Blood Faction

The Blood Faction is a resistance movement against the Metal Faction, who fought for their independence from them.

## History

They began life simply in the lands between civilizations, as a simple tribe with a few villages. They were known as Blood, a group of villages who celebrated the meanings of life together. One day, they were overwhelmed by soldiers, who surrounded the villages and told them they now belonged to a faction called Metal. There was some resistance, however the invaders were too strong to push back against. Humiliated, the leader surrendered and allowed the invaders to take their land.

The people of the tribe were put to work in factories, producing weapons and other means for the Metal Faction to steal more from them and others. Their land was stolen, their identity lost, while they were told about how this was their role in the world: To serve a strong leader. Many years had passed with no hope. Stories spread of a mysterious figure known as the Ace of Hearts, who came to fight for their freedom, they had never been seen.

One day, the Metal Faction was taken by surprise. A vast number of Blood were refusing to work. As enforcers were sent in to deal with the scene, the rebels wouldn't back down. They had revealed what they were hiding, weapons they had stolen from Metal's stockpile. Everything was silent, until an explosion was heard, and a guard tower collapsed to the ground. The unknown bomber remained anonymous, but took on the title of Ace of Hearts. This immediately caused tensions to break into gunfire. The resolve of Blood was strong enough that, even after suffering losses, they managed to take down the soldiers, and claim sections of the working grounds as their own.

This uprising shocked the leadership of the Metal Faction, however they would not relent. Having a base of operations, Blood was able to regroup and calculate their next move. They had gotten word, from a traitor to the Metal Faction sympathetic to their cause, that they had secured a second star, and were going to bring it back into their faction. The result of having two stars, it was believed, would make their incredible power truly unstoppable.

It was because of the traitor that the members of Blood were able to intercept the star before it could make it through Metal's territory. The battle was large, brutal, and seemed to last forever. The Metal Faction was able to dedicate a large portion of its military to protecting the star, but the force of Blood was enough to hinder its progress. Eventually, they were able to breach their defences and push forward enough to use the star, turning its incredible power around on the Metal army. This was their chance to escape, using what tattered forces of their resistance movement were left and the power of the star to escape the territory of Metal, having to move to a new land but hoping to reclaim their territory one day.

## The Aftermath

Despite their escape from Metal's captivity, the Blood Faction remains at war. Because Blood possessed the 12th star, they had officially earned their place as a Faction, and gained international recognition, near-universal praise for singlehandedly challenging the strongest faction in the world, as well as preventing their global domination. The recognition of the other factions also meant they would receive certain protections, and although the other factions didn't intend to fight directly for them, most of them remained Blood's ally and assisted with supplies. Metal's propaganda would paint the Blood Faction as naive and violent, but despite this, many members of the public in the Metal Faction began to see the truth.

## Gameplay

The Blood Faction begins with many disadvantages. Their resources are generally poor, alongside having generally limited technology slots. Their specialty is to make sacrifices for the greater good, to gain temporary power, and use that power for everything it can get. If these sacrifices can be made at the right time and utilized fully, the Blood Faction can be a terrifying force that doesn't let any insurmountable odds stop them, able to power through enemy advantages with the right strategy. The Blood Faction is capable of using every means of resistance they have, including workers and prestige rewards.

Though their units are also considerably weak, they have the ability to deal with high enemy numbers easily. The Blood Faction has little going for them aside from combat. They primarily focus on physical combat, and generally fight in groups capable of bolstering each other. It is best for this faction to focus on only taking absolutely necessary territory, and using it as well as possible.