KINGMARCH
rated M for violence and sexytimes but mostly violence
seven spots remain | best viewed with forever standing (style)​

- Of Ivalice and the Undying: a Tautology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .​

of gods, monsters, and men

Many thousand years ago, all-powerful beings called the Occuria looked down upon the land, and their rule was absolute. They commanded all things on the earth. All was done according to their will. To help them secure the reins of mortal history, they used their immense power to craft powerful beings who would obey their every command--these, mortals know as the scions.

Over time, twelve scions came to believe themselves as powerful as their creators, and thus sought to break free of their servitude. Without their creators' assent, they descended upon the world of man and sought the aid of ambitious mortals to aid in their rebellion against the Occuria. Together, scion and man striked at the olden gods, but they were overpowered and defeated. The Occuria were angered and struck down their blessed children, and binding their souls and flesh with the Glyph of the Beast, they stole their freedom for all eternity. The Occuria then withdrew behind the walls of a great city of their own making, disappearing from history's stage, and man returned to their lands once more. But the Occuria do not forgive, and they do not forget: down to the earth did they send their twelve loyal children, and a lengthy war was waged between the mortal and the divine.

The scions' very presence devastated the land. They ravaged the earth, destroying civilization as it was known and slaughtering millions along the way, and the mortals, try as they might, could do little to halt their streak of destruction. At the dawn of the thousandth year, however, seven warriors emerged from various parts of Ivalice, claiming to be heritors of an ancient, powerful demon whose powers exceed even that of the Occuria. They led a small group of firebrands and, through arduous combat, managed to defeat eleven of the scions: Loghrif the Transcendent, Mitron the Chastiser, Emet-Selch the Angel of Truth, Pashtarot the Knight-Star, Fandaniel the Protector, Halmarut the Arbiter, Nabriales the Majestic, Igeyorhm the Martyr, Deudalaphon the Benevolent, Emmerololth the Holy Queen, and Lahabrea the Abyssal Celebrant all fell before their combined might. They could not, however, manage to accomplish such a feat against the twelfth scion: Zodiark, Keeper of Precepts, whose power far exceeded the others. As such, they instead chose to seal him in an unspecified location, that he would not pose any problems for many years to come.

The Seven Heroes, as they came to be known, knew full well that neither the seal they placed upon Zodiark nor the Occuria seal on the twelve rebelling scions would last forever. In anticipation of the crisis that would transpire should they finally break free, each hero crafted a magicite of great power, said to be tempered by their own life force. The seven magicites were then presented to the ruling monarch for safekeeping, and the heroes who crafted them retreated into obscurity.

And so, peace descended upon the world, and the march towards a new age finally began.

a world in peril

At the close of the Seven-Year War between Ivalice and its northern neighbor of Archades, the former's benevolent monarch, Queen Ritz, fell seriously ill. Physicians near and far were summoned to her castle at Rabanastre, but everyone solemnly knew that it was all for naught. Queen Ritz's illness had been foretold by many Ivalicean seers since even before she took the throne: at the age of 46, the queen would suffer a fatal disease, and her death shall be a harbinger for ancient, terrible evils to once more plague the fair land of Ivalice.

It is a prophecy that has been taken very seriously by the crown. During the queen's rule, much of Ivalice's resources was devoted to better understanding the lores of the land, in hopes of unearthing some piece of knowledge that would help them endure against the arcane threat. Many projects were undertaken to prepare for the approaching danger: some sought to recreate divine weapons, others to create new magic thought to be effective against the arcane. Most of these projects resulted in failure, but a few did succeed: the most resounding of these successes is Project Bel, whose goal was to train warriors that emulated the strength of the Seven Heroes of Ivalicean legend.

The prophecy was soon fulfilled: not a month after contracting her illness, the queen passed away in her sleep. In the wake of her death, Ivalice is thrown into a state of massive disarray. The rightful heirs to the throne—Prince Auber and Princess Gina—are shoved aside to make way for the late queen's ambitious siblings, and a number of claimants surfacing from the general populace. And so it was that the land of Ivalice, the horrors of war still fresh on its memory, looks slated to engage in warfare once more.

The queen's passing has also done little to discourage Ivalice's eternal aggressor, the Empire of Archades, which has been known to break treaties of peace in the past. Archades may see Ivalice's chaotic state of affairs as an open invitation to once again wage war upon its lands. Though after the war Ivalice had built strong alliances with the neighboring countries of Falmese and Jute, their numbers are far inferior to that of the Empire's, and coats may yet turn before the war is even begun.

In the midst of all this, Ivalice's Thirteen Orders must choose a power with which to ally with: keeping in mind the ever-present threat of Archades dogging Ivalice's heels, many have chosen to side with the militaristically-minded Grand Duke Ferre, who had governed Ivalice's border lands with a steady hand during the queen's rule. Others yet flock to the Grand Duchess Selu, whose diplomatic triumphs have brought harmonious peace to Ivalice's once-warring races. Furthermore, the merchant Safur Hellewyn, whose riches are said to be double that of the royal treasury, had made his own bid for the throne, with an army of mercenaries backing his claim.

It is inevitable: the fires of war will rage once more. And beyond the smoke, from the darkest reaches of the land, something wicked this way comes.

a hero emerges

YOU are a graduate of Research Operation Bellanova, better known as Project Bel. You were among the hundreds that volunteered to become a subject of the top-secret project, and one of only seven to survive the brutal experimentation. Your memories of Project Bel are not ones you would rather recall; perhaps you even regret your decision to become a part of the program. Whatever your feelings on the matter are, one thing is for sure: you have walked out of Project Bel exponentially stronger than before. This is in no small part due to the implantation of a magicite that the researchers called the demon factor in your body; supposedly, it was a piece cut out of the legendary magicites left behind by the Seven Heroes.

Following your release from Project Bel, you were inducted into the Order of Kingmarch: an order of the Ivalicean military whose main task is to combat the arcane forces that plague the land. It is an order filled to the brim with talented mages and powerful soldiers, but even among Ivalice's best and brightest, your strength in combat is clearly several cuts above the rest. Within the order, the seven of you are referred to as the demon knights; not out of spite, but rather out of respect for your formidable strength.

The Order of Kingmarch is stationed with two other orders in the Nalbina Fortress, an Ivalicean frontier that suffers constant aggressions by the neighboring Archades. The nearby town of Nalbina houses quite a large number of clans, and bills are regularly posted at the local pub. Most members of the Order double as part-time clan members or solo game hunters to counteract the meager soldier's wage; you may also choose to do this, as your overpowering strength would be a welcome addition to any clan. However, being a demon knight means that the military demands more of you than they do regular soldiers: your schedule is much tighter, and you often receive tasks with unforgiving deadlines. Duty must always come first: you must be ready to abandon clans and marks for the military, should the latter call on your strength.

Despite being trained to face the arcane, you have yet to face any since being released from Project Bel, save for the occasional wraith or two. But as news of the queen's prophesied illness reached Nalbina, you begin to re-train yourself in fighting the arcane, and refresh your knowledge of relevant Ivalicean lore. You know that your true task, whatever it might be, will soon arrive.​