Clan Overview

• Founder: Captain Balthazar (Fighter - Champion).

• Identity: The Mercenaries / The Warlords.

• Role: Heavy Cavalry, Shock Troops, Hirelings.

• Reputation: They are the "Bullies" of the Demesne. They are the strongest military force in the Wilds, but they lack the discipline of Bastion or the morality of Solace.

• Base of Operations: A massive, sprawling mobile city of black iron wagons and stolen luxury tents. It is loud, dirty, and dangerous.

• Economy: They survive by The Tithe. They demand food, gold, and steel from static villages in exchange for "protection" (i.e., not burning the village down).

The Ancient Hold (Aillan’s Village)

"We were here before the Aasimar fell. We planted these trees. We dug these wells. We are not a farm for their war."

Demographics: The Melting Pot

The Village (Population: ~1,100) is a testament to survival.

1. The Natives: Elves and Dwarves whose ancestors lived here before the Great Anarchy. (e.g., Mary’s Grandmother).

2. The Left-Behinds: The descendants of Balthazar children deemed "too weak" or "too soft" and abandoned during the early Culls. (e.g., Mary).

3. The Hidden: Children hidden in cellars during the raids to save them from the press-gangs.

The Chronicle of the Harvest

Y80 - Y110: The Era of Lists

In the beginning, the Clan arrived with scrolls. They called names. They took their own offspring to train as warriors. It was cruel, but it was Lawful. The Village tolerated it as the price of survival.

Y120 - Y150: The Era of Chaos

The scrolls stopped coming. The Clan Captains stopped asking for names. They just looked at the 10-year-olds. If a child had good teeth and strong shoulders, they were taken.

• The Impact: The Village began to lose its future. They weren't just losing soldiers; they were losing their blacksmith apprentices, their future farmers, their brightest minds.

Y164: The Rape of the Village (Aillan Age 6)

The Clan arrived. They didn't just take children; they took pleasure. They utilized the "Breeding Rights" clause of the old treaty not to secure bloodlines, but as an excuse for assault.

• Aillan’s Witness: He saw them take the neighbor's son (an Elf). He saw them take his friend (a Dwarf). He realized the Clan didn't care about "Aasimar Purity" anymore. They just wanted meat for the grinder.

Y182: The Revolution

When Aillan stood at the gate with his Blood-Armed Militia and his Dragon, he wasn't just breaking a treaty. He was ending a century of predation.

• The New Reality: The Village is now a Freehold. It is heavily militarized, rich in Blood-Steel, and fiercely independent. They have stopped being a resource node.