A House Divided
Underneath its glossy and peaceful exterior, trouble is brewing in Halvar, the greatest nation of Man.
With the elderly and ailing king finally dead, his widow has taken up the mantle of leadership until their only son, six years old, comes of age. After the death of the King's first wife and their son 10 years ago, a pall of death has hung over the royal palace at Ninuroth, and not a few people eye the current Queen and her family with suspicion.
With the Great Houses questioning the legitimacy of the Queen's regency and her son's claim to the throne, jostling for power has already begun, threatening to spill over into civil war. But with war already knocking on Halvar's door from its northern province, Nadrom -- a formerly sovereign nation annexed 500 years ago and now seeking independence once more -- the queen and the Royal Council have their plates full.
Whispers of conspiracies on the Queen's part abound, and rumors of The Forsworn, an anti-Halvarian group of Nadromian supremacists, having taken control of the northern region, the people of Halvar are filled with fear and doubt.
It is at this time that Lord William, the dead king's cousin and a member of the Royal Council, has put out a clandestine call for champions to step forward to look into these matters. Do the rumors of the Queen's conspiracy have any merit? Did the king die of natural causes as claimed, or was he assassinated, and by whom? Is there any way to avert a civil war, or worse yet, a war with Nadrom? William trusts the other councilors and the rest of the aristocracy less and less, looking to more non-traditional ways to settle these matters.
That's where you come in. Lord William's call has gone out through carefully disguised channels to taverns, inns, guilds and organizations across the land, promising generous compensation for the dangerous work involved. Whether you're a simple mercenary for hire to the highest bidder or someone with a personal stake in the matter, your actions will change the course of two countries' histories forever.
