Editing Sundered Empire (section)

==The Factions==
Seven major factions compete in the Godwar, with mercenaries making up an impromptu eighth power.

===Ahmut's Legion===
An army of the undead commanded by the mad [[lich]] Ahmut. Three centuries before the slaying of Stratis, Ahmut was a human nomad chieftain who amassed a great army and sought to take the fight back to the tyrannical elves of Ravilla. For this, the Oligarchs set upon him their most dreaded assassin, Prisca, who slew him with a magical blade that entrapped his conscious spirit within his corpse, leaving him incapable of moving on to the afterlife even as his followers mourned him and buried him within a hidden grave. Needless to say, when Stratis' Spear landed in his ribcage and broke the elven curse enough for him to reanimate, Ahmut was not feeling particularly charitable towards the living. ''Especially'' those damn elves...

===Drazen's Horde===
Once a mighty [[hobgoblin]] chieftain in his own right, Drazen found himself propelled on the road to godhood when he witnessed and was first to retrieve the Axe of Stratis. Butchering any rival, he has subjugated huge hordes of goblinds, orcs, ogres, trolls, and beasts, forging them into the mightiest army of their kind ever seen.

===House Kilsek===
A [[drow]] noble house defeated in the civil wars of their kind, brought over from the [[Drow Trilogy]] back when they weren't. Nu-Kilsek holds none of the Panoply of Stratis, but believes that collecting these divine relics will allow them to restore their place in the Underdark.

===Mordengard===
A century ago, a particularly cruel and deranged dwarven tyrant provoked his people into an uprising so fierce, they chose to throw down age-old traditions, evolving into something distinctly communist. They believe that if they find the Panoply of Stratis, rather than allowing one dwarven warrior to become a new God of War, they can control this divine magic, allowing the Worker's Council to direct its power to the good of their people. Armed with noble intentions and mystical magitek weapons, and backed by elementals, Mordengard has launched itself wholeheartedly into the Godwar, ignoring any hypocrisy in their actions.

===Naresh===
The last of the factions to claim part of the Panoply of Stratis, Naresh is a savage nation of [[gnolls]] and their [[demon]]ic allies. With the Flail of Stratis in his hand, Jangir, half-fiend son of [[Yeenoghu]] and Priest-King of Naresh, seeks to harness the powers of the God of War to topple the elven empire of Ravilla, allowing him to rip open the Abyssal Gateways that Yeenoghu may claim this world for himself.

===Ravilla===
Arrogant, cruel and gloriously self-centered, the Elves of Ravilla were charged by [[Corellon Larethian]] with guarding the Abyssal Gateways that remained after the Demon Wars centuries ago. Constructing fortified cities around each gateway, the Oligarchs decided that the best way to carry out their stewardship was to crush any and all other nations and powers that might potentially threaten elven supremacy and thus, supposedly, risk opening the portals. Throughout the eons, they have invaded, betrayed, sabotaged and dominated every other faction and power on the planet. Which has come back to bite them; Ahmut and Jangir have a particularly hatred for the elves of Ravilla, as do the drow of House Kilsek, whilst even their nominal allies in Mordengard and Thalos utterly despise them and would see them wiped out. Only the clouds of bloodlust have kept their long-stretched cities from falling to siege. And, unbeknownst to the Oligarchs, whilst the Sword of Stratis has fallen into the hands of an elf named Tarquin, he is not necessarily an ally to those who have held onto power for so long and at the expense of so many others.

===Thalos===
An island nation of humans united in their flight from the conquering elves of Ravilla, the former slaves defeated an elven armada to secure their independence centuries ago. They have never forgotten, nor forgiven, the elves, and as they worship [[Stern Alia]], the Shield Mother, the divine parent of Stratis, the Godwar is one of holy vengeance against the elves, whom they blame (not incorrectly) for starting the whole damned mess in the first place. Devout theocrats whose sincere devotion has not only filled their ranks with [[cleric]]s and [[paladin]]s, but also earned them both [[angel]]ic allies and a significant population of [[aasimar]], powers further compounded by both the imperial school of wizardry and the unique mechanical [[golem]]s created by their [[gnome]] allies.