• Mercenary
• Tracker
• Warden
• Runemancer
• Geomancer
• Battlemancer
• Alchemist
• Architect
• Shaman
• Siege Golem
• Transport Golem
• Sentinel
• Wraith
• Spartan
• Tempest

Mercenaries are typically considered good men; to those who face the same direction on the field of battle. They protect their brethren from harm and do what needs to be done to ensure the survival of their people. Left without a trade and without family or homes, these dour fighters are determined to stay alive by any means necessary. They have forged a new trade since the Void came to destroy their way of life, and are now solely devoted to the art of bloodshed. These fighters live day-by-day largely uncaring of their orders and focus on the grim task at hand. Mercenaries are known to viciously defend their comrades. When a close friend passes into the afterlife, they will fly into a wild rage and stop at nothing to avenge their brethrens death.

Quiet and watchful, Trackers were known in the time before the Void for their speed and agility, navigating difficult forest paths with ease. Now they are known for their deadly precision and silent cunning. They have amended their hunting abilities in the time since the Void, to act as scouts for their adopted army and back up the vicious mercenaries who front their formations. Trackers have most strongly felt the impact the Void has had on their beloved land and have grown as bitter and twisted as the thorny branches that now spawn from the trees. They are enraged by what has befallen the earth and closely study the environment as it distorts and bends to the Voids will. A glimpse into a Trackers eyes reveals an echo of the madness of the misshapen beasts that now scavenge the land.

Wardens are fierce fighters and even fiercer leaders. They condemn fleeing and see battle as an escape from the reality of their current situation. Wardens revere bravery and condemn cowardice. They have little tolerance for talk of better days and hone their troops into a force worth reckoning with. Riding atop giants of stone the Wardens keep watch on their men and will protect them with their last dying breath. These commanders are as strong willed as the hides of the mounts they ride on. From kings to warriors to town blacksmiths, the destruction that the Void wrought has forged unwavering leaders from otherwise ordinary men. They are like none the world has ever seen.

Stoic and stern, Runemancers have patiently studied the ancient language that has mysteriously covered their world for eons. The Runemancers who survived the coming of the Void, known to many as the Cataclysm, are uncertain if their people have ever fully understood the archaic magic that the symbols unlock. Most Runemancers spend the majority of their time studying old tomes and ancient scrolls. They seek knowledge of the powerful rune language and are bent on revealing the answers as to how the ancient magic imbued in their cities walls keeps the Void at bay. The Runemancer magic is most potent when the proper runes are drawn and spoken in unison. This law has been revealed on numerous occasions when an unfortunate young mancer speaks and draws the incorrect rune combination. The ill-fated speaker with singed lips and burnt lungs is considered lucky to stand with their head upright on their shoulders. Runemancers study hard and are rewarded with great power, the aberrant words they utter burn with the promise of destruction even when used to create; the complex rune words drawn in the air, glimmer with explosive potential. Their high standing and divine power secures them the respect of most, though they are pompous and arrogant; finding all objectives but their own pointless and trivial.

Sometime after the Void tore through the land the Geomancer art began to gain status until it divided entirely from the Runemancer school. Intrigued by the great crystals that adorned the ruined villages protected from the Void, mancers set out to discover their true power. The most obstinate Runemancers believed this venture was a waste of time and thus the division of the arts began. Geomancers dig deep into the earth studying and examining all specimens they find. Their main purpose is to determine the source of the crystals which blaze with power filled light anytime the Void is near. The Geomancers have taken to the art of creating mechanical devices usually compromised of sets of wires which wrap around crystals and draw energy from them to power the device. These devices harness the crystals power and are used by the Geomancers to form their magic. The Runemancer school finds this form of magic primitive and although they do not entirely approve of it they grudgingly respect their brother Geomancers for the power they have attained. Geomancers use the crystal powered devices to speak to the earth and unleash the furies buried deep underground.

When supreme chaos still gripped the world after the Cataclysm there were an extreme amount of casualties. Smaller cities and towns not protected from the Void were wiped out within hours of the Void catching them in its grasp. The population seemed to be sliced clean in half with each wave of the Void. Because of this shortage, mancers and warriors alike were in high demand to keep order and protect the remaining people. Mancers who were cut off from the majority of their school and low on supplies were forced to wield weapons and fight for their very lives. These mancers warped their magic to the art of war and invented new ways to benefit the battlefield. Once reunited with their school these mancers continued to incorporate their knowledge of close combat fighting into their daily studies. The Runemancers found this disgraceful and accused these mancers of being bloodthirsty and unworthy of their knowledge of magic. Outnumbered greatly these mancers were forced to agree to terms decreed by the other mancer schools. They were to become the mancers special guard. They would study with Wardens and Mercenary men and bring back that knowledge to the Runemancers. It was also decreed they would be limited severely in the amount of knowledge they were allowed access to and were forced to create many of their own battle enhancing spells. Wielding a crystal adorned staff as well as a short sword or other one handed weaponry, these mancers eventually adopted the title of Battlemancer. Some of them hold a grudge against the other schools for the knowledge that they were denied but find solace in the arc of their magic infused blades.

The best word to describe an Alchemist is eccentric. Though few would ever venture to publicly state this title, for fear of the noxious concoctions that mysteriously might find their way into their next drink, any Alchemist would bear the designation proudly. Though most of the records have been lost it is said that the first Alchemists rose up in the time before the Void in response to the Mancer schools denying entry to those who did not posses natural skill. The rejects decided to start their own school, fanatically trying to replicate the power that Mancers possessed. In what the Mancers considered a mockery of the arts, Alchemists tried to replicate the powerful magic through mixing dangerous components and studying reactions and results of various extreme experiments. The Mancers tried to ban the school, claiming it to be too unstable and dangerous and they likely would have succeeded had not the Void come to rock the foundations of their world. With so few survivors the Mancers agreed to reinstate the school, needing all the help they could get. With the Void offering an opportunity to continue their research, Alchemists have accepted the challenge and continue to singe their eyebrows and maintain a fierce love for all things that explode.

Originally blacksmiths and thatch layers, the Void left many people without a trade. These people not possessing the spark and not strong enough to survive the harsh training of Mercenaries and Trackers had but one use, menial labour with the only tools they possessed; their own two hands. Helping to re-build the ruins of their civilization some of these people began to get ideas on how to better the structures they had previously built and put their creative minds to use. Some were inspired by the Geomancers and their crystal powered devices, others were just geniuses who never had the opportunity to reach their full potential in the old world. Tired of patching and fixing things these skilled labourers ventured to join the Alchemists in order to grow their new trade of invention. The Alchemists were sceptical at first, but when these people produced mechanisms to speed up research and chemical production in their labs the Alchemists gave them their full support. These people, now named Architects, can usually be spotted tearing through the streets, complex scrolls falling from their arms, mechanisms dangling from their belts. They are running because they are typically chasing a device that has preformed horribly wrong and is causing a ruckus throughout the town. Still, for all of the damage they do, the people of their town stand them with raised eyebrows and sad shakes of their heads. Any increase as to the quality of life since the Cataclysm usually is due to an Architects designs. The Architects are happy to not be slaving away on menial repetitive tasks and fit right in with the eccentric Alchemists. They do their best to keep their heads down and noses out of other people’s business but are obsessed and fascinated by anything man made.

As more and more cities began to separate into factions and wars broke out amongst them, the cities found themselves knee deep in all manner of wounded men. The Mancers, concerned primarily with their studies and convinced that their contribution of Mancers to the soldiers ranks was sufficient, refused to devote any reliable number of Mancers to help the injured forces. The Alchemists on the other hand were delighted and took the opportunity to test out their latest concoctions on the unfortunate troops who were unlucky enough to wind up in the Brewery’s sick beds. As soldiers, eager to join the ranks of the dead continued to pile up in the gutters, local herbalists and people of similar ideologies banded together and took over the care of the sick and injured. They then demanded a number of Mancers and Alchemists alike to devote time to helping them find new ways of curing wounds. This ushered in a new faction, the Shaman, who are solely devoted to caring for the infirm. They believe that every life lost brings their race one step closer to destruction and do all in their power to stop it. The Mancers and Alchemists each helped in their own way to spark the knowledge of the Shaman. Their deep study of the body as well as the soul has provided great insight into how exactly the Void affects people’s minds. It is their prerogative to help defend against this madness and stem the insanity that is flooding the world.

Due to the frequency of the cycles of the Void it was difficult for war parties to transport siege equipment with them as they tried to move quickly between safe ruin locations. Most towns that remain inhabited are thoroughly defended by formidable towers and impenetrable walls. Because of the Transport golems excellent resistance to the Void, a similar Golem was constructed to carry massive siege weaponry. This golem, dubbed the Siege Golem, lumbers after an army as they make their way to their enemies walls. Recharging its energy at ruins along the way the Siege golem is responsible for the conquest of many towns.

As the Voids attacks became more frequent many people were cut-off from their towns. Both hunting and war parties had to push themselves past their limits in order to make it to safe locations before another phase of the Void struck. Unable to replicate the magic that has kept the Void at bay, the Mancers began to build structures using ruins already imbued with the magic force. Together they managed to create a rune enhanced bunker which when tested in the Void, managed to repel its most potent effects. They then attached this bunker atop a massive golem, using complicated crystal devices and with help from the Architects they were able to power the colossal beast of stone to lumber slowly forwards. These massive rock golems became known as Transports. Though they move extremely slow, they can carry troops safely through the Void with few ill effects.

Sentinels were stumbled upon during the creation of the siege golems. No one understands quite what happened during their creation, only that every so often a golem that is built and given magic to power it has ended up more than just chunks of stone. Some form consciousness is left behind within the being constructed of boulders and magic. The consciousness is rumoured to be a wayward soul that escaped the Void. These creatures remain loyal and fight side by side with their creators but they are restless and can typically be found pacing the city walls. Trying to comprehend their existence, these giants are as confused and afraid as most people. Usually they can be found with their brothers, the Transport and Siege Golems who are stored in the Quarry, unpowered and lifeless without a Mancers magic. The Sentinel’s cannot understand why so few of them become sentient and have made it their goal to understand all they can about the world and how to give life to their brothers.

When one is suffering from prolonged exposure to the Void, when they are babbling inconsolably and become a danger to themselves and those around them, it is customary to grant this person a kindness and put them out of their deranged misery. There are extremely few people who have not had someone close to them claimed by the Void and all those who have, only take solace in the fact that they died quickly. Some victims of the Void do not however die quickly, nor do they die at all. These people somehow manage to survive the onslaught of the Void, and as their soul is being driven from their body they manage to grasp hold of a fragment and lock it away somewhere the Void cannot harm it. These people are known as Void Walkers and spoken of with as much terror as the Void itself. They are detested by many, as they claim to be close to the Void, to understand it. They often plunge themselves into the Void as it covers the land, emerging when it ends, their wild eyes clouded and unaware. The censers they often keep with them pulse a sickly dark colour, and people often cover their mouths and advert their eyes as a Void Walker approaches. Though they seem frail and empty, a shell of what they once were, Void Walkers are formidable opponents. Some believe they have harnessed the same power as the Void, others believe they are just damned. Either way, screaming, fleeing men tend to mark the appearance of a Void Walker on the battlefield.

Legends have formed during the age of the Void of safe-havens high in the highest mountain ranges, and deep underground in secret valleys and mines. Places where peace can still be found, sanctuaries from the madness that floods the rest of the world. Residing in these havens are people who have found ways of coping with the Void, who live each day with the sole purpose of training their bodies and minds to achieve the purest state of being. These societies sequester themselves away from anything and everything that has been touched by the Void in the hopes that one day the Void will leave and they will be able to form some semblance of normal society once again. The Monks train vigorously in combat, perfecting every movement and step. They devote every second of their life to becoming better than they are. Sometimes one of these people will wander too far from the protections of their home and become tainted by the Void. Their people believe even gazing upon a single leaf, marked by the Void can corrupt a man’s heart. These monks are cast out, exiled into the chaos torn world, expected to perish along with the rest of corrupted humanity. Very few of these monks make it to safe shelter, and fewer still with their iron clad wits about them, but those that do are silent and implacable. They refuse to speak a word of their hidden temples and yet continue their training as if nothing has changed for them. This devotion and discipline has earned them the title of Spartan among many and they are held with awe and respect by all.

Mancers long ago were trained in the art of summoning un-tameable elements and bidding them to carry out their will, these Mancers were among the greatest and most powerful to have ever lived. The elemental art was however destroyed along with many Mancer secrets and ancient knowledge when the Void first came to rest its shadowed hand upon the world. But as the ancient runic magic sprang to life in the stones that were imbued by its power, saving the people from complete destruction, so to did elemental magic spark in rare young souls who had begun their Mancer training. These children became wild and benevolent, the raging elements inside them pure chaos to their young minds. The Mancer schools bent all their knowledge into training these students, moulding their minds into some form of order, fashioning them into a powerful weapons. Without the proper training and shielding most of these Mancers destroy themselves before adulthood, but some, the strongest willed of them all, harness the elements that try to tear them apart and battle for their very minds every day. These Mancers, known as Tempests are for the most part locked away deep within the schools but when their need is dire, they are unleashed upon the enemy in a storm of blood and bone that few can ever forget.