Shadows over the Reikland

2512 of the Imperial Calendar

By order of His Imperial Majesty Karl Franz I of House Holswig-Schliestein, Protector of the Empire, Defier of the Dark, Emperor Himself and the Son of Emperors, Elector Count of Reikland and Prince of Altdorf, and by decree of the Reikland Diet, the Jungfreud family, previously thought to be unassailable, has been stripped of their claim to dominion over Ubersreik and the greater Ubersreik Duchy. The Emperor's army was poised to march, and the Jungfreuds fled to their ancient holdings in the duchy of Black Rock, where they linger, still.   No replacement has been appointed for the Jungfreuds, still, and the motivations for the Emperor's orders remain unclear. The local nobility scrabbles, caught unaware and in disarray, fearing for their claims - if the Jungfreuds can be removed, so can they in but one swoop - and the growing middle class of Ubersreik seeks to take advantage of the situation, aiming to turn the fortress-town into a Freiburg, a self-ruling city, no longer beholden to any nobles but the Emperor himself.   Some suggest the Emperor deposed the Jungfreuds due to the increased military buildup between the duchies of Ubersreik and Wallenstein, yet if his goal was to ease tensions, it has failed. As the nobility, uncertain of their future, braces itself for what is to come, and as the Town Council attempts to turn the duchy into a Freiburg, the Enemy Within prepares, waiting for when the time is right. Far to the north, something stirs as to the east, in wretched Sylvania, ancient castles are presided over by their eternal masters once more...