Old Folk
The Feral Crown
A militant Folk movement seeking sovereignty by force. The first to call for a monster kingdom raised over the bones of plague kings.
“Humans only understand crowns, borders, and fear. So we will give them all three.”
The Factions
Seven powers, one plague.
Every faction has a belief worth dying for — and a price paid in other people's lives.
Old Folk
The Veiled Accord
A diplomatic faction seeking coexistence, secret treaties, and the slow rewriting of human law to recognize the Folk.
“If humans can learn to fear us less, we may survive without becoming what they imagined.”
Human
The Ashwood Hunters
Human monster hunters paid by frightened villages and minor nobles. They train at burned shrines and carve their kills into oak.
“Every beast spared is another village dead.”
Human
The Plague College
Masked physicians, alchemists, and anatomists hunting for a cure — sometimes through cruel experiments on captured Folk.
“A cure is worth any body.”
Human
Saint Veyra's Inquisition
Religious authorities convinced the Folk are spiritual contaminants. They burn groves, salt streams, and execute villagers who bargain with the Old Folk.
“The plague is not sickness. It is judgment.”
Between
The Thorn Mothers
Old witches and midwives who remember ancient pacts between humans and Folk. They keep the milk-stones warm.
“The world was healthier when humans still left milk at the stones.”
Human
The Grave Road Pilgrims
Refugees, mourners, plague survivors traveling between shrines, mass graves, and ruined cities — open to any miracle, however dark.
“Anything that keeps us alive may be holy.”