New Eden was a low-tier planet founded forty years ago in a distant star system far from Earth. The world looked like Earth but twice as large; its surface was mostly land, with only two seas. New Eden split into two continents: North and South. The North answered to the Aetherblade Guild; the South fell under the Brotherhood.
Each region bowed to a transcendence-level ruler. Across the galaxy the truly powerful forces weren't nations but guilds — dynasties of strength and influence. At the top sat the Nine Thrones, and the most feared of them all was the Axion Guild. Why? Because the Axions had three Supreme-level beings and a swarm of transcendence-class members backing them.
"How strong is a Supreme?" you might ask. Strong enough to travel between planets without support. Strong enough to cut down hellish beasts and stand toe-to-toe with devils. Supremes reshape battle lines with a thought; planets are their playground and fleets their toys.
The Axions weren't a guild so much as a ruling family. Their bloodline bore the Golden Thunder aspect — lightning given noble form. They controlled hundreds of clans, roughly two hundred planets from mid to high tier, and a staggering 1.5 million warships, 500 of which were motherships. They also ran thousands of corporations. It was chilling to think of them as anything but an imperial dynasty.
Second on the list was Golden Dawn. Their aspect was the Golden Body — flesh that could harden like living metal, turning humans into walking fortresses. They specialized in devastating spear techniques. Golden Dawn commanded roughly a million warships, 200 motherships, and about 150 planets. Their strength lay in unbreakable defense and rigid discipline.
Third came the Military. Although it lost much of its political authority early on, it rebuilt into a technocratic leviathan. The Military controlled around eighty planets, including Earth, and held massive research facilities and sanctioned transcendence programs. Many powerful figures rose through its ranks; many more joined for resources and protection.
Vanguard, Ethan's former guild, ranked fourth. They ruled some sixty planets and fielded about 500,000 warships and fifty motherships. Vanguard's hallmark was the shapeshifting aspect — masters of disguise, infiltration, and adaptive combat. Ethan never climbed the bloodlines; had it not been for a transcendent patron who noticed his potential, he'd have stayed infantry.
Aetherblade — rulers of New Eden's North — specialized in wind aspect arts. The Aetherblade Technique was a family legacy: a sword style born of wind and motion that no outsider could truly master. Their duels and rituals made them proud and insular.
The Brotherhood, who held the South where Ethan grew up, were different. They were less organized empire and more a loose confederation of transcendents who refused strict hierarchy. They preferred freedom and autonomy over duty — and that made them dangerous in their own way.
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Ethan lay in a hospital bed with his family around him. The loss of his father, Joseph, still didn't make sense. Joseph had died in a way that smelled of conspiracy. Ethan suspected the Brotherhood had a hand in it — after all, they'd sold Joseph to the Military and gotten a mothership in return.
Joseph had been working on a weapon meant to counter the new threats spilling from dungeons. He never intended it for war; he feared mass slaughter if the device fell into the wrong hands. The weapon could wipe the entire southern continent clean — an unthinkable power. Joseph refused to release it until he was certain humanity wouldn't use it against itself.
Ethan's jaw clenched. He kept the anger to himself as he laughed and played with his younger sister, Cynthia — "Little Finger" — letting false normality settle over them for a moment.
Don't worry, Pa, Ethan thought, watching her. I'll make them pay. I'll make the Brotherhood burn.