Greetings!
When you begin your adventure in Bless Online you will have to choose to join either Hieron or Union. As these two warring factions are important aspects of the game, we decided to share with you today some of the lore behind them.
What is the reason for Hieron and Union’s conflict?
Hieron and Union’s conflict is not simply two factions fighting over territory or rights. It is an unavoidable clash between two major powers who have fundamentally different world views and values. Their conflict stems from their various causes, morals, historical grudges, and political aims which have together brought them into this grand war.
What is Hieron?
Hieron refers the faction of the northern Bless continent and the Habicht led Holy Empire. The word Hieron means “Holy Alliance,” and the word itself originated from the Elven word “Hiera.”
After driving out the marauding barbarian tribes and ending the Dark Ages that had lasted for far too long, the human Habicht Empire recovered the Ancient Lumen territory, liberated city-states such as Spezia (Union’s capital), and took over leadership of the northern alliance. For hundreds of years after, not only did the Habicht flourish and hold control over half of the continent’s land, but they also functioned as protectors, guarding the civilized world from the barbarian tribes’ recurring invasions.
Races of the Hieron faction are generally more conservative than those of the Union faction. They believe that the world would be a better place if order was established and maintained with the proper authority. Because of this view, they think that the current world is corrupt and lacks the values once prized by great heroes of the past.
In order to maintain the peace and stability of the continent, races of the Hieron faction are all actively cooperating with the Habicht Empire. The Holy Hieron Empire’s end goal is to unify all of the continent’s civilized races and establish world order.
Those of you who choose to join the Hieron faction will experience a series of events that cause you to think about what really makes a true emperor - all while you work towards constructing a great empire.
What is Union?
The Union faction is an alliance established by the Amistad, the southern Bless continent’s human race. The Amistad’s ancient Lumen Empire (the first human empire of the Bless world) was so prosperous that it once rivaled that of the current Habicht Empire. However, the Lumen Empire broke up into city-states after it collapsed as a result of a magical catastrophe. The Amistad then survived as scattered-city states until the Hieron Empire liberated them. Under the protection of the Habicht Empire, city-states such as Spezia (Union’s capital) quickly regained their past prosperity. However, the city-states are now hoping to return to their former glory and power.
Unlike the races of the Hieron faction, races of the Union faction are more progressive and believe that current problems of the world are due to the ever unchanging status system and hierarchical social structure. As a result, they are always searching for new ideas and values as they believe that fundamental change is vital.
In the past, races of the southern continent were often either under Hieron’s rule or living as scattered tribes. Even now, they cannot forget the feelings of hostility towards Hieron, the desire for independence, and the humiliation of having their territory taken away from them.
The Amistad Federation began their war for independence when they declared their refusal to pay tribute to the Hieron Empire. Through consecutive victories they were able to rally the other races of the southern continent, resulting in the formation of the Union Alliance.
The Amistad, Aqua Elves, Pantera, and Mascu are all members of the Union Alliance, and they aim to challenge the Hieron Empire for supremacy in the new age.
As you see, not only do they both possess different values, but their history of conflict and enmity makes it hard for them to reconcile.
We hope this helped you gain a better understanding of the factions in Bless!
Thank you!
The Bless Team