It’s year 684 PN (Post Night, the supposed event that made the Night lethal), in the Principles’ Calendar. The Empire of the Red Eagle, led by its young leader Emperor Levante the Second Falconis, has finally stopped its expansion, crashing against the prideful Republic of Primia on the North of The Spines, the central mountains of the Realms; and against the Federated Social Democracies on the South, led by Marshal Rollando. Expansion through the centre of the Realms is clearly impossible: the impassable mountains are fiercely defended by the notoriously unconquerable people of Fuente.

To stop the momentum of the Empire, which just 10 years ago looked like it could conquer the entire Realms and unite them under one single banner, the foundation of the Federated Social Democracies has been precious, and the repeated incursions of Giants to the northern coast of the Empire forced the Emperor to defend the coastal towns.

Yet, 26-years-old Levante has not sated his desire for conquest. The treasuries of the conquered nobles and kings are not yet exhausted, and the military infrastructure keeps growing. The support of the Academy of Paladins, its old High Paladin Istvan removed, and that of the Magicate of the Dancers further bolster its military prowess and keen policies.

On the other half of the Realms, the Republic of Primia is considering whether to join the Federated Social Democracies or to keep its full independency, and to go to war with the Empire with its vassal States on its own. The Federated Social Democracies are trying to build a singular identity, now that the Empire is not a direct threat any more, and old grudges start rising again.

The Church of the Principles is still divided into two, with the forwardists (“avantisti”) praising the Principles’ dogma to act, and the staticists (“staticisti”) urging prudence, especially when it comes to war.

The Principles’ axes:

Axis of Conflict: Violence – Conflict – Cooperation (Cooperation may leads to laxity and should not always be the solution)

Axis of Suffering: Hate – Suffering – Acceptance (why should Acceptance be positive, say the forwardists?)

Axis of Ingenuity: Destruction – Ingenuity – Progress (True progress comes from a blank slate as well; forwardists want to change it to Revolution)

Axis of Community: Egoism – Community – Empathy (Forwardists want to change the left side to Individualism)

To know more about the Realms, you can go to Appendix B: The Story.

The Two Swords

The Two Swords, also known as the Twos, is one of the most prolific criminal organisations north of The Spines. The organisation was founded during Emperor Levante the First’s reign in the province city of Septia, in Primia, near the border with what now is the Empire. During the first emperor’s rule, a catastrophic failure led to the arrest and execution of many of the previous criminal organisation, due to their interests in Imperial rule. The Two Swords followed, a group of anti-Empire criminals. They rose to power when Emperor Levante the Second forced a mass conscription in Primia due to his expansionist policies. The Twos conducted a profitable service; they “hurt” nobles and middle class people in a convincing manner to avoid being drafted. From there, they expanded their web to Primia and even to the Empire.

Today, The Two Swords has their hands everywhere: they are smugglers, enforcers, drug dealers, thieves and even assassins. The city of Primia is still able to keep their influence at bay, but the Twos leader, Stephan Glacokuloj, is keen on claiming his primate on the capitol. Fortunately for the Republic of Primia, the Twos maintain their anti-Empire ethos, and Stephan is a fervent hater of the Empire.

One of the ways the Twos maintain their position of power is their decentralised chain of command. In Septia, the organisation is tightly tied to Stephan; outside of that city, commanders are free to conduct their own business. They only have to pay a percent of their profit to Septia’s Twos; in return, Stephan sends them enforcers if needed, but mostly trade contacts and information. Because of this, every try to decapitate the Twos leadership has always failed.

The city of Dexia

Dexia is the capitol of the Duchy of Dexia, a vassal State of Primia and the ninth of the twelwe historical vassals of Primia. Dexia is situated on the border with the Empire towards the Spines, with access to important iron caves near the mountains. The natural border is the river Arterio, which is almost unpassable near the source, making Dexia quite safe against Imperial assault. Because of this, military presence is negligible, but there is an important militia presence to police the commerce of iron. Primia’s steel is renowned throughout all the Realms and its commerce is tightly regulated.

Dexia is ruled by Duchess Yolanda, who governs with a tight grip and repeatedly asks Primia for soldiers to eradicate each and every delinquent who even remotely threatens the commerce that made Dexia’s so important in the Realms. The militias answer directly to her and are hired with her own money.

Currently, in Dexia, the First Sword (the leader) of the Twos is a man called Esteban Weldres, of Laush ethnicity, one of the two River states in the South of the Realms. He is known to be a well-spoken man, the third son of an important merchant family of the South. Rumours tell he was estranged by its family for unknown reasons, and he has used his contacts to establish a small trading operation in Dexia. The operation was unsuccessful, and Esteban officially disappeared, but still led another underground operation as First Sword of the Twos, after a Primian assassin killed the previous leader.