Ardent Mages

The Ardent Mages are a people who were born in struggle and pain, and these
conditions dominate their day to day lives.
Though they control great powers, they pay a great price to do so. To manipulate
the powers of Dust, an Ardent Mage must dissociate their mind from their body.
For this they have developed elaborate pain rituals, for the more they are able to
withstand the agony and ignore their physical discomfort, the deeper their
relationship with Dust becomes. Pain has become a fundamental element of
their society, to the point where children are taught from a young age to
withstand it.
Stoicism is therefore as important as intelligence, and indifference to physical
discomfort is the way in which an individual's worth is measured - be they an
Ardent Mage or a stranger.
After falling out with the rest of the Inner Circle in dark circumstances, Zor Abaz
has annexed her clan from the greater Ardent Mage nation and struck out for
new territory. The suffering must be great, even magnificent, if she is to prepare
the Ardent Mages for the endtimes.
Broken Lords
The Broken Lords are a faction of knights and town-builders; an aristocratic
society that believes in honor, virtue and justice. To succor the weak, to
champion what is just, to root out evil wherever it may lurk - those are the ideals
by which these noble warriors would live.
And yet, the Broken Lords are a crippled people that exist only as spirits
wrapped in their great suits of Dust-enhanced armor. Other nations view them as
monsters, for their race was fading when it discovered a deadly secret - that by
consuming the life forces of a sentient being they could extend their own life
span. This rite of consumption is, obviously, a betrayal of their principles and
their history. The greatest hope of the Broken Lords, therefore is develop magic
that will break this curse and allow them to live without destroying others.
Though the question remains, and haunts their thoughts: Even if they did find a
cure, would they want to give up this powerful gift? Their codes and morality
insist 'yes', but in their hearts it is much less clear...
Cultists
This mysterious cult is led by two creations that are the remnants of the Endless:
The Queen, imprisoned within her indestructible throne in the capital city, and
the Unspoken, a wandering - and perhaps insane - being of enormous power.
Left alone on the planet for millennia, they have turned against their creators
and sworn to destroy every trace of their existence.
The Cult maintains a single city where the Queen is entombed in her
indestructible throne. Its power, therefore, is projected across Auriga through
proselytization and conversion, when the faithful followers and heroes of the Cult
convince other, lesser peoples to join their cause.
The Cultists then recruit, train, and arm these converts from the tribes and
vagrants that live scattered across the surface of Auriga. Regardless of where
they are of to whom they have previously sworn allegiance, when a tribe turns to
the Cult it does so until its death.
Monolithic, fanatic, and ever-expanding, the Cult of the Eternal End will spare no
effort, cost, or sacrifice to see that its will is done.
Roving clans
Playing roads and sea lanes with skill and courage, they are ever on the lookout
for new resources, new products, new markets, and new customers. Wherever

the Clans pass, markets spring up, commerce blossoms, and the strange and
wondrous goods from the many strange and wondrous peoples of Auriga are
traded. The Roving Clans are so entwined in the business dealings of Auriga, that
a tiny piece of every transaction somehow makes it into their coffers.
While their preference is for peace and trade, the Roving Clans should not be
underestimated in war. With rapid, mounted units giving them an advantage in
speed, they make difficult targets and frustrating enemies. Even their great
cities can move, perched on the backs of giant Setseke scarabs -- an exploit
unmatched by another nation.
Patient, clever, and wily, the Roving Clans bring sophistication -- and
manipulation -- to the peoples of Auriga.
The forgotten
Vaulters
This is a time of change for the Vaulters. For countless generations they lived as
loosely-federated clans in the vast underground labyrinths that riddle Auriga.
Their skills in mining and crafting made them comfortable, and their study of
ancient artifacts slowly unlocked the secrets of their world's past. Though their
origins were lost in legends and myth, they had found peace and prosperity in
the deep places of the planet.
Suddenly, now, the Vaulters have been forced to abandon those ancient halls.
The Great Quake broke walls and ruined roads and bridges; as their towns
crumbled around them they fled to the surface. Some turn for answers to the
priests in the Church of the Great Orrery, others look to their leader, Zolya Ilona,
First of the Bloodline. For a people deeply bound by tradition and unused to
change, the surface of Auriga is a frightening place.
Torn between the secrets of the planet, their own traditions, and their need to
survive, the Vaulters may struggle. But they will not fade, or surrender.
Wild walkers
The Wild Walkers were simple elves living as hunter-gathers in the forests. Their
gift was to shape rocks and trees into great buildings; cities rose as green towers
in the deep woods. This act, called The Sharing, let an elf experience the wild,
untamed energy of their totem animal.
Elves who Shared often, however risked having the spirit of the beast burst out
like a violent flame and take control during moments of stress. In spite of that,
some sought increasingly savage beasts in order to experience Sharings of
greater intensity.
With individuals embracing the savagery of the animals and vanishing forever
into the woods, the nation had to choose between the wild spirits of nature and
the civilization of their towers. Troubled but determined, they forswore the
Sharing, renamed themselves the Wild Walkers, and set out to build their towers
away from their dark past.
Only time will tell if the Sharing still has its hold on their souls.
Drakken
Few in number but exceedingly powerful, they do not seek war but rather
relationships, information, and knowledge. Faction histories, artifacts, and ruins
are highly prized by the Drakken while wealth, military power, and advanced
technology are viewed as insignificant.
Militarily they have limited numbers, and bring to battle very few but very
powerful units.

The gradual onset of longer winters has not escaped the notice of this race who
are more attuned to Auriga's rhythms than all the rest.
Already they have struck out across the vast planet forging ties with all who
share Auriga's lands. They understand well that even if the cataclysm comes
again, their first duty is to preserve what the Endless left behind, so that one
day, maybe in a hundred years, maybe in a hundred thousand, their great
teachers' creations will still endure.
Necrophages
The Necrophages are a scuttling monstrosity polluting the surface of Auriga; an
insectoid menace that should be crushed under one's heel like the mutated
cockroaches that they are. Or so the Vaulters, the Wild Walkers, the Broken
Lords and every other nation on the planet would have one believe.
Naturally, the Necrophages themselves don't share this view - in fact, they hold
very few views other than fight, feed and propagate. The Necrophages have
found a niche in the environment that suits them very well: They will win by
numbers; by elevating the colony over the individual; by constant war-fare.
Something between a hive insect and an undead horde, they reproduce by
laying eggs in the bodies of fallen enemies.
Occasionally the offspring even inherits elements of the host's DNA accelerating
their process of change and adaptation. Emotionless, relentless, and driven by
their biology, the Necrophages do not waste time with diplomacy and commerce.