Ascension Isle: Legacy

Channel moved to #AscensionIsle.
Kobold Space Program total success - Ad Astra!

Ascension Isle: Legacy continues!

-IX

Overview

This is a character based RPG set in the fantasy world of Arth, as part of the modern Ascension Isle setting. This is a modified version of the AI world discussed for the proposed Nation Game, and differs in a several key ways. The most important is that in this world magical development fed technological development and vice versa, leading to a world with technology that in many ways exceeds our own - as well as being a world with magical creatures, non-human races, and supernatural powers.

The old kingdoms of the demigod Chosen who have ruled the world for centuries are collapsing, and the Characters are caught in these times of revolution. Can they build a new order, or will they just burn the old to ashes?

Background

AI:L Background
AI:L Armoury
AI:L Spellbook

AI:L Character Creation
AI:L Skill List
AI:L Trait List
AI:L Quirk List

AI:L Combat
AI:L Social Conflict

AI:L Spinoffs - Kobold Space Program
AI:L Rules Testing

The Player Characters

Chrysanth, Candidate for Zadkiel - Shrike
Jonas Flavius - Lokar
Gregorio Arhyna- Ent
Aranitha Fury Morrigan - FBH
Alice Samelrand - Silence
LoranClementine - Andronicus

Campaign Themes

(GM) Event: The Liberation of Eleutheria

Jonas: Strongly Support

Aran: Support - "A knight should save the weak."

Chrysanth: No Opinion

Alice: Strongly Support

Greg: Strongly Support

Loran: "From what?"

(Lokar) Organization: Restore the Republic

Jonas: Strongly Support - "I wish to restore the Republic, one more committed to the ideals of equality."

Aran: Support - "Let the humans have their glory."

Chrysanth: Support - "The Republic is part of Zadkiel's legacy - but the lesser part."

Alice: Strongly Support - "Whatever Jonas wants - the crown of the Consul if he wills it."

Greg: Support - "They'll probably let me do my thing, right?"

Loran: Neutral. "Restore the Republic of Zadkiel not the republic of the mob or the red brigades."

(FBH) Person: Lord General Marianne Saint Just

Jonas: Strongly Oppose - "The Elf has first claim, but if Aran doesn't kill her, then I will see the Lord General tried and executed for her crimes."

Aran: Strongly Oppose - "I will hold her in my arms as the life spills out of her, and she will know that all her works are ruin at my hands, and pray to her liar god in vain."

Chrysanth: No Opinion

Alice: Oppose - "Just another body to pave the Cordinal's path."

Greg: Strongly Oppose - "Flunky from a bygone era."

Loran: Oppose. "The Lord-General is issuing illegal orders and acting in a way that betrays her office."

(Shrike) Person: Assume Zadkiel's Legacy

Jonas: No Opinion - "I will not hinder Chrysanth but if she intends to reimpose the old order I will stop her."

Aran: Oppose - "I kill Chosen. I'm not going to restore them."

Chrysanth: Strongly Support - "I will immanentize my eschaton."

Alice: No Opinion - "Not a waifu option for Jonas so don't care."

Greg: Oppose - "I'd rather not have the Chosen come back."

Loran: Support. The return of the Lord of Mercy can only be a boon to mankind!

(Silence) Ideal: The Legend of Cordinal Jonas Flavius

Jonas: Oppose - "I am just a man fighting for what is right and a better future."

Aran: Support - "He gives a good speech and he's pretty handsome, but overall I prefer the crazy one."

Chrysanth: No Opinion

Alice: Strongly Support - "I am the ideal waifu for the ideal Cordinal and he will realize that eventually even if I have to. . . remove. . . any competitors."

Greg: No Opinion

Loran: Jonas-sempei is a hero!

(Ent) Event: Free Thaumatechnology from the shackles of the Church.

Jonas: Support - It is through the Church's control of technology that they shackle the people. The free flow of technology allows for a free people.

Aran: Supports - Let the Chosen's Works be known to all, and lose any power they might have had in the doing of it

Chrysanth:

Alice: No Opinion - "Whatever the Cordinal wants"

Greg: Strongly Support

Loran: Oppose. Radical measures produces nothing but misery.

(Loran) Event:

Jonas:

Aran:

Chrysanth:

Alice:

Greg:

Loran:

Objectives: Team Republic
Objectives: Team Chosen

The Chosen

Zadkiel: Chosen of Cydonia, Chosen of Mercy, who created the Eluetherian Republic from his old Cydonian Protectorate. Zadkiel vanished before the Republic's destruction, and it is suspected he may have met his end at the hands of one or all of the "Correcting" Chosen.

Liah: Chosen of Coreven, Chosen of the Crusade, and one of the Chosen who invaded the Republic with her Crusade armies. Beleived by many to be the ring-leader of the Correction.

Leliel: Chosen of Enduscare, Chosen of Night, and one of the Chosen who invaded the Republic with her Crusade armies. Known to have a particular hatred of the "lesser races."

Auriel: Chosen of Telloren, Chosen of Light, and one of the Chosen who invaded the Republic with his Crusade armies. A reclusive Chosen, but who runs a stern domain, and is known to be a longtime ally of Liah.

CZ Central Political Scene

The Noble Houses

Heiro House Archangeli
House Archangeli was re-admitted into the ranks of the Heirophant Houses of Arth following its surrender at the end of the Araden Interdivinum. It "rules" over the Unity District at the center of CZ Central, however it is common knowledge among the people of the city that Governor Armiger Archangeli, once the Praetor and greatest hero of the Republic, is now nothing more than a mind controlled Chosen puppet.

Heiro House Aikenrand
House Aikenrand is one of the old Araden noble houses that refused to swear loyalty to the Republic. With the return of the Chosen they were rewarded for this loyalty and granted title over Alpha Ward, in the Coreve Occupation District.

House Lyris
House Lyris swore loyalty to the Republic, and was one of its leading Patrician families. The family's noble line suffered heavily during the War, and survives only due to its close relationship with its surviving cadet branch, Lyrey-Makkali. It has title over Beta Ward in the Tellen Occupation District

House Arhyna
House Arhyna swore loyalty to the Republic, but was narrowly rejected from entry into the Patrician families by a close vote of the Senate. The House has a scandal plagued history, and it is rumoured that fey blood may even run through the veins of some of its scions. The House survived the war largely intact, and was too powerful for the Chosen to easily disenfranchise, despite its reputation, and the feirce resistance many of its members put up during the War. It has title over Gamma Ward, in the Tellaren Occupation District.

House Megus
House Megus is known for the potency of its blood, and has birthed some of the most notable Thaumaturges in the history of the Zones. It is rumoured this opportunistic noble house only supported the Republic so as to gain access to its wondrous electronic "ZENTek." House Megus is allied to the cadet branches of Taiani, Malkaritus, and Malkal, and has title over Delta Ward in the Tellaren Occupation District.

House Sentonius
House Sentonius survived the war, but was nearly annihilated in the aftermath for the humiliations it inflicted upon the armies of the Chosen Leliel. The other two Chosen, Liah and Auriel ultimately talked down their fellow, and in her mercy (or the other Chosen's warped senses of humour) Leliel allowed Sentonius to survive in her service. To the bemusement of many, although not formally bound in marriage, House Sentonius maintains close relations with House Arhyna, and the two fought side by side in the War. House Sentonius is known for being given all the most humiliating tasks within the Enduscare Occupation Zone, and along with its surviving cadet family of Var-Vistus, has title over Epsilon Ward in the Endare Occupation District.

House Samelrand
House Samelrand was one of Patrician families of the Republic, but has fallen far since then. Most of its leadership was killed in the War, and its young Matriarch, Ingria Samelrand, is known to be insane. Samelrand now performs some of the most heinous acts in the Correctional Zone, and its jumped up client family, Venamus, operates Enlightenment Camps of Zeta Ward in the Endare Occupation District, where hundreds of thousands have since met their end.

Heiro House Lentithe
House Lentithe was a minor house of suspect loyalty that was never admitted into the ranks of the Patricians. Following the War it was restored by the Chosen Leliel and given title over Eta Ward in Enduscare's Occupation District. Paradoxically, House Lentithe is now one of the most ardent, if secret, supporters of a republican revival, a sentiment likely driven by its utter loathing for House Samelrand.

Heiro House Clementine
House Clementine remained true to the Chosen Zadkiel, and was one of the initial Patrician families, but voluntarily rescinded its title following independence. It is one of the most respected Noble Houses in the Correctional Zone, and its members are known for their moral "uprightness," giving its words weight far beyond the house's modest wealth and power. Clementine holds title over Theta Ward in the Coreve Occupation District, which is a hotbed of rebellion due to the house's perhaps ill-advised soft touch. The spirited Clementine cadet house Emeraldine is tied by marriage to House Archangeli, and the fate of the Lady Aster Emerald-Archangeli has driven a wedge between the house and the Chosen.

The Empyrean Church

Church of Liah

Church of Leliel

Church of Auriel

Church of Zadkiel

Heretics and Infidels

Memnites

Astrana

Entelism

The Perithelians

The Pleb Street

25th Libra
25th Libra is a fast growing global revolutionary movement. It traces its genesis back three hundred years, to a series of books by Mikaelan Librarian Lara Sullivan called "The Bridge of Time." The books presented an alternate past, present and future for Arth, each without the Chosen, and indirectly showed their malignant influence through the comparison, although the Chosen are never mentioned directly in the novels. The books were immediately suppressed, but gave rise to a number of underground movements which stubbornly resisted the efforts of the Chosen to completely stamp them out. Finally, with the Silent War and the fall of the Chosen the various movements have started to coalesce under the banner of the "25th Libra movement" - the day the Ascended Isles Fell. 25th Libra calls for the people of the world to throw off the shackles of the Chosen and unite to build a better future. In CZ Central, 25th Libra generally preaches peaceful change, and the creation of a new, stronger and fairer Republic.

The Red Brigades
Named after the Red Hand, a violent pleb movement which murdered several Nobles in the Araden Protectorate Zone two hundreds years ago, the Red Brigades demand violent revolution. From a platform of equality, they preach that the plebs will only be free when all those with unequal advantages - the Nobles and the Constructed Races among them - are overthrown. Many low ranking citizens and pleb soldiers from the days of the Republic, believing themselves betrayed by the nobility, have joined the ranks of the Brigades, making them a formidable military force.

The Drummers

The Drummers are the radical arm of the Red Brigades, responsible for various acts of terrorism across CZ Central, and the Correctional Zone at large. They preach a particularly apocalyptic version of the Red Brigades' ideology of violent change, including not just the overthrow but the complete extermination of all those of Noble blood.

The Street Gangs

The West Side Monsters
The West Side Monsters mainly operate in the Tellen Occupation District on the east side of CZ Central. Their name comes from CZ Central's location at the west end of the Tellen Occupation Zone, and the gang has a presence throughout several of its cities. In CZ Central it numbers about 1,500 members. It is run by Artemis Hougan, a massive man half muscle and half machine. Hougan is supposedly a veteran first of the War, and then of Megus experiments to help him recover from his wounds. The Monsters are known to be an egalitarian lot, and include elves, goblins and ogres as well as Rafaelans, Mikaelans, and even Jibrilites in their numbers. They also perform extreme body modifications, starting with tattoos and going up from there.The sign of the Monsters is three sylized claws, and their gang sign is two crooked fingers.

The Monsters dabble in all forms of criminality, but most of their income comes from illicit drugs, which they smuggle into the city from several grow ops in the Tellen Zone countryside. Aside from that, they are known to be particularly violent, and are not above hiring out as muscle for a little cash on the side. They are rumoured to have an arrangement with House Megus, where Megus gets to test some of its more esoteric technologies on their members, and those members who survive the process get to keep the tech.

Lunar Crew
The Lunar Crew are an elven gang based in the ring wall slums of the Coreven Occupation District, particularly West Park and Firion Park, and with a presence througout the Endus Occupation District. The gang numbers 3,000 - all elves - and is run by an inner circle called the Winter Council. Although Artemis Crimsene has been publicly associated with Crew, the Council denies any involvement with that stylish masked outlaw. The Lunar Crew's sign is Luna's Eye - four lens shapes interlinked in a cross pattern. It is common for the gang to enchant these signs with various spell effects, often to warn them of trespassers.

The purpose of the Lunar Crew is the preservation of elven lives and culture. The gang smuggles elven refugees in from the other district, and then out to the northern Coreven Zone. It has several arrangements with northern landowners to provide cheap labourers, and also receives remittances from those it has saved. It supplements this income with theft and burglary, gaining for itself a deserved reputation as a pack of thieves.

Recently the Lunar Crew has entered into an arms length, informal arrangement with House Lentithe. The two previously had an "understanding" where Lentithe would look the other way as the Crew smuggled refugees through its Ward. Lenthithe has expanded this arrangement, and is paying the Crew to report on events within Ward 6. This corresponds to a falling out between Lunar Crew and Nexlexis. The two gangs were allies in the past, but are becoming increasingly hostile to each other.

Legio XIII
The 13th Legion professes to be the remnants of the Republican Legion of the same name. It's leader styles himself "Legate Cordinal Catarian", and operates out of the Scarlet Street area of Ward 5. The Legion is the smallest of the major gangs in the city, with only 500 core members (although it claims its strength is 6,000), however it is known to possess some quantities of old Republic ZEN-Tek, making it a force to be reckoned with.

The Legion sustains itself mainly through "taxation" or wide ranging protection and shakedown rackets. It is mostly ignored by the Constabulary who do not have enough firepower to willingly enter a fight with the group. Whether the 13th Legion is actually heir to the Rebublican brigade of the same name is an open question, however the group does not profess loyalty to the General Staff, and appears to have long forgotten any ideals it once defended.

Burnt Cannibals
The Burnt Cannibals are the bogey men that mothers in CZ Central use to terrify their children with if they don't go to bed at the Codex approved time. The exact size of the group is unknown, but they are suspected to number at least 1,000 members throughout the city. Their leader is Artemis Blaize, who is rumoured to be either an immortal Rafealan Witch, an Imperial Zenith Sorceress, or maybe a dragon, who settled in Prion city prior to the Correction, and awakened and angered by its destruction. Members of the Cannibals wear little if any clothing, have smouldering skin and eyes like burning coals, and have Aether auras like infernos that seethe with power and rage.

The Cannibals do exactly as their name suggests, prowling the streets of the slums and the undercity after dark, and dragging off the unwary to be devoured. The members of the gang have sworn themselves to Blaize for some hellish pact of power that only the insane or desperate would consider. Although Artemis Blaize can be negotiated and bargained with she is untrustworthy, and the authorities long since gave up trying. Instead they bent their efforts to wiping her and her twisted cult out. Prior to the Silent War they had mostly succeeded, although Blaize herself remained at large. In the past six months though, the gang has seen a resurgence, and once more Blaize's Cannibal acolytes stalk CZ Central.

Nexlexis
Nexlexis is the largest street gang in CZ Central. It is run by Artemis Frost, who claims to be a bastard daughter of House Arhyna, and has gathered a coterie of bastards and exiles around her, as well as an army of plebs. All told Nexlexis numbers around 5,000 core members spread mostly throughout the Endus District. Frost runs the gang with a mixture of charm and violence - she and many of her lieutenants are skilled Magi, using a mix of Jibrilite and Rafaelan arts. Their gang sign is crossed index fingers, and their symbol is a stylized X.

Nexlexis runs entertainment houses in every Ward of the city, at which gambling, prostitution, and banned entertainments are conducted. It also runs protection rackets and slum tenements in the areas it controls, and traffics in illegal drugs and restricted goods. Nexlexis also dabbles in kidnapping and human smuggling on the side. Nexlexis does most of its public activities under the auspices of Nexen Corp (logo: neXen), a supposedly above board service provider, headquartered in Ward 6's inner ring "Red Light" district.

Nexlexis is known to have contacts with several Noble families, including Samelrand, Arhyna, and Megus. It also has numerous individual nobles who it has made contact with through its entertainment houses, and many that it can call on for favours, or just blackmail. Due to its penetration of the Constabulary, Nexlexis is all but immune from conventional prosecution, and it takes pains to remain useful to the various Crusader factions. It has recently received an influx of funds from an unknown source, and is expanding its efforts into construction and infrastructure, often using cheap labour borrowed or redirected from the Enlightenment Camps in Ward 6.

The Republic

Anthem of the Republic - "The Call of Elysium"

Prion in Exile - The General Staff
The General Staff are the military leadership of the republic who never surrendered. The Chief of Staff is Marshal Akalis (a nom de guerre to protect his identity), and until recently they were located deep within the Mikaelan interior, sheltered by the Library to evade Chosen hunters. Rumour is that since the Fall, the General Staff has sent senior representatives back to Eleutheria, with Captain General Medira rumoured to have been sent to Prion City itself. Contacting the General Staff is difficult, but they are always looking to regather the forces of the Republic, and will offer aid to those who swear themselves to its cause - that of a restored Republic.

Patrician House Castellum
House Castellum is one of three surviving Patrician families that refused to swear loyalty to the Chosen following the Correction. The house mainly operates in the Telloren Occupational Zone, and supposedly has several hidden caches of ZEN-Tek weaponry scattered on various islands throughout Deception Strait. It funds the remnants of three Republic Legions, VI, IX, and XXV

Patrician House Elysenium
House Elysenium no longer exists as it did in the days of the Republic. The house was effectively exterminated in a final suicidal attack on the Chosen Leliel. It's banner has been taken up by several plebes who claim to be illegitimate bastards of its rather prolific First Prince, the legendary Ryzard Arhyn-Elysenium, the Lion of Acheron. Under this banner the polyglot Legio XXI continues to fight on in the countryside of the Enduscare Occupation Zone.

Patrician House Luciani
House Luciani is not technically a Patrician house, being formed of exiled remnants of House Archangeli. It is sometimes referred to as fallen-Archangeli. Although the smallest by far of the three surviving Patrician Houses. Rumour says it maintains the elite Legio I "Invictus" hidden somewhere in the north of the country.

The Library
The Library, or the Great Library, is one of the oldest institutions on Arth, despite the Chosen's attempts to destroy it. The Library maintains the history of Arth, as it was before the Chosen sought to rewrite it. The library also records events as they happen and adds them to its volumes, all of which are banned by the Chosen, and anyone caught reading them can potentially face severe penalties. The Library has no one central location, operating instead out of many distributed locations that continually reprint and republish its old works. Most of the Library's work is concentrated on the continent of Mikaela, although it does maintain a large repository in the Zenith Empire, which serves as insurance the total destruction of its works.

ZEN-Tek LLC
ZEN-Tek is a shadowy and mysterious company that is best known for its extremely advanced "electrotech" weapons. ZEN-Tek came to prominance in the early years of the Eluetherian Republic, when its weapons flooded the Republic's Army. The exact source of these weapons remains a mystery, even after the War and subsequent Occupation. Some have theorized that the Chosen Zadkiel developed them so as to give his people a means of defense independent from the Chosen-controlled Thaumatech. Despite the ruthless lethality of their armaments, anyone reading the pictographic ZEN-Tek operating manuals is left with the distinct impression that, whoever they are, ZEN-Tek isn't taking this all completely seriously. The booklets feature the exploits of exaggerated cartoon characters, like the overeager Lt Grass and the portly Sgt Fingus, and contain more puns than a stage full of goblin comedians. Regardless, ZEN-Tek remains fully committed to the Republic and the only a handful of captured weapons have seen service in the hands of Crusaders. After several high profile cases of sabotage, leading to the deaths of senior Crusade officers who took ZEN-Tech weapons as trophies, the Chosen issued a general edict against the practice, and now all captured weapons are turned over to the Church for destruction.

The City of CZ Central

Ward 2 is home to the House Lyris, which is basically just a puppet for the Tellen Crusade, being gutted of power

Knight's Bastion is the site of the temple to Auriel

Squall Rise has a most excellent restaurant with fabulous lemon crepes.

Ward 3 (Gamma Ward) is the sector of House Arhyna.

Touph Street is outer slums and red light districts, including the extremely popular (among young female nobles) nightclub Meat Market.

Balamb Gardens is the grounds for House Arhyna's sprawling mansion complex.

Ward 4 is the sector of House Megus.

Ward 6 is host to the concentration camps and has mostly been bulldozed flat.

Samelrand Spire is accessible by the Cross-City Link Line.

Ward 7

Yojimbo Avenue is where Jonas has his secret base inside a warehouse

Ward 8 is the sector of House Clementine, and their cadet house, House Emeraldine.

Emerald Road is the grounds for Emeraldine's mansion

North of the City is Mirune Bay, currently unpleasantly icy.

Greg's crashed stratodyne is partially buried in the mud bordering the bay and is reachable by a dirt path or boat.

Republican Districts in the time of the former Republic the Wards were know as districts and had names...

Ward 0 was known as the Capitoline District

Ward 1 was known as the Pincian District

Ward 2 was known as the Vatican District

Ward 3 was known as the Aventine District

Ward 4 was known as the Caelian District

Ward 5 was known as the Viminal District

Ward 6 was known as the Esquiline District

Ward 7 was known as the Quirinal District

Ward 8 was known as the Palatine District

Characters

The Lord General's Staff

Lord General Marianne Saint-Just
Captain Caspar Saint-Just
CZ Chief Thaumatech Giannina "Nina" Megus
Cardinal of Liah, High Priestess Joanna Alisandre

CZ Central Authorities
Peace Marshal Spartus Venamus
Chief Inspector Renton Scarbrough

The Street

Artemis Crimsene
Artemis Frost
Legate Cordinal Catarian
Chey Hexum
Solomon Dior
Philo Marks
Malarkey
Niskeneskie
Delray
Malaika, Fate's Hand

Wild Cards

Captain Jericho Lander
Radachel Kezmet

Artemis Blaize

Heiro House Clementine and Allies

Cordelia Clementine
Moira Clementine
Loran Clementine
Hazel Emeraldine
Lily Emeraldine
Aster Emererald-Archangeli

Tellen District Nobles
Lieutenant General Roald Janvier
Wren Arhyna
Gideon Taiani
Bishop of Auriel - Priestess Ailena Tiadalos

Endus District Nobles
Lord General Chesne Du-Blessed
Ingria Samelrand
Axelle Venamus
Aeternia Lentithe
Cordinal of the Cross Maiden DuThaire
Cordinal Kiera Dellarme, an auburn haired woman who would be stunningly beautiful if not for the livid half-healed laser scar marring the left side of her jaw.

There's also Knight Marshal Hellicia Lusaine, a very pale woman with ruby red lips and a halo of red hair wearing the short elbow length crimson half cape of the custos knights. The Endus temple troops. She'd be in command of the local garrison

The corpse pale Axelle Venamus, the only representative of the local house cadet forces here. Lady Venamus has a mass of green hair floating about her like she's underwater and a cold artificial beauty that can only come from mimesis praxi.

Stock Mooks and Characters

Constabular Gendarme
Constabular Officer
Constabular Inspector
Constabular Sheriff

Crusade Armsman
Crusade Officer
Crusade Cleric

Gigganger Cogmek

Legionary Veteran
Legionary Recruit

Military Forces in CZ Central

CZ Central is a large city of nearly 10 million people (although half the population it contained as Prion City) split into four occupation districts. One district for each of the occupying Chosen Dominions, and then a central Unity District. The City has many armed military forces, including the three Dominion Crusade armies, the city Constabulary, Noble House Cadet Guards, as well as various gangs, and the resistance forces. The resistance forces themselves are scattered between local forces, revolutionary movements, and the Army of the Republic, which are the remnant forces of the Republican Legions.

The Crusaders
The Crusaders are not a unified force, with divisions apparent and growing between the forces in the three Occupation Districts. There are reports of clashes between the various Dominion forces out in the Zones as they scuffle over increasingly limited resources, although open fighting has not (yet) broken out in CZ Central itself.

A full strength foot brigade is 5,000 soldiers with 250 Autoclaires. A full strength wing brigade is 3,000 soldiers with 100 Autoclaires and 250 Arthrodynes. Numbers given below are for establishment but most formations will be below these numbers due to attrition and detachments.

The Coreve Crusade 13,000 soldiers, in two foot brigades (117th "Inexorable", 192nd "Delight of Liah"), and one wing brigade (915th "Day of Truth - The Lord General's Own")

Based at Highwind (117th), Western Heights(192nd), and the Aerostat Port (915th)

Another 5 foot brigades and 2 wing brigades deployed in the northern Zone

Coreve equipment is dominated by large rounded plates and smooth, sleek edges. It tends to be simpler and more functional in appearance than that of most other Jibrilite dominions, but with extremely large and prominently displayed weapon mounts. Coreve colors are blue and gold on white or silver.

The Tellen Crusade 8,000 soldiers, in one foot brigade (332nd "Rebuke in Anger") and one wing brigade (1055th "Terrible Swift Sword")

Based at Hartilly Hill (332nd) and Knight's Bastion (1055th)

Another 4 foot brigades deployed in the eastern Zone

Tellen equipment is baroque and highly stylized, with semi-archaic looking designs sporting an excess of filigree and statuary. It is generally considered to be the "classic" appearance for Jibrilite equipment. It tends to be larger than similar equipment from other Jibrilite dominions. Tellen colors are gold, yellow and white.

The Endus Crusade 20,000 soldiers, in four foot brigades (522nd "Leliel Ascends", 510th "Deliverance," 601st "Smite All Falsehood", 677th "As is Just")

Based at Adaman Lookout (522nd), Gau Rise (601st) and Zeta Camp (510th, 677th)

Another 4 foot brigades and 2 wing brigades in the western zone - word is that in early Aries the 557th was badly mauled in a fight with unknown invaders out west by Tremscare Point

Endus equipment is sharp and pointed, having many flat planes brought together at angles. In some cases it can be difficult to see the true shape of the equipment and looking at it too long can strain the eye. Endus colors are red on black, often with motes of light like stars floating within.

The Constabulary
The Crusaders mainly operate from large fortified camps. The Constabulary keep day to day order on the streets. About 2/3rds of them are from the Jibril Dominions, the other 1/3rd are local recruits. There are about 70,000 Constables spread over the 8 wards and the Unity District. The Constabulary maintain checkpoints, investigate crimes, and keep order. They will only deploy in large numbers for incidences of social unrest, with most of these riot forces coming from the Unity District. These days they will more commonly deploy large stego lizard cavalry rather than Autoclaires and Arthrodynes due to supply shortages.

Unity District - 18,000

Ward 1 - 6,000

Ward 2 - 5,000

Ward 3 - 7,000

Ward 4 - 6,000

Ward 5 - 4,000

Ward 6 - 15,000

Ward 7 - 3,000

Ward 8 - 6,000

House Cadet Guards
Traditionally Noble Houses of Jibril maintain small "cadet" forces to see to their own security and train the next generation of noble officers. These forces tend to be small but of high quality and heavy on Thaumatech and Clerical support. Carefully and suspiciously reconstructed after the War, most of the Cadet Guards of CZ Central fall far below the Jibrilite ideal, as far as quality is concerned.

Although peace still prevails between the Crusade forces, open fighting has broken out between the Guards of houses Samelrand and Lentithe on several occasions, with additional proxy conflicts between the street gangs Nexlexi and Lunar Crew likely working in contract for the two houses. Several members of House Sentonius have also been murdered by Samelrand, and House Arhyna is also under investigation by the Constabulary for a series of raids into CZ Central against armament storehouses of House Archangeli.

House Archangeli - 500 elite guards, superbly equipped and trained, essentially all transplanted Coreven cadets from Coreve houses Ingram, Saint-Anzeray, and de Chalice.

House Aikenrand - 200 elite guards.

House Lyris - 200 militia, poorly trained but with a great deal of heart.

House Arhyna - 100 guards (declared), rumoured to have many more, suspected to be funneling soldiers to the resistance.

House Megus - 100 elite sguards, heavy on the Thaumatech

House Sentonius - 200 civic militia, unarmed and used for shit duties. Literally.

House Samelrand- 5,000 guards, equivalent to a poorly equipped foot brigade, justified for work in the camps

House Lentithe - 2,000 militia - declared - rumoured to be much larger due to conflict with Samelrand

House Clementine - 100 elite guards, well equipped with Auroclaires

Known Resistance Forces

Legio X "Sum Umbra," The Ghosts - 100 elite scouts, 900 militia cadre, the remnants of the Republic Army's 10th Legion, which, along with most of the army, never actually surrendered. Nevertheless, very little remains of the original 6,000 men of the Legion. The Ghosts have enough old republic weapons to arm 100 men, but little ammunition or replaceable power cells for them. They also have an additional 900 cadre militia recruited since the end of the war, and armed with stolen Crusader weapons. The core of the Ghosts all hardened veterans of the Long War, and are man for man a match for any force in the city, save perhaps the Archangeli House Guards and Alpha Company of the Lord General's Own. Nevertheless, they will need additional men and supplies if they intend to have a larger impact on events in CZ Central.

Chapters

Prologue
Prologue I: "A bold young man, and a worthy enemy." (Shrike, Lokar)
Prologue II: "A good ship late of a bad cause." (FBH, Ent)
Chapter 1 - The Last Dance
Session I: "A glittering battlefield." (Shrike, Lokar, Ent, Silence)
Session II: "Truth disguised as prophecy." (FBH, Lokar, Ent, Silence)
Session III "My distant love, unto death." (Lokar)
Session IV: "As tricksome a devil as any." (Shrike)
Chapter 2 - Bloody Hands
Session V: "A bloody hand, and I the arm behind it." (FBH, Silence)
Session VI: "Useful idiots." (FBH)
Session VII "Zadkiel's Legacy." (Ent, Shrike)
Session VIII "Call of the Fox."(Lokar)
Session IX "Thy sword unsheathed - The battle of Scarlet Street." (Lokar, FBH)
Session (Silence)
Chapter 3 - Spark to Flame
Session : (Ent, Shrike)

Miscellanea

• Metatron Form: One-liners and combat banter
• Liah Form: Melee skill, emphasis on duels and 'honorable' bladecrossing
• Mariel Form: Thaumaturgy