Faction or Fiction by Antos A number of troubling questions arise when one considers the factions that contend with one another across the Sosarian landscape. According to the popular myth, the factions formed when Minax resurfaced to challenge the rule of Lord British. When Minax was rumored to have returned, a rift formed among the people of Sosaria, initially between those who supported Lord British and those who were dissatisfied with his rule and hoped for Minax to take the throne. Schisms quickly formed on both sides, each with differing ideologies and war quickly broke out between the four groups plunging Sosaria into an unprecedented state of ongoing violence as each faction vied for control of the major cities scattered across the land. In Moonglow, a Council of Mages decided that they were dissatisfied with their role as subjects of an absent Lord British. He had not only failed to protect the land from invading hordes of monsters, but the fact that many of his subjects had shown themselves to be willing to abandon their fealty to an empty throne and side with the forces of darkness was proof of the fact that a change of leadership was necessary. Citizens who remained loyal to Lord British quickly moved to quell the rumors that Moonglow was planning on seceding from the leaderless kingdom, but this only furthered the cause of the Council of Mages in that it made martyrs of those who were arrested or killed by Britannian loyalists; a move that not only strengthened the position of the Council of Mages but drove even more marginalized citizens to believe the rumors of Minax's return and call for her to rule in British's stead. The Council of Mages asserted that what Britannia needed was a new leader: one who could not only lead Britannia against the looming threat of Minax, but who could also keep the peace once it had been restored. To that end, they began preparations to do something unprecedented in the history of Britannia. Though they had never had to make war themselves, they were the keepers of powerful arcane knowledge, and so they began to prepare their followers with items of immense arcane power which they would need in their struggle to depose the absentee King. They came to oppose not only Lord British but the devotees of Minax as well, and as such, were not safe from danger from either side However, those who called for the rule of Minax had something of a rebellion occurring within their own ranks. From within their own rank and file, there arose those who sought a means for the Shadow Lords to be released from the Abyss to take their place as the rulers of the war-torn land. While Minax's minions delighted in the idea of overthrowing the rule of Lord British, they soon came to believe that she was only useful as a magical tool to bring about the return of the Shadowlords and, given that she had not made any public appearances to support her followers, it was feared that she was not powerful enough to lead them against Lord British for the duration of an extended war. To this end they began their own preparations to do something drastic and seek some means of freeing the Shadow Lords. The questions that arise from the formation of the factions are many. First and foremost, who are the Council of Mages? Nystul, the Royal Magician and Hawkwind the Royal Seer are not believed to be among their number. However, Mariah, the companion of the Avatar, is known to be a member of the Council of Wizards in Moonglow, yet it remains unclear if this is the same organization as the Council of Mages. Thus far, Minax's return has proven to be nothing more than a rumor, albeit a persistent one that is impossible to disprove. Some have even gone so far as to speculate that “Minax” may, in fact, be an agent of the Council secretly working to destabilize the political situation in the absence of Lord British. Gargish sages claim that they have harnessed the spirit of Minax as a representative of one of their own Principles, but again, they have yet to offer sufficient proof of their claim to dissuade Minaxian devotees who remain convinced of her return. The Shadowlords faction is the most perplexing of all in that there has been no evidence that they can be brought back from the Void. It is unclear that Minax, if she is truly returned, has any means of effecting their rescue and, given her own popular following, it is doubtful that she would be willing to comply with the desires of the Shadowlord devotees even if she were able to do so. One troubling possibility is that the Minaxian and Shadowlord factions are both mere products of a very effective propaganda campaign secretly engineered by the faceless Council of Mages. Most troubling of all is the absence of Lord British himself. Although many citizens remain dedicated to upholding his rule, he remains an absentee lord and neither he nor the Great Council have made any official proclamations regarding the formation of the factions that threaten British's rule. Regardless of his conspicuous absence, the True Britannians remain loyal to the throne and stand strong against the rising tide of opposition that grows with each passing day. Nonetheless, the fact that none of the factions have clear leadership has done little to stem the tide of violence that threatens to engulf the land. To make matters worse, there are new factions which have formed apart from the aforementioned cabals. These are dedicated to the principles of Order and Chaos and are independent of any form of leadership beyond the rule of law or liberation through anarchy. Sects within the four original factions may also have loyalties to these new factions or a particular group or guild may serve one of the new factions with little regard for the concerns of the original four.
