Dark Ages

Two knights, Hugh and Wright, are doing their best at their new job. As private knights, they are beholden to no king, owing their fealty instead to their boss, the Evil God of Ignorance and Deceit, Pluto Arimanius, Death Manifest. Look, he’s not as bad as he sounds, okay? I mean, he’s making jobs. Sure, those jobs mostly constitute the active pillaging of the earth’s natural life-forces, poisoning crop harvests and leaving the village folk stricken with interminable illness, but hey, there’s not a lot of work in the dark ages. Small government sentiment is at the highest it’s been since the crucifixion. The isle of Britannia, which Hugh and Wright proudly call home, is recovering from centuries of Roman occupation. The Wildings are returning from the forests and northern lands, and new tyrants calling themselves “kings” are rising up in the mold of those they replace. It is in this environment that Hugh and Wright are endeavoring to complete their task: the protection of an important aqueduct from belligerent natives and hostile creatures. Over the course of their journey, they encounter a number of events and individuals that challenge their preconceived notions of the world’s goings-on. By all appearances, those they are tasked with protecting the aqueduct from are, in fact, those most directly victimized by the aqueduct’s existence. They are witness to the dying of the land, seemingly rotting due to the presence of the stoneblood ichor flowing through the channel. Hugh and Wright, as with most Bretons, are at first convinced this is simply the result of the magical machinations of the forest-dwelling Wildings and their Faerie cohort; however, this understanding is shattered as the Wildings and Faerie-folk are revealed as the vanguard against the worst effects of the new poison sweeping the land. But, look, the world isn’t that simple. Just because his name is “the Evil God of Ignorance and Deceit, Pluto Arimanius, Death Manifest” -- and, I must apologize, he does prefer that his full title be used each time -- doesn’t mean he’s, like, actually evil. It’s not all black and white. Hugh and Wright’s old boss used to flick coins at them, now that dude was evil. Wright and Hugh are eventually joined by a Wilding High Mason, one capable of shaping the mystical forces of our world into tools of magic, swordstones. The High Mason, Sigrun Thronebound, begins to challenge the perceptions that the two knights hold in regards to their role in maintaining the harms and violence resulting from the stoneblood aqueduct. Later joined by skilled warrior Aida and Wilding Chieftain Pict, the group’s journey shifts from one of protecting the stoneblood to one of ending its collection. Pluto Arimanius is aware of this shift, and will not let them achieve their goal so easily. He’ll place every obstacle at his disposal in their way, from a fleet of deadly demons to a hex across the entire countryside, his fury is a storm of blades. With the help of disparate Wilding bands and the powerful, though misunderstood, Faerie-folk, will Wright and Hugh be able to defeat Pluto Arimanius? Will they be able to free the Ageless Whispertree from its confinement underneath the Graven Pit of Darkness, home of the Skull Throne, and channel its timeless magic to change the world?