The Age of Resin and Resolve
The discovery of Axio Resin marked the true beginning of the Third Age.
Unlike any substance previously known, Axio Resin possessed extraordinary properties: it functioned as a near-endless fuel source, drastically enhanced mechanical efficiency, and—most critically—proved resistant to infernal corruption. Machines powered by it could operate within tainted zones, endure demonic influence, and even be deployed directly against infernal forces without immediate failure.
Word spread quickly.
What followed was a continent-wide surge reminiscent of a gold rush. Merchants, inventors, mercenary companies, and opportunists of every stripe converged on Mount Salco, seeking fortune, power, or salvation. Entire settlements sprang up overnight, many collapsing just as quickly under greed, violence, or corruption.
Unchecked, Axio Resin threatened to become another catalyst for ruin.
Recognizing this, the United Churches moved swiftly. With the backing of Altros, they sanctioned a new regulatory body—the State Artifice Federation—an order of officially licensed engineers, artificers, and industrial overseers tasked with controlling technological development in the public interest.
Mining rights to Axio Resin were formally divided between the State Artifice Federation and the Priests of Mechanum, establishing a joint operation overseen by ecclesiastical authority. Through this alliance, extraction, refinement, and distribution were strictly regulated.
With Axio Resin came a second industrial revolution.
Cities grew faster. War machines grew stronger. Defensive lines once thought impossible were reinforced. For the first time since the Fall of Dagresh, hope spread faster than fear. Many that the balance of the war was finally shifting....