Ruin's Gate 59: In the Wrong Hands

From A Glossary of the People, Places, and Events of Alkyon Monarchism— Though relatively uncommon across the states of Alkyon, hereditary monarchism has been the governmental system of Denoria for just over 700 years. As more of the nations of Alkyon became tributary states to the Kingdom, the power and reach of the monarch grew—but as it did, so too did the popular disapproval of the monarchical system. Nevertheless, true monarchists are common across Denoria proper, particularly among the upper classes and local government of many of its towns and cities, who deal most closely with the Denorian royal family. This week, on The Stormwrought Shores, Dark Dealings, part 1

In the year 5783, after more than forty long and brutal years of war, the land called Canoria became a duchy of the Kingdom of Denoria. Thanks to its advantageous positioning, cut off from Denoria's influence by the estuaries of the Canorain Sea to the north and the Southern Bulwarks to the west, Canorai had historically retained its independence from the expanding empire for some time. And when the soldiers finally came, the war was not so easily won. From the heart of the Canorain swampland, a resistance force emerged. Bands of Canorain guerilla fighters across the southern part of the continent worked together to stave off the Denorian invasion for decades, a series of sharp thorns in the side of the empire's expansion efforts. Now, is the year 5782. What some, today, call the Dusk of Canorai, the waning moments of resistance against that grueling war. The Canorain forces have diminished, dwindled to a single squad still holding out against the Denorian army deep in the southern swamps. As history tells us, they are doomed to lose this war within the year. But what else will they lose? And what will they save, along the way? This week, on The Stormwrought Shores, The Canorain Dusk.

From A Glossary of the People, Places, and Events of Alkyon City Watch— Most settlements on the continent have found some way to defend themselves from outside threats, and those of significant size often employ a militia commonly called a City Watch or Guard. Watch members are usually trained and outfitted by the city and funded via taxation. Depending on local politics, the Watch may function as public peacekeepers or more as a private mercenary force for the wealthy and influential. While their authority is more or less complete, a Watch's jurisdiction rarely extends beyond city walls or nearby outlying farms.

From A Glossary of the People, Places, and Events of Alkyon Arcana— The collective term for magical and magically enhanced artifacts, equipment, and substances. Arcana range from the simple, such as a basic potion (see "Alchemy"), to the legendary, such as a powerful and storied armament (see "The Wall of Denoria"). Throughout the history of the Stormwrought Shores, arcana of all varieties have been crafted, discovered, lost, found, destroyed, and transformed—and their use and misuse have been both boon and bane to hero, cause, and empire.

From A Glossary of the People, Places, and Events of Alkyon The Canorain Dawn—A loose assemblage of Canorain insurgents, primarily based in the city of Kebla. The Canorain Dawn carries out guerilla protests and attacks against the Denorian government and those Denorian citizens who came to Canorai in the wake of the territory's 5783 annexation (see "The Annexation of Canorai"). Their symbol, a simple insignia of a rising sun in red paint, is often found in back alleys and on abandoned buildings in the seedier parts of Kebla. Their size is unknown, but Denorian authorities maintain it is a disorganized group of upstarts that will soon be no more than an unpleasant memory.