Champions, welcome to our fifth faction analysis!
For our next report, we turn our attention to the unbridled, apocalyptic fury of Strife.
Read on for crucial intel concerning the lore and art of the Strife faction: the brutality of war made manifest. This nation of warmongers, berserkers, and volcanic engines is ready to deliver a crushing blow to all who stand in their path.
Strife
Lore
Population: Approximately 10 million
Capital: Korrad Dur
Governing Body: The Dragon Tyranny – Though Tor the Relentless has risen to Champion status despite not being a dragon
Notable Locations: The Great Keep of Korrad Dur, the Forge Pits of Nymeer, Marshalling Grounds of Giant’s Pass, Deep Tunnels of the Westlands
Amidst the volcanic upheaval and earthquakes of Terrene Gall lies the treacherous domain of Mimmir’s followers. It is a land sculpted by catastrophe.
When the great Warden Empire fractured, Mimmir seized the opportunity. He rallied Goblins and Slags, unleashing a wave of carnage that drove countless refugees into the forests of Thorns. This bloodshed was brutal and reckless – but not without purpose.
The sickening sounds of this chaos – the screams, the clashes, and the scent of blood and wildfire - did more than shatter a fragile peace. They woke the dragons from their millennia-long slumber and roused long-dormant volcanoes, unleashing ancient magics that did more than scar the land; It warped it, twisting the land and its inhabitants into mortal parodies of their former selves.
To this day, the towering Great Keep of Korrad Dur remains their seat of power. It is here that Rynoxxys the Unruled commands what remains of the knights of old. They are no longer the stalwarts of mankind; rather they are demon-worshippers, having traded their humanity for infernal pacts, and the abyssal power of forces called forth from beyond.
The armies of Strife are a terrifying coalition of Dragon Souls, Goblins, Demon Kin, and Slags. They are united by an iron-clad principle: Strife finds glory in battle and sacrifice above all else, and they consider everyone among their enemies- including each other. Their warlust is a cancer upon the world. Will this brutal, self-consuming chaos be the force that finally unites the shattered lands of Terrene Gall, even if only annihilation and ash are left in its devastating wake?
Art/ Inspiration
The Visage of War and Rage: Strife
Visually, Strife is the most obtrusive faction of Terrene Gall’s species, embodying sheer brutality and unbridled rage. Their very being is a visual description of war. They have no use for strategy because they are a blunt instrument – a relentless battering ram focused on crushing their foes with massive, overwhelming force.
Technology
Their armor is as much a weapon as it is protection. Constant exposure to fire and the charred earth has resulted in a uniform of blackened, wrought iron, which is always covered with jagged spikes, ridges, and other deadly adornments. This is layered over greasy leather, heavily treated with a flame-retardant material made from dragon innards, and little cloth is worn amongst this faction, as the sweltering heat and ever-present fire of their home world has been known to set it ablaze.
Environment - A World Forged in Fire
Strife's homeland is the pure representation of apocalypse: volcanic, superheated, barren, and utterly destroyed. The terrain is an uneven wasteland of sharp crags and treacherous valleys, constantly illuminated by the hot, hungry glow of fires and molten magma. The very land is in perpetual upheaval.
Save for the skeletal remains of ironwood trees, which are too tough and tenacious to die fully, there is no greenery in the lands of Strife. The sky itself is a perpetual dingy shroud, thick and dirty, filled with the toxic smoke of unseen, rudimentary factories churning out the tools of war. This is not a place to live – it is a furnace for endless conflict.
