Two major players command great power and influence over Siptah’s Isle, each pursuing various goals to shape and exploit the island for their own gain. So far, they’ve been able to stay out of one another’s way, but as is always the case, the ambitious and powerful always find a way into conflict. Each of them are actively recruiting the Exiled Refugees to their cause, and the Exiles themselves may rise to become major powers, themselves. Who will you serve? Will you stand apart? How will you shape your destiny, and with it, the fate of the Exiled Lands?
Xander’s Refuge
On the east coast of the island, a group of survivors from the Exiled Lands, formerly from Alexander’s mercenary stronghold near Seppermaru, washed ashore and were struck by the desperation and costs to human life from the shipwreck. Quickly, the organized themselves, the remains of the wrecks, and those survivors who could move, and set about creating a small refugee camp where the injured could be given respite, and those too weak or unskilled could find shelter while something resembling order was established. Xander and his lieutenants organized patrols and workers, and together have created a small, peaceful stronghold in the ruins of a Stygian port town. This town features a number of merchants, a rich bazaar, and a bank. Work is still underway to secure its borders however, and many of the denizens of Xander’s Refuge need help. A number of quests exist in this area for new players, including tutorials and starting funds.
Crimson Sands
Far to the southwest on one of the outer islands lays Crimson Sands, a wretched port of pirates and slave traders, where human life is valued not in love or hours, but in coins and labor. Life holds less than little meaning here, and with the sudden arrival of the wild surges and a betrayal by one of Xander’s lieutenants, this former smuggler’s camp has turns into a bustling hive of activity. Crimson Sands’s motives seem primarily to start and stop with profit and land control, similar to that of the Stygians that came before. In their camp there is an active slave market, as well as more exotic shopping options. Like Xander’s Refuge, this area will serve as both a quest and shopping hub for players, though with less emphasis on newer players.
Exiled Clans
To mention the power players of Siptah’s Isle without mentioning the wandering tribes and clans of Exiles who’ve put their mutual distrust aside in order to band together for greater strength and stability would be a huge disservice. Even though they are lost on this island, their connection to the land, their mastery of its wilds, and their continued survival makes them a rival for any of the Lords of Exile, and many who refuse to swear fealty to one of these two fragments of civilization can also find themselves rising to similar levels of prominence and power, pursuing goals of their own, be they escape from the island, power, or profit of their own!