The unseen lords of the valleys
Three forces contend for dominion over the valleys of Vashrath. Curiously, their leaders — the Three Great Ones — are held to be spiritual leaders more than people of flesh and blood: it is said that no one has ever seen them. And yet, in the camps, soldiers whisper that one or another among them has crossed paths with a Great One. Choosing between the three is no small detail: without a declared allegiance, life in Cripta becomes far more difficult.
Who the Three Great Ones truly are, no chronicle can say. What the chronicles do record is what their followers have built in their names — three ways of surviving Vashrath, so distinct from one another that an exile's choice of banner often says more about them than the name on their Document of Ingress.
The Northern Warriors — Heidr
The Northern Warriors are born fighters, endowed with a vigor and a passion beyond measure, who settle everything through raw strength. At their head stands Heidr, of whom it is told that he once defeated an entire legion alone — he is said to have climbed to the top of a mountain and faced the enemy hordes without retreating a single step. Whether the story is true, no one can say; but it is enough to explain why the North fears no enemy.
The People of the South — Marcus Villas, the Wise
The People of the South gather the most intelligent minds in all the realm. Their defenses are never breached, their cities prosper, and their strategists are without equal. Their leader, Marcus Villas, the Wise, is said to be able to strike a target with an arrow from miles away — and some claim he has brought down an entire camp without ever being noticed. Where the North trusts in strength, the South trusts in the mind.
The Wanderers — Serena
The Wanderers live in the shadows and are the most skilled and the swiftest in this world. They guard every crossing and guide their own through the darkness. They are led by Serena, whom many call the strongest of the Three Great Ones — she is even said to have defeated the other two in battle. From her comes the only account of someone claiming to have seen one of the Great Ones: a soldier swears he glimpsed her in the forest, near the wolves. Truth or legend, it is the closest anyone has ever come to proving that the Three Great Ones exist at all.
Swearing a side
That is why every newcomer, the moment their registry is complete, is brought to swear loyalty to one of the Three Forces. It is no mere formality: it is the creed that opens — or closes — doors in these valleys, and that decides at whose side one shall walk for the rest of the journey. In Vashrath, belonging to no one is the loneliest of condemnations.
The registry that precedes the oath is told in Cripta and the Valleys. The timeless nature of the world the Three Forces contend for is told in The Limbo.