Narrative Overview
What the kingdoms see is politics. What is actually happening is older than any kingdom.
Overview
In the world of Shaxal, the three kingdoms of Xandour, Valengor, and Xinith hold an uneasy peace. Wars have been fought over the mountain passes. Treaties have been signed and broken. Courts have kept secrets that would end dynasties.
Beneath all of it, a different war has been running for over a century. Demon hierarchies — Fire, Shadow, Lightning — have seeded their Imperators across every court in every kingdom. The political conflicts humans think they are having are, in many cases, moves in a game being played by beings who have been alive longer than the kingdoms themselves.
The Shadow Hierarchy recently destroyed the Fire Hierarchy's Imperator network in a single coordinated strike. The Fire Apex survived. The last surviving Fire Imperator is in isolation, unaware she is the last. The Shadow Apex is now the most powerful demon in the known world — and his forces are already inside Xandour.
The Demon Hierarchies
Apex: Fire Goddess Abrar
The Fire Apex distributes power to Imperators. All Imperators are now dead except Safi — banished to the Sunken Temple. Abrar escaped Ciel's attack damaged. Running near full power. Possessing Ahlam Sutren as her vessel — a situation more complicated than it appears.
Status: Critically Weakened
Apex: Blood God Anais
Dismantled Abrar's entire Imperator network by overhearing Abrar's siblings discuss her structure. Ordered the hits through his forces. Currently the most powerful demon in Shaxal. Has forces embedded in Xandour — the Suthe and Sutren units. Does not know Abrar's location.
Status: Dominant
Xin & Rhea — Abrar's Siblings
Abrar's lightning siblings. Tried to stop Anais's attack on the Fire Imperators and failed. Carry guilt. Abrar does not know they were the source of the intelligence that enabled Anais's strike. The relationship between the hierarchies has never been more volatile.
Status: Fractured
Key Events
Before the Game
Blood God Anais overhears Xin and Rhea discussing Abrar's Imperator structure. Orders targeted hits. All Imperators killed except Safi, who Abrar banishes to the Sunken Temple as a final protective act. Abrar escapes but is badly damaged.
Before the Game
Twenty-year-old Sahar Alsaide defeats the mid-forties Commander of the Arabian Knights in formal combat. Takes the title. Sho is eventually exiled. He does not leave Valengor.
Before the Game
Abrar curses Sahar and Samira Alsaide: Sahar's singing spawns demons, Samira's magic drains Sahar's life. Neither sister has acted on the knowledge that killing the other would break the curse and unlock their ultimate form.
Game Start
The player arrives in a Shaxal already in motion. Courts have secrets. Factions are moving. The demon war is invisible to most. You are the variable no faction has planned for.