Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave, the royal bastard of House Vasquer, went into his magic apprenticeship cruel and awkward, yet left it with neat dignity and an acerbic wit. Beneath the self-assurance, the body's new soul wrestles with the dread of existing in a reality that once existed only in the pages of fantasy. In the blink of an eye, a wiki editor's deep — and somewhat unhealthy — understanding of a game becomes useful, usable knowledge when he inexplicably replaces the once-cruel royal bastard. Before he can leverage his knowledge of the lore to handle the imminent apocalypse, there's a more personal problem: his cousin has a knife in her hand and death in her eyes.

Argrave tasted the invasion's bitter bite and earned some breathing room — but each breath is short, as he's still hounded by the frailty he inherited from the original owner of his body. With plague sweeping through the world, literally reconstructing his body is the only way to survive the coming trials. His brother and deranged father struggle to hold a kingdom on the brink of civil war. Necromantic atrocities and the order of knights meant to contain them compete to prove which can pose a deadlier obstacle to Argrave's plans. He knows something they don't — something that makes him grimly move forward no matter the cost. The clock is ticking.

Argrave's harrowing journey to the Burnt Desert left him at death's door but breathed new life into his group — adding a fresh face to the party. His goal is in sight within this foreign land with a tradition of hostility, and he stands on the cusp of becoming black-blooded. All the magic, components, and requisite skills are close at hand. But the closer the team gets to their desires, the tighter the web of conflict tightens around them — woven by the zealous followers of the despotic god Fellhorn. Even if they can convince the reclusive and unstable Alchemist to perform the procedure, he can demand any price: body, mind, or soul.

Leaving behind a resounding change after his confrontation with the followers of Fellhorn, Argrave returns to his home country. Old friends and enemies alike await his return — neither can know how much the desert changed him. Heading into the heart of a plague-ridden land, Argrave must call upon the aid of his brother Orion — mercurial, zealous, and unfathomably strong, possibly the only one capable of combating the foul force spawning this unnatural disease. Yet if Orion learns how Argrave has changed, this potent ally could become an enemy in moments.

After one of the deadliest family reunions imaginable, Argrave finds himself ever more entwined in the civil war engulfing the kingdom. With a steeled heart, he plunges into a maelstrom of grudges, betrayal, and allegiances, seeking allies who can watch his back. Foremost among them is Elenore — a woman who is blind and lame, yet has more vision than a thousand others. Argrave must earn her trust, even if no one else understands why. She's untrusting, pragmatic, callous, and selfish, making her a difficult ally to win — especially while his father the king remains undefeated in battle.

Countless obstacles have barred Argrave's uncertain path to kingship, most of all his own acceptance — yet now the race is nearing its end. His brother Orion has defied their father, but a kingdom is more than its king alone. Each of the kingdom's dozen vassals have vassals of their own, and Vasquer teeters on the brink of shattering into countless petty nations. The stain of bastardry lingers on Argrave's claim. Unless he intends to earn a title without power, he must act as delicate diplomat, unbroken commander, and just ruler all at once. Serious introspection suggests he may be none of the three — but then, who's to say a king has to be himself at all?

The Kingdom of Vasquer stands unified against the coming calamity — but enemies still lurk beyond the border. A vast belt of towering redwood trees to the northeast, the Bloodwoods, experiences tumult so severe it begins to spill over into Vasquer. As the situation in the nearby nation proves increasingly dire, Argrave is forced to take direct action before a wave of hostile people and animals native to those towering woods ravage the kingdom. Unwelcome by both the indigenous elves and centaurs, the diplomatic mission promises to veer in countless directions — but this time, Argrave has a nation at his back.

Argrave has dealt with all the surface has to offer — and now has to deal with what lies beneath it. The underground is a merciless place that can claim even the most hardened adventurer, and the hard times there have created hard people who much prefer the easy living of the surface. A cult prepares to strike at the Kingdom of Vasquer, its leader possessing strength that might justify his claim to godhood. In the coming tragedy, however, lies opportunity: in these underground depths, there are hints of a greater future than the cycle of judgment the heavens bestowed. And Argrave has never been one to let the future pass him by.

A world-ending calamity is not merely a distant threat — it is actively exploiting the volatile forces of the planet's core. Or so the story goes. In truth, it is a convenient deception, deployed to engage in diplomacy with the reclusive dwarves, who long ago mastered the planet's depths and have decided to leave the fate of the surface to surface-dwellers. Argrave desperately needs their knowledge, yet their democratic culture looks down upon his monarchic ways as backward and unproductive. Given the heights their people have reached, they may be justified in doing so. But Argrave has never let justification hold him back.

Defeating the overseas invaders wasn't the end of a problem — it was the beginning. Argrave's divine opponents have taken root in an empire that has prevailed for millennia, launching a relentless barrage against him and all his people. With a severe numerical and technological advantage, this foe would be nigh-impossible to defeat under normal circumstances. Argrave travels overseas carrying the banner of a claimant — a man too ambitious and cunning to be a good puppet, but committed to ridding his empire of all pretenders and self-proclaimed gods. Imperial politics have had infinitely more losers than winners, but Argrave and his family enter the arena with their heads held high.

Moving into a new, ancient home, one expects to find secrets. In this case, Argrave has made the world his home, and the secrets he is finding affect far more than him alone — yet they prove unusually centered on his heritage, his blood, and aspects of his life whose deeper significance he is only now beginning to uncover. At the same time, darker aspects of the world demand attention. Typically, evil comes out of the abyss to wreak havoc. Argrave has never enjoyed this bloody game — but the abyss is the abyss, a place no living thing has ever walked or seen. Is there even a route forward?

After a grueling journey, Argrave has come to what promises to be the end of the line. Years of preparation will now combat millennia of a cycle of misery. The battle promises to be more than a simple struggle for victory — it has become bitterly personal, for both vengeance and the protection of loved ones. Even if Argrave can win, he isn't certain he can do so without loss. But the table has already been set, the die already cast, and the war has begun. All that remains is seeing everything to completion.