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Chapter One
The fall of the Geralis Dynasty in 251 AL, though thought overdue by some scholars and long expected by all, struck a crushing blow to Ivalice, its death throes undoing decades of the progress that had been made towards the eventual destruction of the Lucavi hordes that besieged the peoples of Ivalice and Ordalia. The Ieyasu line of Gallione was destroyed in the same supernova of blood and violence that consumed the royal family, eliminating the last two remotely stable regional governments left in Ivalice – Lionel’s chain of succession had been broken more than two decades ago in the region-wide rioting that erupted between Royalists and Secessionists in 230, Fovoham had not had any government at all since Velius’ arrival in 190, and Zeltennia’s government had been subverted by the Ordalian Trade Company in 231 upon the death of the first, last, and only Duke to rule the province since the opening of the Lenthora on Nelveska Island. Limberry and Murond carried on as they had ever since the first wave of Lucavi attacks – uninhabited, save for the wandering demons and burning evils ensconced within.
Ordalia’s monarchy had dissolved itself after the Ordalian Trade Company repossessed the palace and government complexes in Bura in 214 in lieu of massive debts owed to the monstrous corporation, leaving the people leaderless and confused. No provincial governor could legally or forcibly step up to manage the affairs of the empire due to the breakdown of the powerful regional governments that had always existed in Ivalice. The Ordalian Trading Company became the sole power in Ordalia, consuming that which it fancied and leveling all else, even forcing the Faran Church to abandon its claim to the ancient temples and shrines of Bura. Its Director, Vladimir Orenkov, its Vice-Director, Reupeurl Valaim, and its most senior department chairs, Fearghas Percival and Reyes Ventera, consolidated their holds on Ordalia’s surface and underground equally tightly, teaching the impoverished people the true meaning of greed.
Duma, the Fallen Angel of Limberry and self-proclaimed Lord of Humanity, took advantage of the chaos to expand his own influence, using the demon-worshippers of the Rotted Tree Brotherhood to infiltrate human society and break it down even further, until eventually the last vestiges of centralized government faded away and humanity was reduced to living in isolated villages, haunted by ignorance of one another and fear of the demons that roamed the countryside at will. In this miserable night, while Duma exulted in the zenith of his might and grim majesty, the scions of mankind rose up to challenge him for the mastery of earth.
The bastions of faith in the east and west, the Faran and Victorian Churches, rose up to encourage the downtrodden people of Ordalia and Ivalice to live on, to continue their existence even in the face of despair – for all was not lost. The leaders of the churches, Matriarch Suri Orellon and High Priest Tariel Graelin, exhorted the people to rise up and free themselves of the shackles of Lucavi dominion, praising the bold men and women of the Orphan Souls as examples of what humanity could truly do against demonkind. From their now aged seat of power in Orbonne, the Victorian faith, protected by the devout Shrine Knights lead by Jeri Adonis, seek to bring peace to their war-weary masses, and deliver them from the Lucavi threat as unscathed as possible. Tariel Graelin has turned to Razmus Tyrani, leader of the Witch Hunters, and to Jeri Adonis to track down the Lucavi, and deliver divine justice. Meanwhile, Matriarch Suri Orellon strives to reunite the Ordalians under the Faran faith, and provide them with a semblence of structure and order that has been vacant since the Ordalian Trading Company so wantonly robbed them of their kingdom, and national identity.
Led by the young Damien Beoulve and the wizened Victor Rastenvaugh, the Orphan Souls fought tooth and nail against Duma and the Lucavi, engaging in warfare against the menace even at the foot of the Tempora itself, defying terror and death to strike out against the Lucavi from their home base of Bervenia. Viewed by many humans as modern day saints, the Orphan Souls have firmly aligned with the side of righteousness, and struggle and toil to end the twisted reign of Duma in Limberry, then all Lucavi who dare stride across the Ivalician plane of existence.
Inspired by the words of the preachers, the people of Bethla, who had been fearful of Lucavi’s wrath ever since they had established their village in the wreckage of the once-mighty fortress, named Desmond O’Fara II their Protector-For-Life. O’Fara, though a Faran (as his name might suggest) was welcomed by the people, who believed it was about time to stand up to the demons that hemmed them in on all sides.
The rest of the people of Ivalice, too, rallied behind the words of the High Priest, establishing military orders known as the Shrine Knights and the Witch Hunters. The Grand Templar of the Shrine Knights, a devout Victorian named Jeri Adonis, proved himself a hero through his deeds of valor against Lucavi in defense of humanity and his devotion to the High Priest, while the shadowy leader of the Witch Hunters, Razmus Tyrani, destroyed the fallen and the corrupted wherever they might be found, putting her in direct competition with Duma’s top lieutenant, Ondar Selkis, the sorcerer of pure darkness.
In Dorter, near the beloved headquarters of the Victorian Church at Orbonne, Seymour Lorenen used his golden tongue and fiery devotion to Saint Victor to install himself as Patriarch of a new hard-line Victorian theocracy, to the applause of the people. Under his rule, Dorter became a “city on a hill,” a beacon of hope to the downtrodden – but a dark omen to those who feared for their civil liberties and personal freedoms.
Evelain, too, became the home of a zealous preacher-governor. Damaso Devereux, the hereditary lord of the city, was once an idle playboy and corrupt politician, but he became a devout and upstanding Victorian after a large Lucavi attack woke him to the true dangers of life in Ivalice. Now, inspired by his faith and his revered Sacred Well, he shepherds his people and pursues his dream to eradicate the Lucavi.
The death of Eiji Ieyasu in 251 left a vast power vacuum in the splinter province of Igros - one that was eventually filled, after a long struggle, by the Rayris family. The current ruler, Verim Rayris, believes that Saint Victor has blessed his regime, and he quickly hearkened to High Priest Graelin’s words, though perhaps took them a bit too far in his establishment of Victorianism as the preferred religion in Igros.
In the city of Zarghidas, rebuilt after the depredations of the two-century-long Undead War, the manipulative young Frederik Barsoom took the power out of the hands of the people and into his own through a combination of cleverness, bribery, and intimidation, his People’s Guard thugs ensuring that his authoritarian, devoutly Victorian reign is accepted by the cowed, brutalized commoners without question.
The followers of the Victorian Church, however, were not the only people of the afflicted lands to rise up against the shadow of Lucavi that has fallen across the continent. Farans, atheists, and pagans of all varieties made showings against the blight as well, across the lands
In the ancient city of Deloro, a devout Faran named Vagrius Asmardi rose to power by the force of his determination and thirst for revenge against the demons that killed his family and friends long ago. His White Order became a force to be feared in Ordalia, eventually claiming the lordship of their base city. Now, Asmardi the Crusader prepares himself to launch the final campaign against the darkness in Ordalia.
The Poorport Clan, an extremely extended family of adherents to the radical Faran Yudoranist movement, took control of the town of Bariaus, causing all power in the city to be concentrated into the hands of the Clan and its leader, Penovi Kiku Poorport. The Ivalician, predominantly Victorian people of Bariaus live in fear of their radical government, which, for its part, regards the people with a sort of genial indifference.
From the ashes of war-torn Lionel’s once-proud capital city, Konrad von Duhreg de Fabérzgé-Dionathan, distant descendant of the famously bellicose Marshall Leon Dionathan, built a community based on the principles of militarism, chivalry, and atheism. Dionathan has boldly separated himself from the Victorian Church due to his family’s ancient grudge, showing his determination to defeat the Lucavi his own way.
Ever since the bloody battle between the forces of Prince Zayin and Archduke Nobuhide that decided the fate of the West in the cold November of 173, the people living around Fort Zeakden have lived in strict military discipline under the direction of a hereditary ruler. The latest of this line, Keilantra Lustiva, has carried on the warlike traditions of her city, to the sole end of annihilating every last one of the Lucavi.
In the war-torn town of Riovanes, the shadow of the Lucavi has been driven away by the grim, overmastering presence of Khanitus Lanaquae, better known as “The Hammer” to friend and foe alike. Lanaquae, a man of few words, became the lord of Riovanes due to his reputation for both valor in war and wisdom in peace. However, his cold ways cause many to consider him nothing more than a barbarian.
In the renowned magical research center of the east, Vaseria, an unprecedented new form of government rose up, a magocracy led by Romera Asch, a woman of frail health and sharp intellect. Her parents had dominated the city’s Council of High Mages alongside Romera before being assassinated in a gruesome fashion, and their deaths gave their daughter the chance she needed to become the sole ruler of Vaseria.
Meanwhile, in the prominent Faran center of Kaldemar, a surprisingly nonpartisan ruler, Lady Kairi Okazaki, took up the city’s governance following her unanimous nomination by the city’s ten most powerful noble families. She is a peace-loving ruler, and has the peoples’ best interests at heart, but her socially progressive policies have alienated her from the wealthy nobles who crowned her in the first place.
Such were the conditions of the world in 312, Anno Leoni. They would not remain so for long.
Probably on Sabbatical
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