[hider=Part One Summary]
[hider=Part One prologue]
The reigning ruler of Formaroth, King John Remonnet passed away under suspicious circumstances, most whisper it was the cause of poisoning, others say it was natural causes, whatever the case it now left 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. Anyone was able to lay claim to the throne of Formaroth, and so the Battle for the Throne began. King John tried to right the ways of his brother's maniacal reign before him; a reign that ended in a civil war in which the tyrannical king was killed by the rebel Andris Mandarass. Under John's rule the empire began to blossom, there was peace to be had, and shared across the land; wealth bloomed, and kingdoms pledged allegiance to the mighty kingdom of the Sypius, where Nyhem, the sprawling citadel that holds sway over the land, working 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. 
[/hider]


[hider=Part one: 'Battle for the throne']
Shortly after the death of High King John, each of the major houses sent a diplomat to Nyhem to discuss who should be the next ruler of Formaroth. Due to being the head advisor of the late king, Alasdair De Reimer was made the temporary De Facto ruler of Formaroth. As there was no other heir, Alasdair put himself forward as a candidate for High King, given the position was practically already his and he had most experience for ruling Formaroth. Despite not being tied to the throne by blood, Alasdair gained a lot of support from the central kingdoms of Cawanor, Sypius, Telmarion, Orog, Windermere and later Nash. However, many others saw this act as nothing more than a grab for power and denounced his claim as High King. The most outspoken of these was Andris Mandarass of Uzgob, who rallied the kingdoms of Glamrion, Ralda, Coruneon and later Akki to remove the De Reimer's from power and thus started the battle for the throne.

After the war broke out two other factions formed. The first being the Southern alliance, comprised of the Kingdoms of Thralreth and Raeldar. The major supporters of this alliance were the two noble houses of Sutharlan and Staghain who felt no loyalty to either Alasdair or Andris. Now that the Remmonnets had died out both houses wished for the south to be free from the crown, believing themselves to be more capable rulers than any northern lord would ever be. Throughout the war the Southern Alliance has remained neutral in the war and has not involved themselves in any major military or political events. The second faction was the newly formed House Blackwell that formed ten years prior during the Mandrass-Remmonnet civil war. 

The war first started when Andris Mandarass denounced Alasdair De Reimer and declared war on the Imperial Concord. For House Mandarass, honour is of the highest Importance when it comes to ruling. In Andris’s eyes the De Reimer’s honour is non-existent and was a family that could not be trusted. As such Andris and his allies decided to remove Alasdair from the throne before he could do any harm to the kingdom of Formaroth. In return Alasdair and his allies formed the Imperial Concord to oppose the Mandarass usurper and return order and peace to Formaroth.

The Concord gained an early victory over the Mandarass Alliance when the combined armies of House Anjervine and House Greensworth invaded Ralda and wiped out the majority of the Mazeltof host. During the battle Godwyn Mazeltof was killed while Henry and Pearl were captured. Henry was later executed for treason by Alasdair. The concord advantage was further cemented when House Wulfrick of Nash joined the imperial concord. 

Around this time House Blackwell tried to invade the Island kingdom of Akki but the plan ultimately failed once House Neptuna discovered their plans and sunk the Blackwell Navy at dock. To worsen the Blackwell position, House De Reimer used their Uzobian double agents to frame Andris Mandarass for an assassination attempt on the Blackwell family. While the assassination failed, Naomi Blackwell was seriously injured and house De Reimer successfully turned house Blackwell against the Mandarass Alliance. Lady Lanaya Dionisa was able to negotiate an alliance between the Imperial Concord and House Blackwell through various deals and arrangements (one deal being the arranged marriage of Patrick De Reimer and Naomi Blackwell). 

To turn the tide of the war Andris combined the armies of Mandarass, Lannistark and Humber and marched on the Kingdom of Telmarion, hoping to defeat House Tuania. In response Patrick De Reimer sent an army of mercenaries, led by the renown Claus Rotstein, to reinforce the Tuanian army. When the two armies clashed, Orland Tuania (commander of House Tuania’s forces) disobeyed Claus’s commands and led his troops into a tactical disaster. The battle was a clear victory for the Mandarass Alliance and had it not been for Claus’s battle experience, the Concord casualties would have been far greater.

Furthermore, House Neptuna of Akki decided to join the Mandarass Alliance, as the aggression shown from House Blackwell had caused them to become fearful of their neighbouring kingdom Alenius. To show their support House Neptuna sent their army to reinforce the Alliance in Telmarion.

His defeat caused Claus to retreat to House Tuania’s stronghold of Clarm, while Orland led the remaining Tuanian forces to regroup with the bulk of the Concord’s army. To gain a strong foothold in Telmarion, Andris besieged Clarm in the hopes he could take it before the Concord army showed up. However, Claus and his mercenaries proved to be more than a worthy adversary and after a month Andris was forced to abandon the siege to face the concord’s forces. 

The concord had divided its forces into two armies; one, led by Aureus Wulfirck, consisted of the armies of House Greensworth and House Wulfrick. This force went north and retook the kingdom of Orog and captured the now undefended kingdom of Coruneon. The second, led by Patrick De Reimer, consisted of the armies of House De Reimer, Anjervine, Du Paraquette and Tuania. This force went to Telmarion to reinforce Telmarion and engage the Alliance forces. House Blackwell sent their army to bolster the Concordian forces with the entire Blackwell family (baring Naomi) joining the fight. 

The second battle for Telmarion was the turning point of the war. The Mandarass Alliance suffered a major defeat at the hands of Patrick De Reimer and lost much of its army. Daeron Humber, Orland Tuania and Beatrice Blackwell were all killed during the battle while Serala Lanistark was captured. 

After his defeat Andris retreated to Uzgob with the remains of his army, intending to make his final stand in the Uzgobian capital of Andromeda. However unbeknown to him, his most trusted advisor Nizaar had turned against him, believing that Andris was no longer the honourable man he once was and that Uzgob needed new leadership. Nizaar stopped the Mandarass army from entering the city and kept Andris’s family hostage. 

While Andris was able to infiltrate the city and rescue his family, his arm was badly wounded by Nizaar and was forced to amputate. Eventually Andris had to flee Formaroth entirely using the Alliance’s fleet, exiling himself and his remaining supporters to the continent of Seikastsu.

With the Concord being victorious, Alasdair is now the undisputed High king with the concords power growing exponentially after gaining the kingdoms of Ralda, Coruneon and Uzgob. During the war House Blackwell power also grew significantly after gaining the kingdoms of Glarmion and Akki. While they are still allies with the concord this alliance is fragile and Alasdair has come to see Eli Blackwell as a new rival.

[b][u]Imperial concord[/u][/b]
House De Reimer of Cawaport (now also of Uzgob)
House Du Paraquette of Sypius
House Anjervine of Windermire
House Greensworth of Orog (now also of Ralda)
House Tuania of Telmarion
House Wulfrick of Nash (now also of Coruneon)

[b][u]Mandarass Alliance[/u][/b]
House Mandarass (now exiled)
House Mazeltof (now exiled)
House Lannistark (now exiled)
House Humber (now exiled)
House Neptuna (now exiled)

[b][u]House Blackwell[/u][/b]
House Blackwell rulers of Alenius (now also Glarmion and Akki)

[b][u]Southern Alliance [/u][/b]
House Sutharlan of Raeldar
House Staghain of Thralreth
[/hider]


[hider=Order of Saint Elenor]
Lycaon, Grand Master of the Order of Saint Elenor, beloved by the people for his philanthropic work, has been gaining influence in the Church. After a long absence from royal life he attempted to ally himself with King Duncan by presenting to him a lavish gift and promising him the Church's support. This was part of Lycaon's attempt to strengthen the Church's waning influence on politics, a plan that was years in the making and would take years to carry out. Soon afterwards, Lycaon had the reigning Grand Cleric assassinated, as he found her insufficiently cooperative, and gained power in the Church from the ensuing power vacuum.

Elsewhere, turmoil reigned in the Church. The controversial theologian Johannia of Telmarion put forth a number of shocking doctrines, which included harsh criticism of the upper echelons of the Church, advocating the dissolution of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, harsh criticism of mages and magic, and the existence of a demiurge above the gods worshipped by the Church. For this she was tried of heresy and would have been executed by burning at the stake if not for a sympathetic bishop who orchestrated her escape to somewhere in Ralda. On her way there she was attacked and her patron bishop was killed, but with the aid of a lone bodyguard Johannia was able to escape. Now safely in hiding in Ralda, she now hides alongside her body and a friend of the bishop who aided her, who now serves as the chief propagandist who spreads her message among the literate.

Meanwhile Lycaon continues to consolidate power. He made a deal with King Duncan, promising to aid the King in his war effort if he would allow his holy order to raise a brigade. During the battle of Telmarion this brigade, made up of mere peasants, took heavy casualties. However, with Lycaon's funding they have the possibility to become well-equipped, and in the time that it takes for them to recover and reinforce from their casualties they have the time to become better trained and become a force to reckoned with. Meanwhile the heretics continue to gain strength. A conflict between those who supported the heretics and those who remained loyal to the Church, exacerbated by the squalor of city, proved to be the spark that ignited a riot that engulfed the entire city of Nyhem. Though the riot was put down, in no small part due to the Holy Order of Saint Elenor's wanton slaughter of the heretics under Lycaon's orders, it will now take much for the city of Nyhem to recover, and the worst may be yet to come.
[/hider]


[hider=Mage Collective]
The Mages Collective is the brainchild of Duchess and Magister Lanaya Dionisa, a skilled mage and highly capable politician. Its fundamental goal is twofold. First and foremost, the Collective seeks to ensure Mages are free from prosecution of any sort all across Formaroth. The second, more radical aim of the organisation, however, is to put Mages in positions of power, ideally including placing a Mage on the throne. The second aim is kept relatively secret even within the Collective, for obvious reasons, but as the Collective grows, it has become harder to keep the more radical members quiet.

In order to further the goals of the Collective, Lanaya aligned the organisation with the Imperial Concord, reasoning that Alasdair De Reimer was the most likely to be sympathetic to her cause. She provided a number of mages to the Concord army, as well as attempting to convince her childhood friend High Magister Aurelia Vincetta to marry Alasdair. Later, she was sent by Alasdair to negotiate an alliance with house Blackwell, which she did reasonably successfully. However, she also fell in love with Eli Blackwell while there. In addition, she convinced High Magister Drevala Blackwell to join the Collective, and discovered Drevala’s ability to take the shape of a Dragon.

Upon returning to Nyhem, Lanaya discovered Aurelia Vyncetta had been murdered. Soon after, Alasdair offered her Aurelia’s place on the High Council, as magical advisor to the High King. This has greatly benefited the Collective, both in terms of raw power and legitimacy among the mages of Formaroth. In addition she was able to secure a tentative alliance with the Order of St. Elenor and recruit High Magister Barden to her cause.

Finally, she met with High Magister Alice Budwin, recruited her to the Collective and received a crimson gem filled with magical power to test. It empowers her spells, but seems to be having some side effects… When the riot broke out, she defended the Manor House she resided in before going to the King. Atop the battlements, they got into an argument and Alasdair struck her. Later, she massacred a crowd of anti-mage fanatics on the Nyhem docks with the help of a Summer Isles ships crew, before sending that crew to deliver news of the atrocities against mages to the Circle.

The Collective faces a time of great change. They have collected much power, but have yet to truly exercise it on a country-wide scale. Lanaya has risen from the representative of a minor noble house to a significant house leader and Council member, yet her already shaky relationship with Alasdair may not hold up while the Blackwell alternative remains; and all the while a new foe stalks her from the shadows… To make matters worse, the Collective has become a natural enemy of the Anti-mage religious schism, and the Circle, previously content to ignore the power games of one Magister, has begun to take notice of a power bloc involving three High Magisters with radical and risky ideas. Will Lanaya’s grand plan face adversity and emerge stronger for it? Or will they fracture under pressure, folding to the many threats they face?
[/hider]


[/hider]