Factions
Arx Merchants Guild
The Arx Merchants Guild is a union of tradespeople operating out of Arx that sponsor and protect independent merchants across the Relief.
Bounty Hunters Codex
The Bounty Hunters Codex is a code of honour that binds all hunters, hunter parties and lodges across the Relief to prevent infighting and ensure business remains profitable. However, not all bounty hunters obey this code of honour.
Church of Caelum
The Church of Caelum is the most prevalent nation and religion in the Relief. Ruled by the Exarch, Aura Sol Orbis, the territories of this constitutional theocracy reach as far as the Miasma. The nation’s capital, Caelum’s Landing, is amongst the largest and most populous cities in the Relief, with much of the region’s trade passing through its markets.
Since the creation of the Fundus Constitution in 416 PO, the Chairman of the Ministry must present new laws to the Exarch for sanction. The Church has remained the most influential and widespread religion in Fio for 1,000 years. It seeks to establish order by expanding its influence and assisting in the development of newfound earthmotes. Though tolerant of other religions, the Church’s ubiquity often seems to overwhelm other nascent cultures and religions.
Roles
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Exarch is the title given to the head of the Church of Caelum. The Exarch establishes the laws of the nation as proposed by the Chairman of the Ministry. The current Exarch is Aura Sol Orbis. She resides in the Oratory on Caelum’s Landing.
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Prefects are governors of territories belonging to or allied with the Church. This role traditionally goes to members of the Sol Orbis family or high ranking members of the Church.
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Chaplains serve as the head of a parish within a Church territory. They usually oversee and reside within a chapel central to the parish. Their duties include delivering sermons and performing marriages.
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Inquisitors are tasked with the abolishment of cults and misinformation contrary to the Church’s doctrine. They serve as the Church’s intelligence agents.
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Clerics are the divine warriors and scholars of the Church, often gifted with divine magic of the light and tempest domains.
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Deans are the Church’s teachers and archivists. Their duties include transcribing holy texts, maintaining sacred artefacts and teaching hopeful acolytes.
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Acolytes are educated at the Oratory to properly harness their divine abilities. While most acolytes worship Caelum, education is available for upstarts of other religions.
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Heralds are the Church’s sacred groundskeepers. Their duties include tending to the Oratory’s graveyards and gardens among other sacred sites. They also perform funeral rites.
Combe Shipping and Courier Agency
The Combe Shipping and Courier Agency is one the largest business empires in the Relief. Operating out of the Duchy of Ruby, the agency’s grand fleet of ships and airships deliver goods with speed and security.
The Commission
The Commission for the Research of Offshore Worlds, affectionately called Crows, was founded by Glimback Toestubber in 899 PO. Originally known as the Explorer’s Guild, Crows has since secured government funding and its members now work to catalogue the many beasts of the Relief, research new magic, and prospect new earthmotes for colonisation. They operate out of Crowswood Place on Fundus.
Confederacy of Privateers
The Confederacy of Privateers is a loose alliance of pirates, privateers and merchant crews governed by those with the largest fleets and the greatest wealth. The bowels of Raptor Island serve as headquarters for the ever-changing members of a pirate moot that keep the various guilds of the Manyshells in check, while the mayor of Anchora acts only as their figurehead.
Crosscut Circle
The Crosscut Circle work in the shadows to expose the hypocrisy of the Church of Caelum. They claim the Miasma was released 1,000 years ago as a result of Caelum’s ritual to expel the darkness within him so that he might to ascend to divinity. They also claim Mundi Eversor was created by Tenebrae and his followers in order to stop Caelum.
Dawnroot Druids
The Dawnroot Druids make their home in the Dawnroot Forest on Fundus, secluded from the trappings of lifestyle in the capital. They revere and protect a portal to the elemental plane of water, the source of the River Fountainhead, which they believe to be a blessing from Silvanus, the deity of wild nature. Though they disapprove of the Church’s expansionist practices, they seem to prefer not to intervene.
Diamond Guard
The Kingdom of Diamante is the largest of several feudal nations that sit atop the earthmote Atada on the north-western border between Profundus and Montanum. Currently ruled by Queen Carina Diamante IV and her consort, Rafael de Florencia, the nation boasts great wealth and pride in their flamboyant culture.
The Diamond Guard is the moniker given to Queen Carina’s royal guard. Paragons of courage and altruism, knights of the Diamond Guard command great prestige as few amongst the many warriors that apply for the role are accepted.
Githzechi Clans
The Githzechi Clans are said to be the descendants of githyanki who fell through a portal to the Astral Plane several centuries ago. The clans constantly feud over the barren territories of Os Terrae and have developed their psionic abilities to survive its harsh sands. While some uphold their faith in Vlaakith, others seek their fortune in Os Terrae’s grand sinkhole that provides precious materials from the Elemental Plane of Earth.
Inland Guard
The Inland Guard is the public police service headquartered at Caelum’s Landing. Funded by the Ministry, the greater number of guards compared to Church Clerics allows for more efficient policing of Fundus and the Innermotes.
Roles
- Chief Constable
- Superintendent
- Inspector
- Sergeant
- Constable
League of Archfiends
The League of Archfiends is said to be a secret cabal of fiends who operate from within the Miasma, subsidising illegal practices across the Relief that will bring them luxury in their empire beyond the barrier. It is rumoured they even conspired with Tenebrae to create Mundi Eversor 1,000 years ago, but it has never been proven the organisation exists or ever existed.
Micantrum Mining Consortium
The Mining Consortium is an organisation that regulates the trade of resonite and other minerals to and from Micantrum. They work in direct competition with the Ministry, who govern the mining rights to the Resonant Mines beneath Fundus.
The Ministry
The Ministry serves as government for Caelum’s Landing and the Church’s many territories. Elected representatives from each territory meet in the Ministerial Houses to establish the demands of the people and how they will be met by law.
Since the creation of the Fundus Constitution in 416 PO, the Chairman of the Ministry must present new laws to the Exarch for sanction. There is some speculation as to how much power the Church has over proceedings in the Ministerial Houses, but the current Chairman Emil Hartmann maintains that the Ministry works solely for the betterment of the people.
Roles
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Chairman is the title given to the mediator in the proceedings of government, functionally making them the head of the Ministry. Elected by fellow ministers, the chairman presents new laws to the Exarch for sanction. The current chairman is Emil Hartmann.
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Ministers are the elected representatives of a province or territory allied with the Church. They voice the demands of the people in the Ministerial Houses.
Order of the Lantern
The Order of the Lantern is a clandestine organisation of Blood Hunters who undergo a ritual that allows them to safely navigate and research the Miasma. They have strong ties with the Commission.
Spirit Temple
The Spirit Temple monks seek a deep connection to nature through the study of wild beasts and their associated elements. It is this connection that allows a group of monks to terraform new lands and arrest dangerous rogue earthmotes and send them back into the Miasma. They have an agreement with the Church that enables them to serve alongside expeditions and help prevent natural disasters.