Materian Alliance

If we teach the Dyrus only one lesson, then let it be this:

These lands are our lands. They are the echoes of Materis - of bustling cities and quaint little towns. They belonged to our parents, to their parents, to their parent’s still.

We will not bow to these devils. So long as this alliance stands, and Materians still walk the world, then we will never surrender what is rightfully ours.

— Torvald, a leader of the Materian Alliance

The Materian Alliance is a Materian only faction. Formed a few years after the Coalescence, the alliance consists of multiple Materian communities throughout Amalgia who united to confront the newfound threat that the Dyrus posed. Most of these are larger communities (such as those who make their homes in towns or cities) and they offer some protection to the smaller, village based communities - to varying degrees of success.

Regional Delegations

Because of the vast amount of land that the Materian Alliance has to cover, it wouldn’t be feasible to have everyone in constant communication with each other. Instead, the alliance is split into regional delegations - led by barons - who oversee the wards within a given region.

Peridiya and Zevesk are divided into 3 regions. Norlethin, Malachi, Hyverist, Morestow, and Switterliss are divided into 2 regions. Esterdon, the Scaen Islands, the Broken Isles, Kela, Lowedas, Helavi, and Frimera all encapsulate a single region.

The Barons

by Jehyun Sung

Protectors. Leaders. Voices of the people.

Barons act as the individual authority presiding over a region, as designated by the alliance. They are installed through elections, allowing the people of a particular region to have a say in who speaks for them.

Elections tend to be a quiet affair. Candidates vying to become a Baron will plead their case to the other barons first (who perform due diligence checks to ensure that the candidate is suitable for the position) and then people from the region will vote - a simple ‘accept’ or ‘reject’ method is used.

A Note on Elections

Elections can be triggered for a number of reasons, including:

• The previous baron dies
• A vote of no confidence is called
• The previous baron resigns from their position

There are no term limits on how long a baron can remain in position. This is because the Materian Alliance wants to avoid high turnover when they need stability to help them with the war efforts.

The alliance knows just how dangerous having all barons in the same place will be, so they rarely all gather together. When meetings do call for in person conversations, some barons will attend themselves, whilst the others will send suitable ambassadors to talk on their behalf. This changes with every meeting (e.g. the barons from the Kela and Helavi regions may attend one meeting and be absent from the next as the barons from the Malachi and Frimera regions attend in person instead).

Most meetings between the barons are virtual. They use VACS to communicate over long distances, though avoid giving any outright orders or directions to each other just in case the system has been hacked (something that they are overly paranoid about now that Liberty is causing trouble). For sensitive information, they communicate through the Carrier Arc.

The Wards

A region can have any number of wards in it, and ‘wards’ itself is a quite broadly used term in this regard. Sometimes, it can refer to a large span of land, encompassing multiple towns or even cities. Other times, a ward may well be a single town or city. These are referred to as ‘open wards’ and ‘closed wards’ respectively.

Generally, wards are created by applying to the Materian Alliance. This may make it sound like a lengthy process, but typically the only information required for the application is the location of the ward and what community (or communities) will it cover. It is rare that an application is rejected.

Wards are protected by wardens. They defer to their baron in most cases, but otherwise are left to their own devices when governing a ward. Essentially, joining the Materian Alliance doesn’t change the day to day runnings of the ward, it just provides them the greater protection that the alliance has to offer. Beyond that, wardens typically apply the standard Materian military ranks when it comes to protecting their wards.

Warden Falcongrief. Captain Riverburn.

Your request has been approved. On the baron’s orders, we will be sending twenty rooks and two Officers of the Post to join those already stationed at Grymport. I understand that you asked for more. Unfortunately, the baron cannot afford to send the requested amount of additional troops - it would leave other areas of the region far too vulnerable.

The additional troops are scheduled to arrive in a week’s time. Captain - please notify the baron and Warden Falcongrief once the troops arrive at Grymport.

May the alliance shelter your soul.

— Ambassador to Baron Shieldgreen

Common Hierarchy

by SunlanceXIII

Above is the common hierarchy employed by the Materian Alliance. At the top sits the baron of the region, and at the bottom are the common foot soldiers - known as Rooks.

History: Response to Global Catastrophe

• 1 MA
  First Response
  The Coalescence hits hard. The northern and central continents receive the brunt of the chaos as the Rift opens in the sky directly above them. Materian governments all over the world - what’s left of them after the initial devastation, anyway - are quick to respond to the disaster. Fortunately, the VACS and Carrier Arc are still working, so messages are pinged back and forth on a global scale to assess the damage and determine where aid is required the most.
• Early 1 CO
  Fear Response
  New, unusual creatures (which Materians later come to know as the Dyrus) now wander the lands, causing just as much turmoil as the original Coalescence did. Arguments begin between what is left of the Materian’s world leaders. Everyone is unsure of how to proceed and increasingly fearful of this newfound threat. Some leaders opt to shut out the rest of the world, hoping that focusing on protecting themselves will save them - or at least buy them a little time. This carries on until one man, Torvald Annosen, steps up. He gives a speech to the other leaders, urging them to remain united just as they had whilst they were giving aid mere months ago to their people, and face the Dyrus threat together. An alliance, born from a desire to survive.
• 5 CO
  Stronger Together
  The Materian Alliance makes them a target for the Dyrus - who are, by all accounts, just as scared by the catastrophe unfolding before their very eyes. But it also makes them stronger, more coordinated when they strike back or strike back. It works, until the Dyrus begin to coordinate their own armies.
• 6 CO
  Heavy Losses, Heavy Hearts
  The sudden improved coordination from the Dyrus proves to be very costly for the Materian Alliance. They lose major strongholds as the Dyrus strike out at vital points. Those losses lead to a few leaders of the alliance turning tail and running from the fight. Cracks appear in the alliance for the first time in 5 years and, although Torvald and the remaining leaders manage to rally their forces once more, their numbers have massively decreased.

Adversaries and Opposition

Threat of the Threedan Order

Long standing enemies. The Materian Alliance has been at war with the Threedan Order since 6 CO. Both sides have seen countless losses, stuck in a war that seems eternal, unwilling to give up even an inch of land.

There have been murmurs over the years about potential truces, but they have never come into fruition. Every time the idea is proposed it is overwhelmingly voted against by the barons of the Materian Alliance. That is usually enough to dissuade others from trying to raise the matter again, at least for several years, or until a new idealistic baron is appointed to govern one of the regions listed under the alliance.

Most meetings between the Materian Alliance and the Threedan Order begin in violence and end in death. Such is the nature of warfare. Although there has been a slight decrease in conflicts between the two groups over the last two years. This is due in part to Honourhold attempting to act as the middleman in potential peace talks, though the barons are still outright refusing to come to the metaphorical table and actually discuss a truce with the Threedan Order; save for one cautiously optimistic baron from Kela…

Axetide - we have received a personal invitation from the Dyrus in charge of Solace, delivered through a messenger from Honourhold. The messenger assures me, on behalf of the Warden himself, that the contents of this message are genuine.

I have briefly scanned the contents… and as your advisor and your friend, I would suggest using that cautious, level head you are known for. Solace’s Lourdant may claim this is a peace mission, but… why now? There must be, without question, ulterior motives to this invitation.

— Ambassador to Baron Axetide

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“Ma'am,” Warden Falcongrief says, eyes following as Baron Shieldgreen paces back and forth behind her desk. A long, thick oak top, marked by criss-cross scratches no bigger than a pin. “This is the second time this month that one of our trade convoys has been ransacked by Liberty. If we don’t do something soon–”

The baron holds up a hand. Silence fills the room as Warden Falcongrief halts mid sentence, biting down on his bottom lip in frustration, hard enough to draw a bead of blood.

“As I’ve told you before, Liberty is not our concern. Stay focussed on the real target, Falcongrief, or you might find your position as warden is not as solid as you think it is.”

— Fraught Conversations

The Thing About Liberty…

Liberty thinks the alliance is weak. The barons believe Liberty is foolish, reckless, and a danger to everything that the Materian Alliance stands for.

When Liberty first formed as a rogue, extremist faction, the barons left them to it. For starters, they thought that Liberty wouldn’t really pick up in popularity beyond the members it already had. However, as time passed, Liberty enticed more people to its cause - and away from the Materian Alliance. By the time the barons realised that Liberty may actually cause more harm than good, especially towards the Materian Alliance by dividing the people’s attention among the two groups, it was too late for them to reasonably act. They had to make a choice: reign in Liberty, or continue to focus their attention on the Dyrus assaults. The choice was an obvious one.

So Liberty was allowed to continue unopposed. Unfortunately for the alliance, as Liberty grew in number and the alliance spent less time outright assaulting Dyrus strongholds, they began to perceive the alliance as a threat as well. As it stands now, the alliance faces more attacks from aggrieved Liberty members than it does from the Dyrus - a fact which the barons seem overly keen to ignore.

Before you start...

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by SunlanceXIII

The perfect representation of Materians - technology; the timepiece ticking in the centre of the great mechanical cog. The former icon is a symbol of how, no matter how the times change, Materians remain resilient. The latter icon is a symbol of the alliance and how each of its members works together to form a united front against the Dyrus threat.

Freedom, Above All

Whilst not exactly enslaved, those were the original fears in the hearts and minds of the people when the Materian Alliance was formed. They believed that the Dyrus - devils from beyond - had destroyed their home and were coming to rule over them. As such, the Materian Alliance made a promise to its members (and the general Materian populace) that they would not allow the Dyrus to control them.

This promise has stayed the same over the years. It is the main reason why the alliance is still waging war against the Threedan Order - they desire freedom so much that it blinds them to a future where Materians and Dyrus are equal partners.

Their reluctance is a sentiment I can understand. I was one of them, after all, before I bore my Saintly title. The fear blinds you. Tricks you into thinking its embrace is a comfort when in reality it traps you in an endless cycle of violence and vengeance.

Back in the beginning, we had reason to fear.

Change. New creatures walking the land. A scar across the sky, corrupting the very world we lived in. I wish the alliance would see that times have changed. If we work together, we can overcome the threat the Rift poses, but if we let this violence fester…

All will be lost.

— Recollections of the Warden

Behind the Name

The thought process for the faction’s name is a simple one. Materian, because that is the demographic of the faction. Alliance, because the various communities have come together to face a common threat. They have been called the Materian Alliance ever since their inception and there has been little talk throughout the years of changing it. As the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke…”

Names and Alternatives:

• Materian Alliance - standard name, widely used to throughout Amalgia
• The Alliance / Alliance - a shortened version
• Materian Liberation - became a popular alternative a couple hundred years ago with a certain subsection of the faction. Eventually, these people broke off to form their own fringe group, now known as Liberty

Headquarters

Due to the nature of the alliance, its members are so widely distributed that it just isn’t possible to have a single headquarters (nor is it overly necessary). Some people may consider major cities - such as those that are home to the barons - as de facto headquarters, although most of the barons wish to dissuade this line of thinking.

Current Barons

Barons in Perhl

• Baron Howard Swordshimmer - Baron of the Crimessa region in Peridiya
• Baron Orla Glassheart - Baron of the Safira region in Peridiya
• Baron Bryce Winefire - Baron of the Emlark region in Peridiya
• Baron Brianna Ironflower - Baron of the Allygas region in Malachi
• Baron Mavis Hammerhope - Baron of the Rivelliir region in Malachi
• Baron Helena Shieldgreen - Baron of the Gatanour region the Scaen Islands

Barons in Satiere

• Baron Erland Petalpink - Baron of the Katilan region in Zevesk
• Baron Tarja Ravenwise - Baron of the Wolveir region in Zevesk
• Baron Charlotta Stoneshadow - Baron of the Falzen region in Zevesk
• Baron Runar Axetide - Baron of the Axentol region in Kela

Barons in Emerand

• Baron Catalina Lionsteel - Baron of the Hewren region in Norlethin
• Baron Antonin Boarsour - Baron of the Englass region in Norlethin
• Baron Fabricio Castleluck - Baron of the Swenell region in Esterdon

Barons in Diamon

• Baron Puran Rabbitwhite - Baron of the Solisan region in Hyverist
• Baron Kazi Riverawe - Baron of the Owilik region in Hyverist
• Baron Mallika Snowsorrow - Baron of the Fiskle region in Lowedas
• Baron Abhay Beetlebell - Baron of the Polliren region the Broken Isles
• Baron Rekha Daggerfree - Baron of the Yakrow region in Morestow
• Baron Utkarsh Jackalsweet - Baron of the Harrest region in Morestow

Barons in Ruberus

• Baron Ayoka Swallowglad - Baron of the Duccal region in Switterliss
• Baron Thandiswa Icepride - Baron of the Unoslav region in Frimera
• Baron Biyi Clawfear - Baron of the Rattivet region in Helavi