The armies
Six forces, one contested land
Each army has its own book: its entries, its rules, its history. Two are written. Four are being written.
The Wardens of the Ember Fells
The heirs of those who called the southern lands home. For three hundred years the fires of the old kingdoms have burned in exile — their halls lost, their fields beneath foreign hands, the graves of their ancestors beyond the reach of their descendants. Their children grew to manhood knowing the names of valleys they have never seen.
Their strength is not knights alone. Lords muster their retainers, archers come from the villages, and the lowly levy answer the call with whatever tools from the fields they can carry. They are accompanied by the Solari, spiritual leaders who walk among the soldiers, blessing the ranks, tending the wounded and lending strength to the fearful. The faithful do not believe this will spare them suffering. They believe it gives suffering purpose.
The Despoilers
A hundred warring tribes who took Dawnholm and have spent three centuries sharpening themselves on one another. They wear the spoils of their victories: armour stripped from the dead, battered into shape and blackened in the fire; weapons passed from hand to hand until they break.
There are no great cities, no lasting peace and no common purpose beyond the next conquest. A tribe may stand beside another today and slaughter it tomorrow. Their sorcerers twist living flesh and call upon powers that should remain buried — and the tribes welcome the strength these things bring, caring little for the cost.
The Dwarves of the Ironspine in progress
They live beneath the Ironspine Mountains, in halls that were ancient before most of the kingdoms of Men had learned to build in stone. A people of stone, iron and memory: they build to last, craft with patience and record their history in the very walls of their homes.
But the Ironspine is no longer the kingdom it was. The mines are failing, the population is diminishing, and great sections of the ancient underways have been sealed for generations. The Dwarves have always believed that if something was buried beneath the mountain, it was buried there for a reason. Increasingly they wonder whether some things were buried because they were dangerous to remember. They have not left their holds in two hundred years. Now the gates have opened for the first time in living memory.
The High Crest in progress
The elven kingdom. Its army list and rules are written; its history is still being set down.
The Orcs and Goblins in progress
Orc warbands and goblin hordes, with their beasts, chariots and war machines. Its army list and rules are written; its history is still being set down.
The Dominion in progress
The undead. Its army list and rules are written; its history is still being set down.