Factions of Aegeron

Below is a list of the major and minor factions of Aegeron with a clear vision and plan for the future of the continent. Note that there may be further factions/secret societies/divine plans that the party is currently unaware of.

## Major Factions

### Dwarven Dominion

The indisputable great power of the continent with a thriving economy and access to advanced knowledge lost to the rest of the realms (e.g. adamantine crafting, cannons). The Dominion is ruled by Thorin Ironfist, descendant from the ancient royal houses of the kingdoms of Dorahl and Btharmaz. He spent the first century of his life hiding from the Imperium that was bent on eradicating all remnants of the former ruling classes. After the fall he leveraged his ancestry to take control and waged a series of bloody wars to unite the dwarves in the east. He also conquered the neighboring human kingdom of Minthras and part of Adestia, and later declared himself to be the true successor of the old Imperium and had himself crowned as Emperor.

The Succession Wars ended over half a century ago and the Dominion has spent those years building up its military and economy, preparing for the inevitable conquest of the rest of Aegeron. When the Reaton Reds took over Adestia and ended its royal line, Ironfist saw an opportunity too good to pass up and his forces quickly annexed the weakened realm. But the neighboring realms were not willing to sit idly and let the Dominion's expansion go unchecked, which sparked the Silkstone War that is still raging in A.I. 488.

### Reaton Reds

The Reaton Reds believe that no one is born to be better than others, that no one is destined to rule, that all are equal and deserve to share equally from the fruits of their common labor. The Reatons formed in response to the excesses of the nobility in the North and their message has become very popular with the underprivileged classes all over the continent.

Although their realm is quite poor (especially now due to the Eternal Winter), the Reatons spend a great amount of resources to spread their beliefs all over the continent, their propaganda network is perhaps the fastest medium for news to travel. Since the Eternal Winter started the Reatons have shifted their propaganda efforts to concentrate on a select few realms (it is rumored that stopping Reaton propaganda was the condition for aid from many realms).

Their efforts bore fruit in Adestia where economic woes led to massive unrest, which was further inflamed by the heavy-handed response of the king. Soon the lower classes rose up and deposed the king, just to be crushed by the Dominion a month later, leading to the Silkstone War.

### The Status Quo

The majority of the realms of Aegeron prefer the current state of the continent: dozens of independent realms with different laws, governments and ways of life. Most of these realms are actually rivals and work actively against each other, but they will band together should a credible threat to the status quo arise (e.g. the Dominion starts conquering its neighbors or the Reatons incite a worldwide peasant revolution). There is no official faction of these states, but there are a few pacts and alliances that reflect this mentality (e.g. the Silkstone Pact between Adestia, Hastogar, Eldhil and Iregion against the Dominion). Similarly there is no leader, but if one had to be chosen, then it would (without doubt) be Queen Calarel of Londar, the most respected ruler of Aegeron.

Since the start of the Silkstone War the realms of the Status Quo have sent vast amounts of gold and mercenaries to aid the Silkstone Pact against the Dominion, ensuring that the Dominion can not claim victory.

### Devils of the Nine Hells

After the Abyssal Gate opened in the Imperial City the continent was almost overrun by ravenous hordes of demons. The squabbling Young Realms could not hope to hold them back and thus the Brass Concordat was struck. The Devils unleashed their infernal legions on the demon hordes allowing the mortal armies to push them back. But final victory over the demons was not in the interest of the devils, so they stopped short of closing the Abyssal Gate, and instead helped mortals construct the Demonfence to contain the demon threat.

In exchange for their aid the devils were allowed to set up “embassies” on the continent and freely offer their services to mortals (usually in exchange for their souls). It is unclear what the devils’ ultimate aim is (or whether they even have one apart from claiming the souls of those that deal with them), but most scholars assume that the Dukes of Hell are playing some sort of elaborate long game that is bound to be detrimental to all mortals on the continent.

## Minor Factions

### Dragon Princes

The Dragon Princes are a society of dragons that rule over a set of islands in the south-western part of the continent. The old Imperium managed to force even the dragons to either submit or hide and this experience led a group of them to conclude that (even though they are vastly more powerful than individual mortals) they can only survive by banding together, an almost unprecedented move among the ferociously independent dragons. They formed a quasi-feudal society where each dragon is granted land and people to rule over. They conquered the Dragon Tail Islands and have been fighting for decades to expand their rule to the Wild Coast. Their efforts are hindered by the Order of the Golden Lance and the thousands of volunteers and millions of gold in support the ‘Lance receives from the realms of the continent who prefer to keep the dragons at bay.

### The Magnusson Restoration

(This faction is unknown to most people in Aegeron, but the Avalanche encountered them.)

The Magnussons are the royal family of the barbaric Kingdom of Nordterra, but, unlike their more “refined” counterparts in the south, they are the only dynasty that can claim to be related to the first emperors of the Imperium (the tale of Princess Claudia and King Harald is one of the most famous piece of skaldic poetry). Despite this, neither King Bodvar nor any of his predecessors expressed any desire to press their claim to the Imperial crown, they seem to be content in ruling over their own realm and occasionally raiding their neighbors.

But the aasimar Andromeda Fierra, an illegitimate child of King Bodvar and one of his courtiers, has much greater ambitions. She saw the constant, destructive wars, the widespread racism (e.g. Dwarrowdale), the cruelty of rulers who fear no one above them (e.g. wizards in Iregion), and she decided to return the continent to the old ways, to the days of the Imperial Peace, when the lords and wizards feared the Law. She has only recently started out on this journey and she is very far from her extremely ambitious goal. So far she has gathered a group of loyal followers, finished the airship her old mentor started working on, and set out to find allies and knowledge that could help her quest. Her first stop was deep in the Jungle of Daggers where she sought a former archmage of the Imperium to learn more about the powerful magic that was used during the Century of Conquest to subjugate the continent.