Power in Adlanthea is rarely held by a single crown, council, or institution. Instead, the continent is shaped by a handful of powerful factions whose interests overlap, collide, and occasionally explode in public.
The Crowned Houses are Adlanthea’s oldest noble families. Their wealth, land, bloodlines, and political influence predate the industrial age. Many embrace modern technology when it benefits them, but few are willing to surrender the privileges that built their power.
The Brass Consortium represents the industrial elite: factory owners, aether magnates, bankers, inventors, and manufacturers whose fortunes rose alongside the modern age. They champion progress, expansion, and innovation, though critics argue that profit matters to them far more than safety.
The Aetheric Collegium is Adlanthea’s foremost institution for arcane research. Its scholars study ley currents, magical anomalies, aether technology, and dangerous new applications of magic. Officially neutral, the Collegium is constantly pressured by nobles, industry, and governments seeking control of its discoveries.
The Ironwatch serves as a major lawkeeping and military force. Equipped with firearms, armored transports, specialized anti-magic equipment, and modern machinery, they maintain order across important cities, railways, and industrial centers. Whether they are protectors or enforcers often depends on who is asked.
The Free Skies are a loose network of airship captains, couriers, explorers, smugglers, and sky pirates united more by independence than ideology. They resist attempts to place air travel under strict government control and often operate where official routes do not.
The most controversial faction is the Ashen Hand.
Branded as saboteurs and extremists, the Ashen Hand believes Adlanthea’s dependence on aether is damaging something fundamental beneath the world. They destroy refineries, steal research, attack industrial infrastructure, and claim that the strange behavior of the ley currents proves catastrophe is approaching.
Most citizens regard them as dangerous fanatics.
A growing number of scholars are beginning to wonder whether they are entirely wrong.