The Forces

People in Arc don't name their side. They just say "us". The real names are old, saved for oaths, for battle cries and for stories told late at night. Right now three of them are at war: Order, Chaos and Life.

Order is the kingdom. It has laws for nearly everything, knights to make sure you follow them, and cities with walls thick enough to keep the rest of Arc outside. The clans call them the city folk. Usually behind their backs.

Chaos is the free tribes and clans, each led by its own chief. Nobody tells them what to do, and anyone who tries finds that out quickly. "Chaos" is what the others call it. To them, it's freedom, and they'll happily explain the difference.

Life was never part of the old fight between the other two. It stands for the wilds: the forests, the beasts, the places nobody has built a wall around yet. It doesn't pick a side. That doesn't mean it stays home. When Order or Chaos come for the wilds, Life fights them both.

Order and Chaos have hated each other for so long that nobody remembers why. Ask one side and you'll get a story. Ask the other and you'll get a different one. Life stays out of it, unless someone comes for the wilds. Right now, someone always is.

The three live mixed across Arc, each with regions of its own, but the borders move every time someone wins a battle. Maps go out of date fast.

You can switch sides, but people rarely do. Your own side will call it treason, and they have long memories.