The keepers of the arcane
On the Icy Continent, beneath tombs older than memory, lies knowledge that does not want to be found. Two powers have spent themselves chasing it: one that would cage it, and one that would set it loose. Between them stand the only people who can touch it and live.
Everyone needs the explorers. No one trusts what the explorers become.
Sentinel
Sentinel is an organization shaped by corporate ambition, determined to harness ancient knowledge for cutting-edge science and technology. Publicly, they promise progress for humanity’s greater good; beneath those claims lies a simpler hunger — for power.
As the primary financiers of every expedition to the Icy Continent, Sentinel’s influence is absolute. They are at once the guardians and the gatekeepers of the world’s arcane secrets: nothing is uncovered that they do not permit, and nothing they uncover is ever truly given back.
The House of Bliss
Before Sentinel’s intervention, the House of Bliss stood as a dangerously fanatical faction, dedicated to unearthing the forbidden lore buried within the icy tombs — willing to tear open realities for a single glimpse of arcanic insight.
Their efforts brought the world perilously close to collapse. In meddling with powers that predate it, they nearly unraveled everything.
The first expedition
The truth of the House of Bliss’s machinations came to light during the first Sentinel-led expedition. Uncovering the cult’s twisted agenda, Sentinel acted swiftly and decisively, halting the catastrophic chain of events before it could consume the known world. The victory elevated Sentinel to the status of an indispensable savior — and tightened their hold on forbidden knowledge into a stranglehold.
The Clovis-Petrovna Reformation Act
In the wake of these revelations, the Clovis-Petrovna Reformation Act was imposed. The House of Bliss was disbanded as a power structure; its archives, research, and resources were seized and placed under Sentinel’s authority. No longer permitted to operate as a reckless cult, the remnants were forced to reform into a measured, philosophy-driven order.
The transition was anything but smooth. Violent resistance flared as members refused to bow to Sentinel’s corporate grip. Today the House of Bliss exists as a shadow of its former self — still drawn to the arcanic mysteries of Machina Arcana, but tempered by oversight and restraint. Beneath the new veneer of calm, old resentments linger, and not everyone is content to let their once-mighty faction kneel.
The Explorers
Every faction relies on Explorers to push its agenda forward, because only these exceptional individuals can withstand the arcanic anomalies that tear lesser mortals apart. Serving as the players’ avatars, they delve into forbidden ruins and hidden sites, piecing together fragments of lost knowledge as they move ever closer to the grand binding narrative.
The earliest Explorers hold a stranger connection still. Their minds, bodies, and souls are fused with Machina Arcana Herself. Each is recorded within Her etheric vault, and can be summoned into reality through strange devices known as the Chambers of Natus. As Her children, these chosen Explorers wield powers that set them apart — the most valuable assets any faction could hope to possess in the long struggle to harness the arcane.