The Banners
Three factions. One burning continent. Every wall a promise, every harvest a gamble.
The Emberkin
The Emberkin raise their cities on geothermal vents, channeling molten veins through aqueducts of blackened steel. Their forges never sleep, their walls never crack, and their siege engines burn twice as hot as any rival's. But a city that runs on fire must drink rivers dry — water is their eternal hunger.
- Molten aqueducts: route heat across the map
- Fire-immune districts and siege engines
- Double water consumption in ash season
Ashfall Covenant
Nomad alchemists who read the ash clouds like scripture. The Covenant settles faster than any faction, weaving temporary sanctuaries from wind and bone-light. Their trade caravans cross hostile territory untouched — and when the winds turn, entire cities can vanish overnight.
- Fastest settlement founding and expansion
- Caravan trade immune to raiding at night
- Weak walls; wins by moving, not holding
Ironbound Host
Carved from the bones of a fallen empire's legions, the Ironbound answer every question with steel. Their troops are the cheapest to raise and the hardest to break, their granaries the deepest. But armies march on food, and the Host's hunger has toppled more of its own cities than its enemies have.
- Cheap, durable infantry and fortifications
- Massive granary reserves and conscription
- Food drains rapidly during wartime