As Free as the Azure Sky - Anima Campaign

THE PITCH IN GENERAL
Your characters have found themselves in military service to the Azure Alliance under command of the renegade Lord of War Matthew Gaul.  You are respected up-and-coming agents within the military or other organization(s) you hail from, and as such have been assigned duties to a sort of 'special forces' division.  As the war between the Holy Saint Empire and the Azure Alliance draws towards its climax, unexpected events inextricably entwine your destinies with those of the few who would grasp at the scattered threads of power.

WAIT, WHAT'S AN AZURE ALLIANCE?
The Azure Alliance is a union of newly freed principalities standing in defiance of their old masters in the Holy Saint Empire.  United under a former military commander of the Holy Saint-Empire, Matthew Gaul, the principalities of Togarini, Reno, and Bellefonte have formed a united front against Sacred Holy Empress Elizabetta Barbados.  Elizabetta reigns over what remains of the Empire after a series of mad emperors and resultant regicide have tarnished what legitimacy the Empire held.  Many principalities took the opportunity that came from the death of her father, Elias Barbados, to declare themselves independent, knowing full well the Empire lacks the strength or will to bring them all back to heel.

TOGARINI
A principality bearing the scars of numerous wars, Togarini is no stranger to strife.  Time in the forge of battle has hardened its society and many of its cities bear the common architecture of military fortifications.  For the past 150 years, Togarini had been governed by those of the Thule dynasty.  Their reign was brought to a sudden and violent end when Matthew Gaul slaughtered the current Thule regent and his descendants before declaring himself Supreme Archon and sole ruler of the principality.  While the distance the Azure Alliance grants them from the Holy Empire is a relief for many of Togarini, the violence that beckoned in Gaul's reign is a source of concern for a citizenry that has seen too many battles.

REMO
Once an economic powerhouse on par with those of Gabriel and Phaion, Remo was ravaged by the corruption of its rulers and the armies of the mad emperor Elias Barbados.  Now, fully two centuries after the Principality stood at the peak of its wealth, Remo is a broken nation with only the mighty Six Legions of its army to show for its history of decadence. Lead by Prince Fabian Hess, son of the deceased Prince Maximilian who was murdered by Elias' forces, Remo has become a feudal society desperately hoping for economic salvation through warfare.  It is a dark hope, but the only one its people have save for their faith in the Church of Abel Christ.  While its faith in The Church is strong, Remo has poor relations with one of the Church's Principalities, Argos.  Many Remano are jealous of Argos' continued wealth, something they see as coming from unfair economic favoritism by the Church and the Empire.

BELLEFONTE
In contrast to its neighbor Remo, Bellefonte continues to enjoy economic success thanks to its powerful manufacturing Guilds and healthy trade with the independent Principality of Lucrecio and the lands known as the Episcopal States, Argos and The Dominion.  The Belliano are a deeply moral people who feel the Empire has lost its right to rule as a result of its former Emperors' dereliction of duty.  Ruled by the Archduke Juliano Stratto, a quasi-noble, quasi-religious figure long passed down to descendants of the Stratto family, Bellefonte has been building up its forces along its northern border with the Holy Empire's Principality of Kanon.  The leaders of Bellefonte do not welcome war, but think it a necessary evil to end the threat of the Holy Empire.  Whether the Holy Empire's fall will simply reveal a new threat in Gaul is a topic of intense, but hushed debate.