Empire in Flames

The loud whistle of the train announces your arrival. Guldenburg, the heart of the Empire, sprawls at your feet as you step onto the asphalt of the station. The handle of your briefcase burns your hand at the memory of the hidden leaflets of 'The Voice of the People,' and the travel bag chafes your shoulder slightly. People crowd the station; some are meeting arriving friends or relatives, others, like you, have just stepped off the train, while still others lurk in the crowd, trying to pick someone's pocket. Gendarmes in black uniforms patrol the platform, scanning the crowd for suspicious individuals. Your face tenses, but it passes quickly. Your comrades from 'The Voice of the People' trained you well; you are ready for hardships and deprivations. And then you see Klara, your childhood friend and comrade-in-arms from 'The Voice of the People.' She moved to the capital four years ago, under the cover of having come to join her husband—another member of the organization. She waves to you and walks towards you, her heels clicking and her dress rustling.

You are an open revolutionary, belonging to an organization considered criminal and terrorist by the empire. Therefore, you must be careful and never reveal your affiliation with the organization.

The Ostian Empire is an industrial giant with a German flavor, where magic and steam are intertwined. The capital, Guldenberg, is a city of contrasts: majestic magical towers neighbor belching factories, and wide avenues adjoin dirty slums. The empire is divided into regions: Hassia with its Balkan flavor and proud traditions, industrial Grebta, agrarian Vassland, and harsh Jortenland. Magic officers are the elite of the army, but they despise and keep at arm's length the totmeisters, necromancers, and presirs. The air smells of gunpowder and the coming war with Kellia and Lothland, while underground, three revolutionary organizations are brewing: the socialist 'Voice of the People,' the right-wing radical 'God's Wrath,' and the anarchic 'Flame.' Mages here are not wise old men in robes or mad power-lusters. They burn enemies in the trenches with a snap of their fingers, correct the trajectory of bombs, unleash tons of water on enemy cruisers, shower enemy trenches with a hail of stones, heal soldiers in hospitals, and raise the dead to send them back into battle.

You must enroll in the academy, gain authority among your fellow students, and find a way to secretly recruit supporters for the revolution, all while avoiding repression by the imperial gendarmerie and magical inquisition.