Dione

Dione serves as the opening setting of FFR. Dione acts as the primary continent of the Northern Hemisphere. it consists of eight primary nations and was the key location of the Eight Kingdoms War.

Before the War
200 years ago, the various nations of Dione existed in a loose peace. While border skirmishes were common, there had not been a large scale war for quite some time. Alliances or politics and families kept them in check, while most people lived in smaller agriculture based communities. Magic was the prevailing force to be reckoned with, with travel limited to animals or slow wooden sailing vessels.

Incident
~Pending Development~ From there sparked an age known as the Eight Kingdoms War.

Dawn of Steam
Roughly 100 years ago, an engineer named Oberon developed the first helium lifted Airship, sparking an industrial revolution. Along with other developments, steam powered engines made it possible to create these flying transports, which were quickly absorbed for military use. These early craft were slow and cumbersome, often more a flying deathtrap than a weapon of destruction. Each nation acquired the designs and new exotic variations soon followed. Bilomik soon pulled ahead as the best manufacturer of airships, not only for their own use and defense, but also exporting and selling them to other nations.

While some nations turned to technology for an edge, others turned to sorcery and nature for help. In Ralse, and along the mountains of northern Gamemnon, they captured and tamed mighty drakes and dragons, giving rise to their mighty Dragoon Corps, mounted air-cavalry deployed to do battle with the airships of the other nations as well as to swoop down to attack ships and soldiers below.

As soldiers took to the air, a new weapon found its' way onto the field; the rifle. While primative, these early guns rapidly developed from hand cannons and matchlocks to flintlocks, and recently into cartridge loaded weapons of extreme range and accuracy. While guns have now become a common sight on the battlefield, they are in many cases relegated to specialists.

In Rhokan, the new age of technology allowed them to create the single most powerful naval force in the world, primarily to defend their borders from the Dysnomian Pirate fleets. Their new iron clad, steam powered vessels dominated the seas for many years, but the Pirates quickly caught up and soon began to surpass them.

"Progress" of the War
Losses on all sides were innumerable. The nation of (fracture) broke apart under the weight of a civil war, eventually reforming as K6 and K7. Bilomik was conquered by Duran, and remains occupied to this day. Rhokan lost much of it's fleet during a large battle with Ralse that left them crippled and effectively out of the fight.

K3's population was starving and finally rebelled under the leadership of the Vigilist Church to take over the country. From this, a new theocracy was born, and their missionaries became a common sight across Dione.

Devastation
Meanwhile nearly 30 years ago in Gamemnon, an unknown experiment in the capital of An'Seral went awry. A colossal explosion the likes of which no one had ever seen annihilated the capital city, the royal family, and much of their military command. The skies remained dark for months, and the war came to a halt.

No one knew what had happened or why, but soon afterwards, they faced a new threat: Umbriel, the beast continent. Vast armies of monsters and beastmen crossed the Devil's Channel into Gamemnon, and cut a swath of death through the already disheartened populace. Refugees poured across the borders into Ralse and Duran, and the war efforts were redirectd to create a new barricade to halt the beasts advance.

Following the devastation of Gamemnon, an arms race started between Ralse and Duran, Both sides rushed to perfect new weapons and spells to help guard their borders from each other and the surging beast hordes. On the magical side of the race, a magical grafting process was perfected, allowing properly attuned mages to be accelerated to use spells such as Ultima and Flare. On the other side, a new fuel cell system was developed using a compressed magical string of energy rather than flame power to operate machinery. These Magi-Cells enabled the construction of more advanced steam powered machines from airships, to biplane fighters, to primitive mecha.

Crusades
With the Gamemnon border sealed, and tensions rising, Omnirector Ramuh of the Vigilist Church called a meeting of the disparate nations leaders. At this summit, it was agreed that after nearly 20 years, it was time to retake Gamemnon from the beasts, and the call of Crusade was heard throughout Dione.

The First Crusade was a debacle and ended badly. The so called "coalition" army never unified and that lack of cooperation left them vulnerable. While several routes into the interior were secured, infighting soon left them open for the beasts to swarm and decimate the crusaders. Much of the territory they captured was lost in a matter of days, and the crusade ended in defeat.

Recently, with the recriminations over the failure of the crusade and the arms race driving military deployment, an escalation of the war seemed inevitable. Again, the Omnirector called for a conference, and this time, he took charge. A neutral commander was selected, and Vigilant advisors were placed within the various military forces to communicate and coordinate with each-other to help this Second Crusade succeed.

Countries and Nations

 * Ralse
 * Duran
 * K3 (Church)
 * Rhokon
 * Gamemnon
 * K6 (Monarchy)
 * K7 (Republic)
 * Bilongdamik

Major Cities

 * An'Seral - The devestated capital of Gamemnon
 * Hilliard - An older city with a large market and port in Duran

Background
Dione, named for one of the moons of Saturn (and the associated Titan). Dione serves as an allegory for Europe through the ages.