for the false curses of the wildermen.” Many alchemists and physicians recanted their work, destroying their workshops and laboratories to avoid being burned at the stake.
Yet alchemy retained its value among those who rejected such fearful beliefs. A precious few continued their work in secret, finding shelter in hidden societies away from the prying eyes of churchmen and magistrates. Some alchemists were nobles themselves, or found protection among the nobility, preserving alchemical knowledge at the risk of their lives and livelihoods. Today, these underground practitioners—alchemists, machinists, and others—are collectively known as arcanists.
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Sneads
Calbrian explorers who became merchants, machinists, and crime lords.
The Snead family first arrived in the Preton region of Calbria as adventurers, centered on the small merchant town of Bade. Secluded in the lower reaches of the Narendra Mountains–vulnerable to raids by the wild men who still lived there–Bade attracted ingredient hunters, explorers, prospectors, traders, speculators, alchemists, and other intrepid souls who would brave the dangers for handsome payment.
The Sneads gradually expanded into mining iron and coal, financing the building of protective walls, aqueducts, and the development of Bade into a large city driven by waterwheels and back-breaking work. Despite internal feuds, their industriousness led to political power and control of greater stretches of rugged land, bigger machines, and expendable labor. Today, the Snead merchant empire’s patriarch, Oghamroy, has positioned the family for greater things, just as a republican revolution threatens the Calbrian king.
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