[hider=Setting] Summary plot The reigning ruler of Formaroth, King John Remonnet has passed away under suspicious circumstances, most whisper it was the cause of poisoning, others say it was natural causes, whatever the case it now leaves the throne open for grabs, as there are no living heirs to the throne to claim it for their own, and continue on the royal lineage. Now any Nation or Individual can now lay claim to the throne of Formaroth, the Battle for the Throne has begun. King John has tried to right the ways of his brother's maniacal reign before him, the empire began to blossom, there was peace to be had, and shared across the land; wealth bloomed, and the other kingdoms that pledged allegiance to the mighty kingdom of the Sypius Plains, where Nyhem, the sprawling citadel that holds sway over the land, worked alongside one another in prosperity. With King John's queen dead three years prior to his own, there is no eligible heir to claim the throne; meaning anyone can stake a claim to the throne. Each member of a House (the ruler's of the individual kingdoms under Formaroth) are eligible to claim the throne for their own personal use. With fear of an impending war looming now that the King has died, each House has sent a diplomat to Nyhem, for a meeting gathered at Miserth Keep to proclaim their reason as to why they should be the next ruler over Formaroth. With previous conflicts occurring between the Houses, most turn to seedy ways to make sure that their member is the one to lay a stake to throne, even if it means placing a drop of poison in their enemies goblet. Even individual characters, whether they are a captain of Nyhem's Royal Army, a powerful Mage, a Cleric, or a Merchant can lay claim to the throne. However, they can also side with any of the Houses in support; this grants Individual characters the ability to maneuver between Houses, act as spies, or even turn the tides of ongoing events. Nyhem Plot (De Reimer family/Aurelia Vyncetta/Lady Lanaya Triskell Dionisa) [hider=Nyhem Plot] Nyhem is the the capital of Formaroth and the seat of power for the royal family. It is currently under the control of Duncan De Reimer (recently crowned). Duncan De Reimer was the head advisor for the former King John Remmonnet. One of the responsibilities of the head advisor is to to rule the continent of Formaroth in the absence of a king or queen. Considering there are no more heirs to the throne the De Reimer family believes that Duncan is rightfully now the next in line. Recently Duncan has been crowned king and the De Reimer family has gained a lot of support from the other houses (namely in central Formaroth). This alliance is known as the imperial concord and now Duncan is one of the main contenders for the throne. Duncan is willing to keep his family on the throne by any means necessary. The De Reimer family has also conquered the kingdom of Ralda (home of House Mazeltof) and the kingdom of Coruneon (home of house Humber). The Imperial Concord are currently winning the battle for the throne. Aurelia Vyncetta was a highly skilled mage and Magisterial advisor for the throne. She supported the imperial concord and was working alongside another mage (Alice Budwin) on a new source of magical energy (in a form that has long been considered impossible). She was on the High council for as long as Duncan has and as a result they had a close relationship. As a result a romance had started between them, sadly the romance was short lived as Aurelia was recently assassinated by an unknown assailant. Duncan and Aurelia's friend Layana are currently determined to discover who was behind her death. Lanaya Dionisa is a mage who ultimately wants to see mages ruling Formaroth. However she understands that she is unlikely to achieve this goal and therefore will settle with mages having a larger say in the politics of Formaroth. She beleives supporting the Imperial Concord is the best route for this goal. She is recently acted as a diplomat on behalf of the Concord to convince house Blackwell to join the Concord. During her time with House Blackwell she became very 'close' to Eli Blackwell. She is currently in Nyhem investigating the murder of Aurelia and has taken Aurelia's place as the magisterial advisor. Any work that Aurelia had been working on (including her work with Alice) has been passed onto Lanaya. Urd Raudhfell is the secret bastard daughter of Patrick De Reimer (head of the De Reimer family). She is a mage who has suffered greatly at the hands of ignorant mundanes. She is currently in Nyhem to find out more about her secret family and witnessed first hand Aurelia's murder. She is was taken in by Layana who wished to help her fellow mage and the two have become close acquaintances. Urd has recently revealed herself to her Aunt and Uncle (Duncan and Isabel De Reimer) and while they remain skeptical they are willing to give Urd the benefit of the doubt until Patrick confirmed Urd's identity. Lycaon Issorat is a knight of the church of Klebrithy (main religion in Formaroth). His motives are to increase both his power within the church and the church's power within the political structure. He has recently assassinated the corrupt leader of the church 'Grand Cleric Mildred' and has started a vacuum of power within the church in which he hopes to come out on top. He is currently trying to get on King Duncan's good side by raising a brigade from the local populous and sending them to fight house Manshrew. The vacuum of power in the church has also caused a heretic known as Johannia to speak out against the church. She has been literally been branded a heretic and upon a narrow escape from her execution she has escaped to Ralda. Eclipse Kornova is a legendary knight who is as skilled with his sword as he is with his blade. After helping the people of Ralda by saving the local villages from a large group of bandits Eclipse has join Lycaon's brigade and has chosen to ride to Telmarion to fight alongside the Concord. [/hider] [hider=Manshrew Plot] The second major contender for the throne is House Manshrew. Their leader Andrew believes that that the De Reimer family is not to be trusted and claims that he is the best contender for the throne. Though he has no real tie to the throne, his honor and leadership has gained him a large amount of support forming the 'Manshrew Alliance'. Many view him as a hero who will lead Formaroth into a new golden age while others view him as a power hungry usurper. Andrew managed to secure a early victory against the concord by capturing Orog and won a major victory in Telmarion. However as the war has continued Andrew's list of enemies has mounted against him. He has lost both the kingdom's of Ralda and Coruneon to the Concord. Furthermore the concord have retaken Orog and the Imperial army is marching to meet him in Telmarion. He is currently laid siege to the stronghold of Clarm, hoping to take it before the concord forces arrive. He made allies with House Neptuna who are sending reinforcements to Telmarion. However this was to no avail as Andrew suffered a major defeat at the hands of the concord losing him most of his army. [/hider] [hider=Blackwell Plot] House Blackwell is a another major player in the battle for the throne. While the head of house Blackwell, Giles Blackwell, is more interested in expanding his land than he he is in making a claim for the throne, his son Eli Blackwell is interested in securing his own claim for the throne. Recently De Reimer spys disguised as Manshrew assassin's attempted to kill the various members of House Blackwell. The assassination attempt was a failure as the De Reimers predicted, however they succeeded in framing house Manshrew. During the assassination attempt Giles Blackwells youngest daughter was severely wounded furthering Giles rage. House Blackwell is now preparing for a all out war against the Manshrew alliance and have also announced their independence from the crown. Negotiations between the Concord and house Blackwell were undertaken between Eli Blackwell and Layana in which the Blackwells and the concord made a formal alliance with Noami Blackwell being married off to Patrick De Reimer. House Blackwell took part in the battle of Telmarion where Beatrice Blackwell was killed at the hands of Lord Andrew. Also Drevala Blackwell can turn into a dragon... [/hider] [hider=The Steel fist plot] Claus Rotestein is the leader of the steel fist mercenary company. He was hired by Patrick De Reimer to be an officer in the Imperial Concord, due to his excellent militarily experience. He recently fought Andrew Manshrew in the Kingdom of Telmarion. Despite loosing due to the incompetence of one of his commanders he was able to save the majority of his army. He is currently successfully holding out against House Manshrew at the stronghold of Clarm, though the Manshrew forces are starting to close in around him. Travelling alongside Claus is Katrina Nikos, a young girl who was formally a Blacksmith apprentice. She joined the steel fist in the hope to live her life to the fullest and see the world. She is often seen by Claus's side. [/hider] [hider=Mazeltof Plot line] After Ralda was invaded the Mazeltof host was forced to withdraw (after taken heavy casualties) Alicja Mazeltof was left behind and presumed dead. She is currently in the city of Nyhem alongside a knight by the name Ramfrey Hansard. After finding out that her sister is in the Nyhem Dungeons she has decided to remain in Nyhem to rescue her sister. Dyril Elian is a half elf from the continent of Beilokias who's father was secretly Henry Mazeltof (Alicja's father). After arriving in Formaroth alongside her Mao servant, Kiseo, Dyril was saddened to hear that he father had been executed. She has chosen to stay in Formaroth in order to help her half sister Alicja. She has become a acquaintance of Lanaya Aulus Eskandar is the last surviving member of his house. Taken in by Dearon humber, ruler of Coruneon, Aulus is often considered the families adopted son. After his stubborn and naive nature made him refuse to retreat Coruneon when the Concord invaded, Aulus was forced to run away and hide. After many weeks of travel Aulus found his way to Nyhem where the presence of Alicja Mazeltof has drawn his attention. [/hider] The different houses and who they are allied to [u]Imperial Concord[/u] House De Reimer (Minor Casulties) House Du Paraquette (Minor Casulties) House Wulfrick House Anjervine (Minor Casualties) House Tuania (Moderate Casualties) House Greensworth [u]Manshrew Alliance[/u] House Manshrew (Major Causalities) House Lanistark (Major Causalities) House Humber (Major Causalities) House Mazeltof (Major Causalities) House Neptuna (Major Causalities) [u]Southern Alliance[/u] House Sutharlan House Staghain [u]Independent Kingdoms[/u] House Blackwell (Minor Causalities) [/hider]