I’ve had a break. I was drifting around with not much on the mind, so I thought, “Why not fake some lore?” So here it is.
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Duelyst: Factions
A little piece based on our beloved factions and the interplay between them.
The short of it is that Lyonar and Vetruvian are the two major opposing players in the politics of Eyos, trying to gain any advantage possible over the other. Lyonar believe in the Ancient Order of light and healing, while Vetruvian have eschewed religious tradition for excellence in technology with the use of their dervish workforce.
Songhai are a land held together by fiefs pledging allegiance to the major Houses, and has a free-trade relationship with both Lyonar and Vetruvian, as both factions use assassins to ‘resolve’ their differences with the other. There is often a purpose of business-over-enmity in the work of the Songhai. Vanar mostly keep to themselves behind the high mountains, but recently they have gained enough confidence to start challenging the power of the other factions, and are not above using underhanded aggressive methods to gain a foothold in the center of Eyos.
The Magmar are a race of half-dinosaurs that were created by the mysterious discharge of a magic-powered meteor that crashed in the sparsely inhabited jungle regions. They have little knowledge of the existing civilization, but want to start out expanding friendly relations with anyone that can help them stabilise their abundant natural resources. The Abyssian Host are a collection of otherworldly beings that are formed from the soul remnants of the deceased that were originally given the task of maintaining the path between life and death – but due to rampant corruption, decadence and lack of respect to their sacred task were punished to spend time in the mortal land of Eyos until they realised the error of their ways.
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Religious and Political Structure
Lyonar –
Monarchy supported by religious heads, Rulers are chosen by the Ancient Ones, Argeon the current Ruler wants to unite the whole Eyos under the banner of Lyonar, whatever it may take to achieve it.
Vetruvian –
A body composed of laissez-faire city-states and territories, the land where religion is not valued at all and as such the largest provider of bio-mechanical adaptations to the mortal population of Eyos.
Songhai –
Feudal territories under administration of the Four major Houses, some in-fighting, little trust between the Houses but they co-exist due to the insurmountable loss of revenue that will come with a fight.
Vanar –
Matriarchal society, men generally expected to do menial jobs and make weaponry while the women use those weapons, tame creatures of war and learn destructive magic from the schools of Ice and Chaos.
Magmar –
'Family comes first' way of living where Silithars are looked after by egg-laying Elders who are selected by the meteor fragments, 'Chrysalis' is worshipped and egg sacrifices are made to appease it.
Abyssian –
The 'Holy Sharian Order' conducts all contact with factions, the 'Shadow Elect' is the leader but rarely shows themselves, very religious and severe punishments meted out for perceived infractions.
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Currently
Argeon aims to influence the Magmar to join his cause and banner, sending his trusted Lyonar Lobbyist with an offer they should not be able to refuse – the sharing of the powers of the Keeper of the Vale. With his self-proclaimed righteous retribution, he will stop at nothing. His right hand man Z’ir supports his every decision without question.
Zirix aims to influence Magmar too, but by offering vast Dervish workforces to construct cities for the Silithars. He faces opposition from the Howlers and the Weavers, who oppose this immoral use of dervishes. Zirix knows that the worst is yet to come, though, as he commissions the use of mind control and mass hypnosis techniques in stark opposition to the old order.
Kaleos, from the House of the Black Monk, is considered the most skilled of the four House Leaders. His latest assignment leads him to reconsider his stance of ignoring the Vanar, as word on the road is that they have discovered something important. Vipers and Bladeseekers are also competing for this knowledge – and Kaleos knows all too well that information is the best currency he can get.
Faie has also learnt of the new-found sentience of the half-dinosaurs, and she knows that they can prove to be excellent workhorses for her plans, which include defeating the Lyonar and assimilating the Trade Imperium into the Vanar Lands. Knowing that the Magmar are being given many friendly alliances, she thinks it might be better to launch an unexpected assault on the SIlithars to weaken and conquer them.
Lilithe knows her work is cut out for her – years of ‘observation’ still remain before she may take her rightful place in the Sharian Order again. She remembers that before she died, she was a Songhai assassin and revisits some places from her past. Upon realising that her death was planned and executed by Vanar agents on the order of Faie, Lilithe feels a strong urge to serve Faie a cold, cold dish.
Vaath wants to protect both his new understanding of the world and his people. With a formidable army, but with relatively little technology or constructive magic, the Magmar are still feeling their way through life in a world so different to the caverns and craters. While currently considering offers of alliance from Lyonar and Vetruvian, he knows that other unknown threats lurk in this land of Eyos for the Magmar.
FIN
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So there we have it. Duelyst, with a healthy dose of plot, intrigue and other things – even revenge – included. There’s even a potential line of thought where it turns out Argeon and Faie were romantically involved but due to some misunderstanding on Faie’s part they broke up cue Timbaland apologising and this led to a rift between the two factions.
We’ll leave that as non-canon for now. Comment if you like it, throw ideas at me and tell me if you found this totally uninspiring so I can work on it 
zyxthezyx 