The story so far is that the players, an elf heiress, an orc paladin, and a hollow dwarf druid, are in the capital city of the kingdom of Frantre, an expansionist empire that is currently gathering its military resources along its borders, eyeing the other 2 kingdoms' land.

The elf, Aradelhwen Duvain, is the Empress to be of Frantre, and seeks to find someone to rule by her side, and is currently schmoozing the citizens and nobility of the kingdom with public works projects and grand festivals in honor of this hunt. She's schmoozing because underneath her public persona of vapid praisemongering is a cold, calculating, authoritarian, who seeks to unite the disparate nations of this world under her rule, and hers alone. She wields a ring of allure, which allows the user to force all who are able to gaze upon its wielder, and was gifted this by the Keeper of Fogs, but in turn, was branded by them, and owes them a great debt, which will be acted on /soon. Recently, there was an attack on the throne, a saboteur poisoned the current imperators while they were in their chambers, during a royal ball. Aradelhwen sees this as a stroke of luck in her favor, and is using it as an opportunity to speed along her ascension, but unbeknownst to her, this attack was a deliberate move to put her into power by outside forces, and that she is an unwitting pawn in a much grander scheme by another, seeking greater power than any one empire could give them.

Vrutha Waruk, the Orc paladin (pronounced Paula Deen), is Aradelhwen's highest bodyguard, who recently came into posession of an artifact from the last great era: A suit of armor, whose helmet bares the Crown of Dead Kings. This suit is possessed by the spirit of Lord Emperor Roland, whose forgotten realm has long since fell to entropy, who warns Vrutha of great strife on the horizon, sparked by one of her allies.

Finally, there's Macklemoist, the hollow: A dwarf born without a soul, or will of his own. Following exposure to forces beyond the party's current understanding, a spirit has been unwillingly thrust upon him, and with his newfound ability to make decisions for himself, he has seen Aradelhwen for the dictator she soon will be, and has made moves to attempt to build a settlement for free thinkers such as he. He cares deeply for the wellbeing of his party, and has no intention to betray them, but still, he must try to make a backup plan in case things go, poorly, following Aradelhwen's coronation.