Godsfall Alliance

The Godsfall Alliance is a motley collection of factions who grudgingly have joined forces to retake the lost holy city of Godsfall from the cults, undead, abominations, and demons that have overrun it. Started in mid-summer 210 AC at the instigation of a pair of Sanctioned Adventurers, the Alliance has already succeeded in taking back one section of the ancient city.

From 211 onward, after the liberation of Godsfall at the hands of the Alliance and the Godsfall Champions, the Alliance became the ruling body of Godsfall until the formation of the Duarchy of Kotimaa.

Key Parties (211 through 230 AC

The Adventurer's Guild

Main Article: Adventurer's Guild

The AG formerly acted as the gateway to the rest of the Federated Nations by controlling access through the portal network. With the successful retaking of the city and the end of active hostilities in the fall of 210 AC, the AG stepped down partially from that role as supplies can now come overland. It still maintains a presence there due to undiscovered threats and as the de facto owner of the portal node, but it only maintains an observer on the Alliance Conclave. The local representative was Crunch, a hobgoblin from the Windwalker goblin tribe. Committed to the AG, it is studiously neutral in all Alliance affairs. Their branch office is in Brightwater, near the portal.

The Sin Eaters

Main Article: Sin Eaters

This schismatic religious group was headquartered nearby in the coastal town/fortress of Heart-fire's Reach, but now has a substantial contingent in and around Godsfall. Founded by a former adventurer, their ranks are heavy with Avowed and Dedicated members who wield divine power. Their beliefs preach against wickedness and command the destruction of evil. The branch of the group that is part of the Alliance is the more moderate ones, focused on destroying remaining demons, undead, or hostile orc clans, while the Reach-based branch preaches that all non-human (or elf or halfling) races are intrinsically evil and must be brought into subjugation or "cleansed". Currently, the Alliance branch is ascendant as it receives recruits and resources through the Alliance. Their headquarters is in Elysium, in the former Imperial Cult temple that once housed the Forsakers.

The Sin Eaters are responsible for patrolling the surrounding woods, as well as providing heavy combat support as needed when new pockets are uncovered. Caution, tact, and subtlety are not their strong suits. Their representative was Brother Fidelis, a fanatic-turned-moderate who assisted in the cleansing of the Brightwater quarter before the Alliance was formally founded. He is constantly having to suppress requests from his fire-breathing underlings to "cleanse" other parts of the city. They had a strained relationship with the Watching Eye, and an outright distrust for the Free Peoples. They accepted the Sages, and considered the Kaelthian Merchant Collective to be blind, money-grubbing fools (but are dependent on them for weaponry and supplies).

The Honorable Society for the Preservation and Recovery of Historical Knowledge (the Sages)

Main Article: Sages

The Sages have their headquarters in the Towers of Sun, Earth, Moon, and Stars, but have established their second branch in Godsfall. Neutral politically, they prefer to be left alone to dig up and study artifacts and locations. They rely heavily on the Sin Eaters and the Free Peoples for protection and assistance, as many of the sages are old, infirm, or not trained for dangerous duties. Their representative was Assistant to the Vice-Rector for Western Pre-Cataclysm Religious Studies, Doctor Fredrich. This elderly human male possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of Western Imperial religious practices, but didn't have much of a head for politics. He prefered to skip Conclave meetings, only attending when his presence was directly required. He passed away in 235 AC of old age. Their headquarters is in Brightwater, near the mage tower in the south-eastern part of that quarter.

The Watching Eye

Main Article Watching Eye

This orcish tribe has been present in Godsfall longer than any but the Free Peoples. A tribe specializing in shamanistic and arcane magic, they considered themselves the guardians of the wards around Godsfall for nearly 100 years until the recent events leading to the liberation of the city. Never numerous, they still remain one of the more potent magical forces in the region. Intensely conservative and traditional, they make their home in the Green Zone. They and the Sin Eaters strongly dislike each other. Shaman Kari, an elderly orcish nature-magic user, was their representative until 220 when she passed and was replaced by her protege, Shaman I'kara. If it were up to them, they would cut ties with the broader world. They accept the presence of the Free Peoples--the Kindred have become their friends and the Dominion are their (long-lost) cousins. They try to restrain the Sages from digging up things willy-nilly, and work to slow the influx of peoples and "civilization".

The Kaelthian Merchant Collective (KMC)

Main Article: Kaelthian Merchant Collective

With the end of formal conflict in the city, the Council government withdrew their active presence in late fall 210. They were replaced by a group of Kaelthia-based merchant organizations. Through their auspices, much-needed food, supplies, and people arrive overland or through the portal network. This has made some of them very wealthy, as the city has many pre-Cataclysm treasures to sell. It has not, however, made them popular. They are the most distrusted, most disliked group in the city (even more than the remnants of the arachnidae, which is saying something). They're considered greedy, oppressive, and venal. Their representative on the Conclave was Master Trader Whitehill, the owner-manager of the Whitehill Trading Company, which specializes in metals and fine-work. A thin man with a broken nose, he and his agents are everywhere. They are currently pushing the Conclave to regulate merchant activity, a request that most believe is designed to secure a permanent monopoly for the KMC.

The Free Peoples

Main Article: Free Peoples

This is really four groups that have banded together. These are the true natives to the city, inhabiting Abaddon and the Arcadian Fields. Very disparate in origin, mindset, and desires, their mutual agreement is based on necessity rather than shared values and is quite fragile. They were represented by Huntress Cloud on Mountain of the Kindred.

The Kindred

Numbering only a few hundred in 211, the Kindred are the last remaining tribe of a group of Waer-kin and Sher-ka who lived in Abaddon until destroyed by the Xe'laka. They are not fond of outsiders, but accept the Watching Eye's protection and friendship. They especially dislike the Sin Eaters. Since then, they have grown significantly in number and repopulated that quarter.

The Dominion

These altered orcs (and related breeds including hell-bred orcs) once were slaves to the Demon Prince (wanna-be) Kul'Asad. Since his demise, they've declared themselves free of gods and masters and decided to forge their own destiny. Of all the groups, they've taken to industrialization and industrial food production (in the former quarter of Acheron) the most heavily. They want little or nothing to do with the past, but claim all the relics as their own heritage (mainly to reverse-engineer and rebuild). They welcome outsiders, but their customs (including debt slavery) and strict laws make it difficult for others to assimilate.

The Arachidae

This group of spider-like beings once was part of the vicious horde of Xe'laka. After the destruction of Shelob, they threw themselves on the mercy of the Alliance rather than flee or be destroyed. Currently they are sentenced to farm the lands of Acheron under the watchful eye of the Dominion. Strongly disliked and distrusted, they keep to themselves and don't make waves.

Isshin

Isshin was a single mind housed in many bodies, all of which live in extensive tunnel networks under Abaddon. Content to be left alone, Isshin reached an agreement with the Alliance--it won't interfere with anything on the surface as long as its underground operations are left undisturbed. It occasionally trades excavated items or minerals for food or other goods, but is mostly self-sufficient. With the death of the host mind in 226 AC, a miracle of the Redeeming Blades gave the power of thought to the creatures that formed its body, forming a hive mind of individuals. They continue to act as a hive mind, but interact more with the surface.