Background
Salvar is the vast northern region of Althanas, populated mostly by humans. Most of its southern border is shared with the dark elven nation of Alerar, although it has a very small border with Raiaera in the southeast. Oceans lie to its east and west and to the north is Berevar, the unexplored arctic region of Althanas. While Salvar is known for its vast pine forests, snow-laden landscapes and jagged mountains, its south is made up of temperate river-lands suited to agriculture. It is an ancient region with a troubled history, rife with treachery and magic. The region has become well-known for the imperial ambitions of its monarchy and military and its dangerous, powerful state church.
Salvar's government is fairly complex--centered in the sprawling, ancient city of Knife's Edge, it is composed of the monarchy and the state church. The monarch, currently King Iorlan Rahaxea, technically wields ultimate power over all of Salvar. He appoints nobles to rule over the city/town-fiefdoms of Salvar and its rural, agricultural estates. Salvar's national army and navy--which the King is the leader of--make up about half of the country's armed forces, the other half being feudal armies of nobles sworn to follow the King. The center of the monarch's power in Knife's Edge is Castle Rathaxea, within the walled inner district of the city.
Salvar's state church, the Church of the Ethereal Sway, was founded a thousand years ago in order to bring back the enigmatic spirit-rulers that helped guide Salvar to greatness before vanishing. It is lead by the Justice, an office appointed by the King with strong pressure from high-ranking Church officials. The current Justice is Lev Testhan. In addition to providing churches for Salvarans to worship in even the furthest, most remote regions of the nation, the church is a rigid, hierarchically-structured organ of the government designed to make the state run in such a fashion as to call the Ethereal Sway back to Salvar. It accomplishes this by maintaining a staff of highly trained, skilled warrior-priests who specialize in terror, assassination and intelligence gathering--foreign and domestic. The Church also judges all crimes against the state committed by anyone in Salvar. The center of the Church's power in Knife's edge is St. Denebriel's Cathedral.
One of the mechanisms through which the church maintains such strict control is a network of portals. Every church in Salvar--and every town and every rural fief has at least one--is connected to every other church in the realm through a series of portals. These are closed to the public except under exceptional circumstances. The church also maintains a group of aeromancers, sometimes referred to as "weathermen," who help control and ameliorate Salvar's harsh climate.
Denebriel is the most revered Saint in Salvic history, a mysterious and supposedly immortal woman. She is much loved by the people for wisdom, nationalism, and generosity toward the peasantry and workers. Her whereabouts are unknown and no one has seen her for hundreds of years, despite no rumor of her death.
A poor harvest and subsequent food shortages have lead to unrest amongst the rural, agricultural peasants and the city's working class and poor. National troops have been sent by the monarchy to major cities and large and estates to ensure that riots do not break out, but there is a clear sense that many of the soldiers feel they have more in common with the workers and peasants than their royalist officers. In an unusual move that will do nothing to alleviate the current tension gripping Salvar, the Church has officially condemned the deployment of troops. The monarchy, even more unusually, has not yet made a response.
Events
These events will "occur" on October 21st at 12:00 PM EST.
Lev Testhan, the Justice of the Church of the Ethereal Sway, has declared King Iorlan Rathaxea an apostate and the royalist nobility to be a corrupt and treacherous institution. He has excommunicated all royalists and nobles from the Church and called for the peasantry, workers, and common soldiers to join him in destroying the monarchy and nobility in order to establish a just theocratic state. Iorlan Rathaxea has subsequently declared the Church a treacherous organization that has abandoned its ideals and threatens to undermine the peace and security that Salvar has known during the 100-year rule of his dynasty. He has ordered that all churches be raised to the ground and all resisting priests slain.
Riots by peasants and workers have broken out sporadically across Salvar, but they are not yet full-fledged or regime-threatening. In almost all cities and large towns, churches have been burned and most priests killed by a reluctant army. In the countryside, however, the opposite tends to be true. Under the direction of local churches, who managed to use their portals to distribute caches of Aleraran muskets and fine swords, the peasants have staged many successful armed revolts over their noble landlords and military occupies--sometimes common soldiers even deserted their officers in order to fight alongside the peasants.
In Knife's Edge, the capital city, there is a dangerous stalemate. The army has laid siege to St. Denebriel's Cathedral, the national center of the Church, but have been unable to take it due to its fortress-like construction. The priests within the Cathedral have deployed Aleraran cannons against the besieging army and it is rumored that they have called strange and terrible creatures through portals to fight at their sides. The concentration of the army around the Cathedral has allowed large-scale riots by workers and merchants to break out across the city. The largest of these riots is taking place at Ainrekva's Gate, the gate that guards the inner-city wall separating Castle Rathaxea from the rest of the city. It is even rumored that a fierce battle is raging underground between the priests and the army underground, in the tunnels and sewers beneath Knife's Edge.
All of Salvar has been thrown into a state of chaos that hardly anyone would have predicted even twenty-four hours ago. No side has a clear advantage, but it seems will not end without a bloody conflict engulfing the entire nation.
KEY LOCATIONS
Knife's Edge: http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=2476
Rathaxea Square: http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=2480
St. Denebriel's Cathedral: http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=2483
Missions
1) Defend St. Denebriel's Cathedral in Knife's Edge from attacks by the monarchist national army. Attempt to take over other parts of the city if possible.
2) Participate in the mass riot at Ainrevka's Gate (which is, obviously, closed and locked.) If possible, knock in down and storm Castle Rathaxea.
3) In the labyrinthine sewers and tunnels underneath Knife's edge, attempt to navigate your way past soldiers in order to enter key royalist and military installations within in the city undetected. Attempt to take these facilities.
4) Using the caches of Aleraran muskets and weapons and priestly leadership, join in one of the rural peasant revolts--storm the local manor and kill all royalist forces and members the noble family. Attempt to consolidate rule.
5) Under the monarchy's instruction, trains have departed from mountain strongholds on the Knife's Edge-Ettermire Railway, attempting to bring word of the events to Alerar. Intercept the trains in the mountains and destroy them and their passengers.
It should be obvious that these missions are for the Church. If you want to work AGAINST the church and their coup attempt, you may feel free to do the exact opposite of what was described in the above missions. You'll still get all the same rewards and credit. So work for whatever side your character wants to!
You do not need to post here to claim a mission--indeed, anyone can do any of the missions, and each one can be done more than once by any number of people. You may also try to get a group together to have a battle, in which one person tries to achieve on goal while another person is trying to achieve the opposite. If you are doing a mission thread, plus state which number it is in your first post.
Remember, there are "Exemplary Contributor" rewards up for grabs, and missions board posts will go a long way to helping you get some of those rewards!
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