Events
Year One
The once promising trade hub of Beacon suddenly became a small marker on the growing swathe of land being controlled by a ruthless warlord named Kitect. Threatening those he conquered with the possibility of conscription or death, Kitect was able to form a force large enough that he set his eyes on the entire Tekalli Empire. After managing to secure some of the Empire’s northernmost settlements, Kitect found himself unable to progress further into the deep jungles and swamps the Tekalli call home.
For their part, the Tekalli themselves were not able to force Kitect out of their land. It took the betrayal of one of his lieutenants, a woman by the name of Jem, to depose and defeat Kitect. The exact details of Kitect’s fate are disputed with many claiming variations on the tale. But the betrayal is widely accepted to have taken place in the small town of Beacon, of all places. Under Jem’s leadership, Kitect’s former forces abandoned their warlike ways and have slowly dwindled and faded into obscurity.
Year Two
It did not take long for the town of Beacon to once again find itself on the minds of the world at large: A small group of impossibly fit raving cultists calling themselves the “Sons of Vartok” besieged the town in an attempt to gain entrance to the prewar facility located in the settlement, where they claimed they would hear the “Voice of Vartok”. What brought so much clamor far and wide about these cultists was not their ideology nor actions but their methods. They used devices to remotely control swarms of unwitting humans to assault the settlement and force their way into the prewar facility. The Sons were ultimately expelled by the locals through cleverly sabotaging the ventilation system.
While Karst gossiped about the gruesome implications of the Sons of Vartok’s technology, many of the factions at large were seeing turmoil boil over: The Lassano house of the Aldebrandi saw the largest serf rebellion in living memory. Led by a man named Michael Sheriden, who plunged House Lassano into a state of chaos and devastation that it never recovered from and completely erasing it from the political map in the Kingdom. Sheriden ultimately was captured and beheaded by the Aldebrandi Knights in Beacon.
The Cult of Ichitalga underwent a frightening transformation in the Tekalli Empire. They claimed to have uncovered the living embodiment of their god and been granted immeasurable gifts. Seemingly infectious plantlife grew out of their human skin, and some say infected their minds. The people of Karst lashed out and ravaged the Cult into near nonexistence. Ichitalga’s “gift”, however, lives on in the ever growing number of willing and gracious Timochen hosts.
Finally, Karst as a whole stood still the day great flying vessels suddenly descended upon the headquarters of the Legion and waged an allout assault with no warning. The Legion, with all of it’s military might and munitions unequaled in the known world, was pitifully outmatched by the forces bearing insignia identifying themselves as O.R.C, the Aldebrandi’s ancient enemy of legend. Faced with the imminent overrun of HQ, General Quinton Dominus and General Markus Valence ordered and executed the detonation of a nuclear warhead inside the Legion HQ.
Year Three
In the wake of the destruction of the vast majority of Karst’s strongest military force, tensions were high as every faction looked wearily at each other; wondering who would be the one to make an attempt to fill that power void. Strangely, a Dust Runner gang known as the Red Hammers, led by a man named Johnny B, were the ones to raise a force clad in unheard of technologies, including fuel powered armored suits and began assaulting the other factions.The Red Hammers spent months waging war on every other faction on Karst with only the stated goal of “Gettin’ some respect”. It was absolute madness with no clear indication of where or when they would strike. They seemed to just be killing for the sake of killing.
Eventually, Johnny Two Butts, as history will forever remember him, was defeated by his own pride when engaging in single combat for leadership of the Red Hammers. In the weeks following Johnny’s removal, rumors swirled about his claims that he had been following orders given to him by some group called “Assistive Technologies. These claims were later validated when soon after the Hammer’s campaign of chaos ended, the bulk of their forces were assaulted by self destructing mechanized humanoids said to be Assistive Technologies “Robits”.
All was not well with the rest of the world either. During the yearly trade negotiations between the Worker’s Directorate and the Aldebrandi Kingdom that took place in the neutral territory of Beacon, an unknown group or terrorist managed to detonate an explosive. This incident led to the death of the Aldebrandi King and launched two wars: One between the Aldebrandi and Directorate and the other a civil war of succession within the Aldebrandi Kingdom itself. Both of these wars are still waging to this day.
The close of the year brought with it an enormous rumor that has spread like wildfire all across Karst. The implications, if true, would affect all of humanity. The supposed originator of the story varies with some claiming that a member of the Brotherhood of Reason had stumbled across ancient texts documenting it but most attribute it to an Aldebrandi Duke claiming to have travelled into space with ORC’s. O.R.C, or so the rumor goes, stands for Offworld Rehabilitation Corporation. One of a number of “corporations” (some sort of faction centered around the goal of amassing “currency”) including Vartok Industries, Assistive Technologies, Arkway Mechanical, Zuberi Energy, and Slane Defense Systems that make up some sort of larger group named InColCon. These “corporations”, so the rumor says, came to Karst from a distant planet to establish a prison colony. The prisoners brought with them would eventually rebel and be subject to nuclear detonations from InColCon. These prisoners are said to be the ancestors of everyone on Karst.
It is understandable that these rumors spread so far so quickly.
Year Four
As the world attempted to digest the implications of the rumors the year prior the spring suddenly heralded unheard of “waves” of intense radiation sliding all across Karst. Large packs of mutants previously unseen outside of the old city in such numbers roamed the countryside in the thick of these “curtains” of radioactivity. The quick intervention of the Brotherhood of Reason in sending out delegates to follow the waves and warn those who would soon be in it’s path was the only thing that stopped it from killing thousands. Despite their intense research into the subject the Brotherhood has yet to release any findings on the source of the phenomenon that passed as quickly as it arrived.
In the wake of the radiation storm the vast Tekalli Empire launched a massive religious crusade to purge Karst of all “Demons of In’Kol’Kon”. This force of thousands of Tekalli braves, reportedly larger than most other factions total populations, marched behind their God King Emperor Chimalli IX and his trusted advisor known only as the “Wise Man” straight to the town of Beacon.
Within days of their arrival, however, the “Wise Man” was killed and Arkway Mechanical engineers were discovered constructing electrified fences encircling Beacon, the “Oasis” a Dust Runner settlement reserved for their elderly, and an all but abandoned Legion supply depot outside the ruins of Fort Delconte. All attempts to stop construction of these structures were thwarted handily by O.R.C. Emperor Chimalli IX, in particular, is said to have coordinated with the people of Beacon to throw hundreds of braves at the fence in attempts to slow progress to no avail. The O.R.C and their tech seemed indestructible and their will inevitable.
The intent of the complexes became clear after their completion as O.R.C troops began making raids all across Karst and transporting people to them claiming that they were being “lawfully detained”. The world outside these penal fortresses changed dramatically in a relatively short amount of time. What remained of the Legion marched from the Old City to attempt to liberate Beacon and were utterly destroyed. The Timochen banded together after months of meetings and declared themselves one wind under a relatively unknown man named Cerastes.
The Brotherhood of Reason fractured with roughly half the faction publicly forsaking the orders tenants in favor of joining a “New Rebellion”. “Fire reigned from the sky” with no warning and completely obliterated the majority of the holdings of the Aldebrandi house Giotto. And then, after more than a month in isolated captivity, the prisoners in Beacon somehow forced their O.R.C captors to flee and abandon the penal fortress. The idea of the this revolt has sparked a flicker of hope in many. Word has spread that the new rebellion is being mounted from within the walled fortress that Beacon has become. Countless individuals and factions from all corners of the world have spent the long winter months travelling to this once insignificant town. Join us for year five as the rest of Karst looks to Beacon hoping for an answer to the question:
What must we do to live freely?
Event 14: The Wise Man Cometh
Event 15: No Escape
Year Five
Event 17: How Natasha Got Her Patience Back
Event 18: Monsters and Men
Event 19: The More Things Change
Event 20: The End