Nations & Powers

Ruled by Lord Pryden Mortis III, the Iron Dictator. Its capital is Kalis, formerly Aethwynd. Its military is the Iron Compact. Its status is mobilising for war. Built atop ancient Tulimsur, Kalismor was once the cultural and diplomatic heart of the known world. Pryden has dismantled all of that. He rules through fear, absolute law, and the deliberate cultivation of despair. Magic is illegal under pain of death. The capital has been renamed and its history rewritten. What remains is loyal through terror.

Pryden's loyalists include noble houses rewarded after the coup, military commanders who profit from permanent war readiness, and those who genuinely believe strength is the only virtue. The Whisper of Dawn includes resistance loyal to the Everdawn bloodline, remnants of the Aetherium Cabal operating in secret, and people who believe Prince Kaelen still lives.

Ruled by Dainar Vorthas, the Philosopher-King. Its capital is Celestium. Its military is the Legion of the Iron Mantle. Its status is reluctantly mobilising. Dainar was not born to royalty. He rose through merit, chosen by the Council of Elders. His court is filled with scholars, tacticians, and artisans. The Legion exists to protect borders, not conquer them. Twenty-five years of waiting have brought thousands of Kalismor refugees to Celestium and a growing certainty that waiting is no longer an option.

Tulimsur was where the Mana Seed was first discovered. It sought to share magic with humanity and did not survive the war it helped ignite. Its ruins lie beneath Kalis. Courtlyn was the warmage city-state that weaponised the Mana Seed and triggered the First Great War. It was completely destroyed. Its location is lost to history. Surviving scholars may persist in secret traditions today.