Factions

Twill

Play begins in Twill, a medium industrial and trading city on the coast. While not a destination in its own right, Twill is an important port in the Drowned Isles.

The Wardens

Just a little longer than anyone can remember, the Wardens have sailed the seas off the southwest coasts. In the beginning they were local do-gooders, pulling sailors out of shipwrecks or returning the fire to ancient lighthouses. Over time their role grew, and their power grew as well. Some folk say that contending with the horrors of the deep turned the Wardens into monsters themselves. Others say that their heroism on the waves awakened latent powers deep within. Whatever the true story is, today’s Wardens are a loose organization of super-powered investigators and adventurers.

There are few laws that bind all Wardens in the eyes of the Wardensmeet, their council held on the solstice.

• First, Wardens own no land. Traditionally they live off payment-in-kind from those they protect, but taking or demanding payment is not a punishable offense.
• Second, Wardens bear no seal. They do not enforce law and are not permitted to swear fealty to any sovereign.
• Third, Wardens share what they learn. Each Warden keeps a logbook of their journeys, and must make it available to the Master Archiver each solstice.

Breaking any of these laws results in immediate expulsion from the Wardens. Other contentions may be determined by a majority vote of Wardens present at a meet.

Major Powers

Neo-Atlantean Empire

The Neo-Atlantean Empire is the preeminent naval power along the coast. It rules from a large island (or small continent), called Atlantis, off to the west of the Drowned Isles. The island’s name is treated as interchangeable with the Empire itself.

According to Atlantean law and doctrine, the Empire is the last surviving Elder State from humanity’s flirtation with interplanetary settlement. There is reason to doubt this (to put it lightly). Even if Atlantis could trace an unbroken line back to an Elder State, it would be quite diminished from its former self. It does not command vast swathes of the Earth, the other planets, or the stars themselves. Instead it has a small continent, a few dozen walled coastal towns, and a handful of resource colonies.

Law in Atlantis is strict, and violation is frequently punished via exile. See Thalassal Pirates

United Lake Federation

The United Lake Federation (ULF) is an upstart nation that has come to dominate the Meridia’s interior. The Lakes have traditionally been the domain of rich merchants, in a constant state of low-grade conflict. Small naval fleets would be assembled and sailed to raid a rival’s ports, who would then respond in kind. Any attempt to assemble a conquering force would invite retaliation by one’s neighbors, leading to a kind of uneasy equilibrium.

A brilliant tactician by the name of Gintsaw exploited this to draw all the fleets of his rivals into a quagmire. He then set his own ships ablaze and drove them into the midst of his enemies. With a small reserve fleet, he was able to threaten the other merchants unopposed. Instead he proposed a truce and union of all parties, governed by the five great cities.

In the eighty-seven years since, the United Lake Federation has grown considerably. Some regional powers were courted; some minor polities petitioned for entry; some desired lands were seized from their inhabitants. The Federation’s rapid expansion was briefly checked in the war with Atlantis, but the wartime industry created by the conflict has fueled even more explosive growth.

The City-University of Strata

Wizards gather and preserve knowledge in the flying city-university to their own ends. Their study of Aether makes them quite dangerous, but they have a disinterest in worldly affairs. It is generally said that the best thing to do with a wizard is avoid them.

The Underworld

The self-styled Queen of Death claims dominion over all that lies under the Earth and over the souls of all dead things. Her sovereignty was acknowledged by Atlantis and the Federation, in exchange for brokering a peace in the Three Years’ War.

Her Majesty (as she insists on being called) keeps a full court along with a feudal hierarchy of Dukes, Counts, and Barons of the Underworld. The noble houses each have complex succession rules which lead to deadly clashes, sometimes involving the surface world as collateral damage. A house may try to curry favor with the Queen by retrieving relics from the surface world to add to her collection. It is said the objects of power in her hoard could level the Drowned Isles, but she has no interest in using them. Merely collecting.

Many towns have a gate to the Underworld, which usually serves as the centerpiece to a lavish cemetery. The exact tunnels between those gates, or the halls of the noble houses, or the location of the Queen’s court are all grave secrets. Surface-worlders who are granted an audience with the Queen are blindfolded and sometimes even bound for the journey. It is said a few Wardens have tried to map the Underworld. If so, they have kept that knowledge to themselves.

Any who violate the sacred mysteries of the Queen are pursued to death by her Apostles. Little is known about them. They present aetheric abilities similar to those often cultivated by Wizards or Wardens, but with an entirely tradition and lexicon. It is generally recommended to avoid contact if possible.

Minor Factions

Thalassal Pirates

Exiled from the Atlantean Empire for their radically individualist ideas, Thalassals live on the ocean floor in dome-cities. They modify themselves with highly advanced technologies. Cut off from trade by a ban from Atlantis, and unwilling to join the Federation, most Thalassal settlements sustain themselves via piracy.