[float=right][/float]Location/Role: Date Masamune is the leader of Sendai, one in a handful of small, culture-based fiefdoms in the eastern expanses of Camelot. A relatively young individual, Masamune tends to wander throughout the collection of villages under his control. He can be found as far away as Minas Tirith, usually on diplomatic and economic missions.

Story: Before the Omniverse, Masamune was a warlord in Japan—a highly successful one. His personality is of a dual nature. On the battlefield, he comes off as cocky and arrogant, perhaps due to his undying energy and enthusiasm in combat. To his men, he is respected and admired due to his transparency, openness for advice, and the genuine care he shows toward them.

Wielding one to six katanas, Masamune charges into combat on something halfway between a horse and a motorcycle. No one has yet to find out the truth of how Masamune lost his eye, and every time he promises to tell the truth, he usually invents a new lie.

When he arrived in the Omniverse several years ago, Masamune spent a period of time in the Tangled Green. He lived with the ninjas for a period of time before he aspired for something closer to his previous life. With that thought in mind, he moved to Camelot and fought for the Kingdom in the battle against the forces of Diablo. Masamune’s experience and charisma set him aside from the rank-and-file, and overtime, he became a leader.

At the war’s conclusion, Masamune and the families of his soldiers made their way to the northeast of Camelot. There they founded the first of a few villages that would become Sendai, which became one of the many autonomous fiefdoms of Camelot. In his capacity as ruler, Masamune is forced to contend with the occasional regional conflicts that break out between humans and non-humans. Never one to shy from confrontation, he stands out as being one of the more forceful leaders, and he will often personally lead delegations to other regional rulers.

[float=right][/float]Location/Role: Charles Xavier fled to Camelot seeking political asylum from the Empire in the waning days of the conflict with Diablo.  Since then, the wheelchair-bound psychic has become one of King Aragon’s closest confidantes and advisors.  Due to his condition, position, and the fact that many in Coruscant still want him executed as a traitor, Xavier rarely travels beyond Minas Tirith and Dalaran.  Even so, he has been known to make trips to outlying villages, usually with an armed bodyguard of the Kingdom’s elite knights.

Story: Charles Xavier was both a headmaster and a professor in his previous life.  In his world, individuals with unique powers were labeled ‘mutants’ and often forced to hide their identity from even their loved ones.  Xavier, a scholar and a powerful psychic mutant himself, rose to prominence and started a private school for ‘gifted youngsters’ (mutants).  Despite his efforts, mutants remained pariahs and outcasts, especially after a former associate of Xavier turned to violence and terrorism in the name of mutant supremacy.  Charles was accidentally crippled by this associate during an attempt to convince him to stand-down.

Despite his injury, Charles continued to advocate for mutant rights.  As the world became a more violent place, Charles took many of his students and trained them to be heroes.  The basement levels of his mansion became the headquarters for the 'X-Men,' a group of mutants whose primary opponents wound up, ironically enough, being mutants themselves (a brotherhood led by Charles' former friend).

For decades, Charles carried out his various duties as a headmaster, public advocate, and guardian for the X-Men.  One day, Charles went to sleep at night, and he woke up in the Fountain of Infinity. After an initial period of confusion, the professor made his way to Coruscant, as the verse somewhat resembled the world he knew and loved.  Aware of the conflict between the Empire and the Kingdom, Charles spent much of his time on Tiers 5 and 6, working with the less fortunate as he tried to adjust to the Omniverse.  As the conflict with Diablo wound down, Xavier gradually started to see the truth of the Empire.  His shelters and halfway homes became safe houses for rebels and way stations in the transportation of food and non-combat supplies to anyone deemed enemies of the state.

Eventually, Charles and his efforts to help the unfortunate and subtly combat the Empire were discovered.  Xavier escaped a raid on his home personally lead by Judge Dredd, and despite the bounty on his head, he found passage through Coruscant due to the support of the hundreds of people he’d helped.

The mutant wound up in Camelot, where he found sanctuary due to his status as a high-profile opponent of the Empire.  Aside from his powerful psychic abilities, his knowledge of Coruscant’s lower tiers and anti-imperial forces led him to a position in Aragon’s inner circle.  This is to say nothing of the professor’s compassion and genius-level intellect.  Since his arrival in Camelot, he has served in a capacity of roles which often relate to intelligence, diplomacy, and several stints as an instructor for fledgling wizards.

While he doesn’t harbor any ill feelings for the imperial leadership, Xavier is dedicated to seeing the Empire removed and the status quo improved for the citizens who suffering in the lower tiers.

[float=right][/float]Location/Role: Roland Deschain is the ‘leader/sheriff’ of the Town with No Name. Those who respect and admire him usually refer to him as ‘Sheriff.’ While he is not a perfect or completely moral man, Deschain is one of the few individuals actively working to ensure that the town doesn’t descend back into the chaos and violence of the period after the Empire withdrew from the region. Even so, he maintains a tenuous hold on the town, protecting it from the worst that the Dunes has to offer. In this role, he is extremely visible and rarely outside the Town with No Name. When he does leave, he never does so without measures in place to keep the peace.

Story: Given his role of prominence in the Town with No Name, it is shocking for many to realize how little they know about Roland Deschain. The sheriff has no family and only one or two close friends. Deschain is a firm proponent of the belief that one should keep their friends close and their enemies closer.

Even so, there are parts of his past that have slipped into the folklore of the Endless Dunes. In his home world, Deschain was a ‘gunslinger,’ which in his home was some sort of title. This explains his affection for revolvers. It is said that all his family and friends died—another reason why he makes little room for people in the scarred remnant of his heart. It is said that he survived for years in the wilderness without contact with civilization.

Deschain’s link with the Town with No Name goes back to the period when the Dunes had a closer relationship with the Empire. At the time, Deschain was a ‘freelancer’—a polite term for a third-party individual who would dirty their hands for others. Even so, the gunslinger was something of a phantom, appearing more in stories whispered in bars than in towns or villages.

When the Empire started to withdraw from the Dunes, they left behind a desiccated landscape and hundreds of facilities they didn’t have the time or patience to break down for transit. The Town with No Name, the largest settlement of workers, turned into an orgy of crime and greed as the people realized they now had to survive in a wasteland with no outside support.

One day, Deschain came into the town square and shot seven men dead. From that day forth, no one questioned his presence in their streets. Far from ruling by remnants of the town through fear or force, the new sheriff organized hunting parties to not only acquire supplies but to also keep out the monsters and raiders that now populated the once beautiful Dunes.

It is now Roland’s duty to maintain the closest thing to civilization in the Endless Dunes. His job is not an easy one, as the Town with No Name has bounced back over the recent years. Its success has had the unfortunate side effect of causing the raids to become larger, more frequent, and more savage.

Some whisper it is only a matter of time before the bastion of society in the outer Dunes descends once more into chaos.

[float=right][/float]Location/Role: Bruenor Battlehammer is the leader of the dwarves of the Frozen Fields.  Ruling from Mithral Hall, the fortress inside Dwarveholm, Bruenor is locked in a constant struggle against the trolls under Zul’jin.  He must also contend with the less civilized giant tribes that harass his people, and the oftentimes troublesome whelps of the ice dragon Sapphiron.  Given the situation of the verse, Bruenor accepts any willing allies as long as they pass a ‘screening test.’

Story: In the world he came from, Bruenor Battlehammer was the leader of a clan of dwarven exiles who’d lost their ancestral home centuries ago.  With the help of his friends and his people, Bruenor was able to locate and reclaim their homeland, slaying the dragon who resided there and his dark dwarf slaves.  In the years that followed, Bruenor’s people thrived and started down the road to reclaiming their prosperity in the days before their exile.

At the peak of this influence, Bruenor was pulled into the Omniverse.  Despite the loss of his close network of friends and allies, the dwarven king will always be a survivor.  After a period of wandering the verses, Bruenor worked with the Kingdom for a short period of time.  The former king distinguished himself as a frontline soldier and then as an officer.  Despite his accolades and rapport with the leadership of the Kingdom, Bruenor—brash and independent even by dwarf standards—started to fray.

When he received a rather dangerous battle plan, Bruenor got into a heated shouting match with the Kingdom military brass, including King Aragon.  In the end, Bruenor executed the operation, suffering shockingly low causalities and breaking through the enemy lines.  Bruenor then promptly marched his men out of Camelot.

The forces under Bruenor made their way to the Frozen Fields, a wild and harsh environment populated by dragons, giants, and other monsters.  The dwarves traveled until they found the remains of an abandoned fortress in the mountains.  Naming the place after his old home, Bruenor founded his own kingdom, and the city that slowly grew out from the fortress became known as Dwarveholm.

Never one to burn bridges, Bruenor supplied the Kingdom with weapons and armor crafted by the finest dwarven blacksmiths.  The Kingdom provided food and soldiers, especially after the surviving trolls settled in the Frozen Fields as well and immediately took to harassing the dwarves, who they saw as an extension of the Kingdom they hated.

The support continued until the war with Diablo concluded with disastrous fallout for the Kingdom.  Drained and weakened from their losses, the Kingdom receded back into its home verse, cutting off the flow of goods to Dwarveholm and leaving Bruenor to deal with the troll threat himself.  Always open to travelers, Dwarveholm is always looking for warrior to commit themselves to ending the troll threat to the Frozen Fields.

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Location/Role: Zul’jin is the master of the trolls of Zul’gurand. His people are vicious and violent against all non-trolls they encounter both near the city and amidst the Frozen Fields. For those accepted into Zul’gurand, Zul’jin can be found inside the city, plotting his campaigns against the dwarves and their supporters.

Story: (note for later - pulled near the end of the second war)

Zul’jin arrived in the Omniverse and found himself in Camelot. It is said that the troll was a member of Thrall’s retinue for a period of months, working beneath the orc to ensure stability in the Kingdom. Seeing a leader in Zul’jin, other trolls pledged their loyalty to him and him alone, sparking a conflict of interests in Camelot.

It is here that conflicting interests taint the historical record. Camelot history states that Zul’jin planned to supplant the Kingdom’s leadership and seize power with the aid of his zealous, fanatical followers. The troll side of the story is that the humans feared the swelling number of trolls in the Kingdom and acted against them. At the time, the Kingdom was under constant threat from Diablo. The topic is one avoided by historians due to the politics at play.

Whatever the cause or impetus may have been, a conflict (or a ‘massacre’ as the trolls call it) occurred between the Kingdom and the growing population of trolls. This resulted in the death of nearly half the trolls. Zul’jin lost an eye and an arm in singles combat against Victor von Magnus. It is said that Thrall refused to have any part in the events of the day, although Zul’jin still harbors an intense hatred of the orc.

Those trolls who escaped Camelot fled all the way to the Frozen Fields. Once there, they established a new settlement that would grow to become Zul’gurand. After his recovery, Zul’jin pledged to destroy the Kingdom and all its allies. The trolls immediately found themselves at constant war with the dwarves, who had also recently settled in the Frozen Fields. Although there have been no pitched battles between the two species, there exists a constant state of guerrilla warfare. The Kingdom offered the dwarves some support until the end of the war against Diablo caused the Kingdom to withdraw from many of its enterprises outside of Camelot.

Although outnumbered, the trolls’ savagery gives them an edge in their ongoing struggle. The legend says that for every troll who died in Camelot, four knights died with him. Despite injuries, Zul’jin has maintained his domination over his burgeoning tribe through a combination of brutality, diplomacy, and intelligence. The few non-trolls who have spoken with Zul’jin often speak highly of him, highlighting his skill with an axe just as much as his skill with words. Even Victor von Magnus, the man who nearly killed Zul’jin, talks of him with respect, although he also regrets being unable to ‘finish the deed’ that day. The zeal with which the trolls follow Zul'jin is perhaps most summarized in the battle cry they scream before every battle against a foe--'Vengeance for Zul'jin!'

While the trolls are outwardly hostile of outsiders (especially human-like individuals), there are ways that individuals can earn the trust of the trolls, although such actions will bring them the ire of the denizens of Dwarfholm.

[float=right][/float]Location/Role: King Koopa is the king of the Koopa Kingdom (say that five times fast). He also goes by ‘King Bowser’ and ‘Bowser’ to close associates. Unlike many of the other leaders of the Omniverse’s minor factions, Bowser is not shy to hide his face. He roams throughout his subterranean kingdom and often makes visits to the various aboveground fortresses. Unlike others of his rank and influence, he commonly meets with anyone and everyone, although his somewhat infamous reputation and the nature of the Ashen Plains means he rarely entertains visitors.

Story: King Bowser came into the Omniverse within the last few years. As such, he is one of the more recent ‘regional leaders’ to effectively stake a claim. He laid down his territory in the Ashen Plains, a region he found pleasant and reminiscent of one of his many previous bases of operation. Over a period of time, he developed various forts, towers, and fortresses in the less mountainous regions of the verse—apparently such constructions are a trademark and lifelong hobby of his.

Beneath the surface, however, Bowser also expanded existing caves and tunnels into an underground civilization. Soon an entire city filled the labyrinthine networks, populated by koopas, goombas, and other assorted minions of the turtle king. Not content to rule just an underground city and his network of fortresses, Bowser began to expand his dominion, forcing villages and populations of nomads to pledge loyalty to him or ‘face his wrath.’ Stories also began to spread to other verses about the malevolence of the ‘underground turtle king.’ Stories about how entire villages were crushed by hordes of turtles throwing hammers and shooting fireballs. Tales spread of daughters being personally kidnapped by Bowser and sealed up in his towers.

Despite the fact that many tales told of a forthcoming invasion of neighboring verses by the Koopa Kingdom, these threats have yet to materialize. Furthermore, most travelers report only nice experiences dealing with the rank-and-file koopas, leading many to believe that the stories and tales of horror are simply a public relations campaign.

Is Bowser the megalomaniac of the stories or is the truth more complicated than that?

Location/Role:The Hell Drake Volvagia resides on/in the super-volcano known as the Magma Chamber. While it was once a slumbering monster, it now roams the region with a hunger that is insatiable. Its rapidly-spreading progeny infest the super heated region as well. Only an idiot would seek out the Hell Drake.

Story: Little is known about Volvagia, despite his high-profile status as the de facto master of the Ashen Plains. Some claim that the monster is as old as the Ashen Plains, making him more a force of nature than an individual. Others reject these claims and state that the drakes that menace Death Mountain have only been a problem for a few years.

Either way, the lack of sightings of Volvagia has led to a great deal of folktales and hyperbole. The few reliable stories have three central themes—fire, terror, and death. Only half a dozen individuals (four of which are elder Gorons) have seen Volvagia and lived. They claim that the dragon slumbers in an enormous magma chamber, stirring only enough to deal with interlopers. The Goron elders fear that one day the sleeping Volvagia will truly awaken, causing Death Mountain to erupt and heralding an end to their society and an even darker age of the Omniverse. Until then, they continue to guard the lower slopes of Death Mountain from the spawn of Volvagia.

Volvagia was slain and banished by the Institute and Darunia of the Gorons. The massive creature fell into the Underverse like a slain phoenix--its body broken and maimed by its final battles. It was in this state that Diablo found the massive creature -- the largest of any prime to be banished to his realm. He offered to ease its suffering and to make it whole again. He offered the creature more strength than it had ever known and its own personal domain.

Volvagia accepted the offer and was restored by the Lord of Terror. Diablo transformed the creature of Hyrulian legend into something that could devour entire kingdoms and slaughter an army of heroes.

No longer a slumbering creature of legend and lore…

Volvagia is awake.

And he shall never rest again.

[float=right][/float]Location/Role: Sapphiron is the leader of the ice dragonflight that roosts in the upper peaks of the Frozen Fields. As the leader of the brood, he is the strongest individual in the flight and possibly the most powerful creature in the Frozen Fields.

Despite his status, Sapphiron is relatively reclusive, although the members of his brood don’t always share his viewpoint. Some are hostile to travelers, while others are quite welcoming—it all depends on the dragon and the person.

Story: Rumor has it that the ice dragonflight is one of the original ‘settlers’ of the Frozen Fields. In his home universe, Sapphiron was not the leader of his dragonflight. Far from it, it is said that he was an outcast tasked with guarded a cash of treasures near the roof of the world.

When he arrived in the Omniverse, Sapphiron was quick to adjust to the situation. He headed toward the only sort of home he knew—the coldest, tallest, most desolate place. In the Frozen Fields, Sapphiron found himself without a rival. While he may have lost much of his power upon his arrival, his size, intelligence, and natural strength gave him an advantage against the mindless beasts that preyed in the Fields.

Much like a dragon would collect treasure, Sapphiron took to collecting omnilium. Freed from exile, he roamed the entire verse, growing stronger as the weeks and months went on. Eventually he became strong enough to start summoning his own dragonflight into the Frozen Fields. By the time the trolls and dwarves set up shop in the verse and began their years-long blood fued, the ice dragonflight had reached enormous numbers. With his dragonflight firmly established and children enough to continue the flow of omnilium, Sapphiron withdrew into old reclusive habits developed in his centuries of isolation.

[float=right][/float]Location/Role: Mewtwo is the leader of the settlement on Cinnibar Island. As one of the most powerful Pokemon from his native verse, Mewtwo became a natural beacon for others to flock to, despite his reluctance in a leadership role. He is rarely seen out in the open, although he will make appearances if threats arise, and he won’t turn away someone seeking an audience.

Story: In his own verse, Mewtwo was created in a genetic experiment gone wrong. Originally full of wrath and anger, an act of human selflessness showed Mewtwo the error of his ways and gave him a new outlook on life. Sometime after those events, Mewtwo arrived in the Omniverse. He wandered for a period of time before the conflict between the Kingdom and the Empire caused him to grow disillusioned with the more populated verses.

After escaping (his words) Coruscant, Mewtwo traveled out into the azure expanses of the Vasty Deep. He states he traveled for weeks before arriving at the place he would later call ‘Cinnibar Island.’ The island was already home to some creatures cast out from Costa del Sol. Realizing that strength of the prime who had arrived on their island, they flocked to Mewtwo. The psychic Pokemon took the role of defender with some reluctance, but he nevertheless protected the small community when raiders or monsters tried to launch raids.

Overtime, the reputation of the island and its defender spread, prompting more individuals from all corners of the Vasty Deep to arrive. The crude settlement became a village and then a town as the island attracted those seeking political asylum as well. Liaisons from Costa del Sol and the Empire began to reach out to Mewtwo around this time, seeking to draw Cinnibar Island into the imperial sphere of influence. The psychic refused, asserting the island’s independence and outright refusal to participate in the inter-verse politics.

This stance created a split that caused many of the denizens to band together under Wartortle’s leadership and leave to create the Liberation Front, an extremist organization. Despite the blow, most citizens remained and more continually arrive, strengthening the island and its role as a power player in the central region of the Vasty Deep. Already a reclusive individual, the split prompted Mewtwo to further withdraw, and outside of conflicts, he rarely appears outside his home.

Hey guys. I'm thinking it's time to formally acknowledge that we are a faction. Me and Eighteen, at the least, are well established as comrades, and Enel is set up in my base as well. So, we need to take care of a few necessary things to do this.

1) Figure out a good name for our Faction. It needs to set the appropriate tone for what we are and what we do. But nothing too gimmicky.

2) Get a forum, so we can make plans outside the purview of the lowly masses and wannabe do-gooders.

3) Spread the word of our Faction IC, so that the Omniverse knows who we are.