In the vacuum of power, will good men stand by while the wicked have their way, or will some fight back to save what little is left?
What happens when an empire that has held sway for a millennia abruptly abandons its colonies, leaving them to the mercy of hostile forces? The Immari Empire has done just that, unable to furnish Sydligar with the men and supplies needed to hold off the three southern Vilde tribes while simultaneously fighting their own Vilde menace in the north. In 861 The Dereliction was the single most catastrophic event in world history. Over a million citizens and colonists abandoned in the south, the island of Lockas in open rebellion in response to the empires neglect, and a never ending sea of savages at every wall.
It has been 200 years since the Dereliction. Sydligar has survived by maintaining a strong confederation of cities with Valoor as its capital. Lockas has not had to fight for its independence with the Immari too busy fighting at home against Vilde incursions.
Marcai Orban, street urchin of Valoor, had survived on his own since his prostitute mother’s death at the age of five. When he was eight, Marcai thought a little too highly of his abilities and cut the wrong purse. Avun Isa, Primora of the Sydligar Legions, made frequent visits to the capital to coordinate with the Legara and his advisors. No one stole from the legions. Not that it was difficult, but no one would dare, except Marcai. In the hope of living the high life for a week or more for his troubles, Marcai found that which he never thought he would find. Family. Rather than turn him over to the Watch, or kill him where he stood, Isa chose instead to feed him and eventually take him home to raise as his own. (This interaction can be found below.)
In 1079, Marcai, a grown man, finds himself back in Valoor serving in the first legion under his father, Primora Avun Isa. The three Vilde tribes to the south have marched as one, broken through the defenses at Belivar’s Pass and have now surrounded the capital city, cutting it off from the outside world. Through treachery, the Vilde are able to enter the city before dawn of the eighth day of the siege. Marcai’s world came to an end that day.
It is now 1084. Sydligar has been broken, Valoor sacked. The cities of the former colony all fight among themselves for what is left. Groups of Vilde roam the land, searching for any vestige of the Sydligar Legions looking to remake what was lost. Marcai, broken at the death of Avun Isa, has returned home to live a quiet life away from all of it. If only it were that simple.