SETTING: The continent of Gerau and its history

[Nanaba]

In ages past, Walpurgisnacht rose from the depths of the earth, and unified the continent of Gerau. For a dark century, the continent chafed under his iron fist. The gods Naga and Forseti descended to the earth and sealed Walpurgisnacht away.
During his century-long reign, Walpurgisnacht erected a series of seven shrines across the continent of Gerau. As his defeat became inevitable, he entrusted his loyalists with dark magic that, when used at each shrine, plus the Great Dragon Shrine at the peak of Mount Gott, would revive him.

Naga returned to the heavens at Mount Gott, no more concerned with Gerau once Walpurgisnacht had been vanquished. Forseti, however, was deeply worried about the future of the continent. Before he returned to the heavens at Mount Gott, he erected his own set of seven shrines to summon his power back to Gerau in its hour of need. Over the years, the story of Forseti’s shrines sank into history, while Walpurgisnacht’s cult kept his legend and dream alive deep in the arid and unforgiving interior of Gerau...

The game follows the story of Delia, recently declared crown princess to the empire of Franconia in northern Gerau. Her elder half-brother, Dieter, resented being passed over. Dieter was approached by Ohlendorf, current head of Walpurgisnacht’s cult, who told him of a marvelous treasure called the Fire Emblem that would grant him the power to rule the world; however, to obtain the Fire Emblem, he would have to visit each shrine and then climb the Dragon’s Causeway to the peak of Mount Gott. Ohlendorf aided Dieter in an assassination attempt on his sister; Delia was nearly slain, but was spirited away by Len, her loyal servant. Now, Delia seeks to reclaim her title, but gets drawn into a far larger conflict…
(note: Delia assumed the name Marlene to avoid detection from Dieter’s allies in the Franconian army, court, and Ohlendorf’s minions)

TIMELINE
120-100 BF: Walpurgisnacht conquers Gerau
68 BF: Count Hagen begins a rebellion in northern Gerau.
66 BF: Hagen’s rebellion is crushed in the Lulean Mountains, at the site of a shrine to Walpurgisnacht. 70,000 massacred.
49 BF: Walpurgisnacht razes a region in eastern Gerau in retaliation against farmers refusing to pay exorbitant tributes.
6 BF: A revolt breaks out across the continent.
Year 0: The rebellion is on the verge of annihilation. The surviving generals—Hermann, Alexis, and Mato an epiphany from the dragon god Forseti to set for the peak of Mount Gott.
2: Naga and Forseti descend from the heavens at the Great Dragon Shrine. With their aid, the three generals begin to fight back.
11: On the verge of defeat, Walpurgisnacht entrusts his loyalists with dark magic for use at each of his shrines to revive him one day.
13: Walpurgisnacht is sealed away. Naga returns to the heavens.
16: The last shrine to Forseti is finished. Forseti divides the world between his three generals. Hermann creates the empire of Franconia in the north, Alexis creates the empire of Trebizond in the west and south, and Mato creates the empire of Taira in the east.
44: Upon Alexis’ death, her empire is divided amongst her three children. Trebizond continues to exist in the northwest of the continent, while the new kingdoms of Alamein in the southwest and Cyrenaica in the south are born.
111: Prince Karl of Franconia is engaged to Michaela, a noblewoman from a powerful house in Trebizond. They marry later that year.
113: Prince Karl of Franconia comes across a mysterious white-haired girl named Margarethe near the southern edge of his lands, and immediately falls in love with her. Little does he know that she is a member of the Walpurgisnacht cult sent by Ohlendorf, the current head of the cult, to seduce him.
114: Karl and Margarethe’s illegitimate son, Dieter, is born. Emperor Josef hides away Margarethe and Dieter in Castle Engelslieder to mask his son’s infidelity.
116: Emperor Josef dies. Four months later, Prince Karl and Michaela ascend to the imperial throne of Franconia. Later that year, Delia is born to Emperor Karl and Michaela.
116-123: Over a seven-year campaign, Emperor Karl and his three closest friends and strongest generals—Dirk, Anastasia and Charlotte—expand the eastern border of Franconia far along the northern coast of Gerau.
117: Prince Homer is born to the royal family of Trebizond.
118: Prince Metis is born to the royal family of Trebizond.
131: Emperor Karl contracts a terminal illness.
132: Delia is declared crown princess of Franconia. Ohlendorf approaches Dieter.
134: Assassination attempt. Story begins!

[Nanaba]

Map:

click the map to see the entire continent
notes: black circles are shrines to Walpurgisnacht. Green circles are shrines to Forseti. Golden circles are the capitals of each nation.
Franconia is in cyan on the map, home to Jürgen. Its current head of state is Emperor Karl. The imperial army makes heavy use of mercenaries, soldiers, and a wide array of cavalry units. The empire also sponsors a powerful priesthood dedicated to Naga, and has many scholars bringing back magical secrets from Trebizond and Alamein.

Trebizond is in green on the map, home to Delia. Its current head of state is Emperor Timotheos. It specializes mainly in magic units, its distinguished scholars producing tomes by the ton. Trebizond’s rugged mountains are also home to wyverns and gryffins, and its army of flying cavalry is feared the world over.

Alamein is in pink on the map. Its current head of state is Pharaoh Shenouda. Its capital, Alexipolis, boasts the greatest library on the continent, attracting scholars and mages the world over. The country has a great army of mages who particularly specialize in wind magic. The capital also has a great cathedral dedicated to Forseti. While Trebizond’s mages use tomes, Alamein’s mages use scrolls.
As the southwest of Gerau contains ample desert, both Alamein and the extreme west of Cyrenaica see extensive use of camel cavalry.

Cyrenaica is in blue on the map. Its current head of state is King Cyrus. A great military power, the empire boasts great cavalry units. The empire also draws much might from nomadic tribes in the area, boasting myrmidons, horseback archers and berserkers.

Taira is isolated from the rest of the continent. Its current head of state is King Sai. It uses different weapon types and has distinct units from the rest of the kingdoms. The kingdom has also developed gunpowder, but still have rather primitive firearms that are expensive to make. Taira is the home of pegasi.
Finally, the interior of the continent is arid with extreme temperatures, with few able to stand its climate. It is thus an ideal base of power for Walpurgisnacht’s cult, though they also have fronts in every corner of the continent. Criminal groups and exiles from the countries also camp in the interior. Barbarians, dark mages and outlaws form the bulk of the cult’s fighting force.