Chapter 1 - The World

The empire that controlled the known world for two hundred generations fell due to a massive rebellion led by three of its four subordinate kingdoms. Only the Ject Kingdom didn’t rebel, as the royal family of the Royaume Empire held direct control over it.

The rebellion was indeed vast, yet the power of the Royaume Empire was formidable, causing the conflict to stretch on for three years. Alas, the Royaume Empire could not hold on and ultimately fell. Afterward, descendants of the Royaume royal family dispersed across the world, hunted down by various factions, while the Ject Kingdom fell into the hands of the Holt family—a branch of the Royaume royal line.

The Holt family’s connection to the Royaume royal family made the other three kingdoms wary of the Ject Kingdom. However, none of the kingdoms were eager to continue fighting. The Ject Kingdom, as the former heart of the Royaume Empire, held significant power and wealth, and each kingdom was preoccupied with consolidating its own rule.

The world settled into a fragile peace as the kingdoms began to heal from the prolonged conflict. Yet tensions ran high; each kingdom harbored ambitions to rise as the dominant power and perhaps even take the place of the Royaume Empire.

Seven years after the fall of the Royaume Empire, the drums of war sounded again as the Norn Kingdom from the north invaded the Ject Kingdom. This prompted the Tamin Kingdom to the east to invade the Norn Kingdom, while the western Entaf Kingdom moved to invade the Tamin Kingdom. Thus began the First War of Four.

Since each kingdom shared borders with the others, none could commit its entire force to a single front without risking invasion from another. The First War of Four quickly descended into a brutal stalemate, depleting the resources of all the kingdoms.

After a year of no significant progress, the four kingdoms’ leaders convened for a conference. This gathering marked the first official meeting of the four kingdoms since the fall of the Royaume Empire, casting a heavy atmosphere over the proceedings—especially given the presence of the Ject Kingdom’s king, who the others saw as an extension of the Royaume family.

Fortunately, all present recognized the importance of the conference. No direct altercations took place, and after four days and nights of negotiation, the conference concluded with the signing of the Blackreach Treaty.

Named for Blackreach County, a central region at the continent’s crossroads where the negotiations took place, the Blackreach Treaty established official borders and set limits on each kingdom’s military capabilities. It also included provisions such as the Norn Kingdom paying war reparations to the Ject Kingdom, along with numerous minor details regarding the peace.

One of the most critical parts of the treaty was the Balance Clause, which outlined the following terms:

1. No one king may sit on the throne of more than one of the four kingdoms.

2. No king descended from the Royaume family may rule any of the four kingdoms.

3. Blackreach County shall remain neutral and outside the control of any kingdom.

The first two points aimed to maintain a balance of power among the kingdoms, while the third created a neutral buffer zone, preventing any one kingdom from controlling the strategically valuable Blackreach County.

While this treaty did not prevent future conflicts between the four kingdoms, it significantly reduced the likelihood of a full-scale continental war. The Balance Clause maintained the delicate equilibrium among the kingdoms and ensured that no empire like the Royaume would rise again.