In his tastefully elaborate private study the Herzgraf carefully and thoughtfully read from the copious amounts of written material he had stacked upon his desk and the tables at either side. Some of these were ancient texts, a thousand years old or nearly so, magically preserved to prevent any further decay. Others were recent missives only a few weeks old or even newer. Most fell someplace in between these vastly differing ranges of time. All of them were pertaining to one topic. This subject was the fixation of the Herzgraf such that he had difficulty sleeping and had lost a measure of his appetite in his vexations. His wife had playfully teased him that these concerns were indicative of his lack of faith. He had chuckled of course, because when your wife teases you that is the only proper response. He was alarmed though by her insight. The Queen of Slothjemia never said anything, even in jest, that she did not in some capacity believe to be true.

The measure of the Herzgraf’s faith could not be taken that easily. He was an aging paladin, guided by his belief in divine plans and unknown schemes his entire life. He had never questioned the course that God had set before him at any juncture his journey through this mortal existence had encountered. He firmly believed with all of his being that his was not to question why, but to serve dutifully, and if need be, die. The Herzgraf was closing in on his eightieth birthday but only in the last few years had he begun to feel age creeping up on him. His faith remained strong despite the challenges he faced. But his challenges were not merely his alone.

In the last decade or so the Herzgraf had begun the process of handing over his official duties to others. One of his sons had taken over the leadership of the Bearers of the Gauntlet, the paladin lodge that the Herzgraf had founded for adventuring cavaliers. His son-in-law, Lord Shr Balgorn von Zinderfen-Slothjem, had been given the overall command of the Slothjemian military as he would eventually take on the title of “Herzgraf” when Crown Princess Katherina took over as regent. This left only the social requirements as the Queen’s husband, and those were becoming more and more infrequent as Queen Reichsha had begun the process of handing over her duties to her eldest daughter. The only role that the Herzgraf held on to with an iron grip was the seat he occupied on the Council of Schönbrunn. This dedicated group of leaders from the most powerful allied countries in Partum kept a close tab on their common enemies and sought wherever possible to combat evil in all of its forms.

This cause so near and dear to the aging paladin’s heart was the reason for all of these letters, tomes, reports, maps, illustrations, formulas, and correspondences. In the last twenty years or so the overarching threat to peace and tranquility in Partum was the Fourth Imperium. A more odious and horrifying nation had never been seen, its evil outpacing even that of the Sikilian liches, whom the Fourth Imperium had straight up absorbed. In a callous bid to curry favor with the nations of Partum the Fourth Imperium had formed a number of crusades against the Torkan Caliphates, but the Council of Schönbrunn had seen through these ruses as a way for the Imperium to weaken and divide the allies. However, the crusades had allowed the Fourth Imperium to conquer the states of the Ybarian peninsula, the Illyrian city-states, and the once proud independent city of Kugahloo, which the conquerors had renamed Gothstantinople. War between the Fourth Imperium and the allied states of Fanolania, Geldenreich, Slothjemia, Lusatia, and Renatus had erupted in the last eight years. The terrifying might of the Fourth Imperium was being met with fierce resistance in every form from civilian militia to spelljammers.

This hadn’t been enough. The Herzgraf was determined to bring down the sinister influence that governed the Fourth Imperium once and for all. His target? The Supreme Pontiff and Imperator of the Dominion, Callidus Magna. This would be the end for the Fourth Imperium. But it would mean the involvement of the greatest collection of heroes the Council of Schönbrunn had access to. Only one nation was close enough to the fighting and yet far enough away from the carnage to really lend a hand. Renatus. It was time for Archduke Xan and his stalwart comrades to once again take up arms.