The Rock of Bral, more commonly just called “The Rock,” is a merchant city of humans and humanoids situated on an asteroid. The Rock is about 1 mile long, half that in width and depth. The long axis of the rock is a rough oval shape. The Rock at a Glance
The City[]
The city of Bral is divided into High City and Low City. The High City runs along the trailing half of the asteroid and is dominated by the castle of Prince Andru. A long wall with numerous checkpoints separates High City from Low City.
Gravity Plane[]
The central plane of gravity runs lengthwise through the Rock. The “Upper” half of the Rock is dominated by the City of Bral itself. The “Lower” half is property of the prince, and used as a base for his private fleet. Lake Bral
Bral has a large chasm just forward of Prince Andru’s citadel, filled with water, which provides most of the water needs of the population. The chasm runs below the gravity plane of the asteroid, so that Lake Bral has two surfaces: one on the “top” of the asteroid, the other in a cavern deep within the heart of the Rock. Activate animal cultures and “clean-up crew”-type monsters take care of most of the wastes.
The Edge[]
The Rock slopes away sharply from its top and bottom, forming cliffs which serve as a barrier from one side to the other. Internal passages often make transit easier, but the would-be rock climber runs the risk of falling off the Rock. Underside
The “lower” half of the Rock is property of the prince and used both as a station for his naval units and as a parkland to provide food and air for the Rock. The bulk of the underside is fields where convicted criminals and “servants of the king” (indentured slaves) do most of the work. Most of the Prince’s naval units are found in an underside hangar. The largest buildings on the underside are the Citadel, a large, powerful fortress used in times of war, and the Vanes. The Vanes are huge sails made of the wing-leather of a radiant dragon. Though they provide no propulsion, the Vanes are deployed to provide some steering controls to the ship in dangerous situations (like passing too close to a planet).
Port of bral
The Docks[]
Most ships approach Bral from the leading edge, where a set of wooden docks extends into wildspace to take in new arrivals (landing a ship in the city without the prince’s permission is a major offense, good for a few months on underside as a field hand). Caverns at the gravity plane extend into the Rock itself, where storage areas have been established with hoists to the warehouses “upside”
Demographics Government Autocracy Prince Andru Population 55,000 (31,000 humans (5,000 Shou); 5,000 halflings; 8,000 elves; 2,000 half-elves; 1,000 gnomes; 1,000 giff, 1,000 dracon, 1,000 lizardfolk, 500 xixchil, 500 hadozee, 500 grommam, 500 thri-kreen, 3,000 other) Notable NPCs Andru’s Court Andru’s Consort Lady Cerena (N female human expert 5/courtesan 3) Andru’s Henchman Ld. Diadan Cartan (CE male human swashbuckler 16) Proconsul Gadaric Main (CN male human invoker 16) Royal Bodyguard Mahaxara Khal (CN female human barbarian 13) Spymaster Mardan Rhom (NE male human rogue 15) Senior Advisor Tiendor Alian (CG male 1/2elf bard 12) Genral Mor Dairbad (LN male human fighter 13) Majordomo Morika Ashan (LN female human fighter 60 Chamberlin Lord Ostic (N male human expert 8) The Noble Council Andru’s Nephew Aric Cozar (NG male human transmuter 10) Lord Hastain (CN male reigar wizard 15) House Lianin- Basa Linaan (CG female human illusionist 8) House Ellodan- Kiade Ellodan (NG male elf fighter 4/wizard 4) House Kullek- Morgan Kullek (LE male human expert 10) House Nobrodukk – Arkan Nobrodukk (NG male dwarf fighter 6/rogue 6) The Trading Company – Taolosa Baniasar (CE male elf rogue 7) Mecane Representative- Daargaz (LN male mercane expert 4/sorcerer 3) House Muwara – Ozamata Ku Muwara (LN male human samurai 8/ninja 8) Moneylender Kurishi Otobe “The Dragon Lady” (N female human sorceror 8) Gaspar’s Reclamations – Nolan deVries (NG male human wizard 11) Council Secretary Bianace Micharle (LN female human expert 7) Leader of the Herd Stakahlla (LG male dracon fighter 9) Mayor of Giff Town Saerlg Tomojak (LN male giff fighter 12) Shou emissary to Bral Lord Chan Fu Wu (LG male human samurai 8) Envoys and Emissaries EIN Ambassador Adm.Marianon Silmara(CG female elf aristocrat 3/fighter 8/wizard 6) Aide to Adm Silmara Gaeradan Celedir (CG male elf sorceror 9) Illithid Ambassador Ishathrandra (LE genderless illithid psion 8) Other Notables Mater of the Shipyards Irdana Shipwright (LN female human expert 13) Underbaron Meredin Sandyfoot (CG male halfling rogue 15) High Priestess of Ptah Andaclesia (LG female human cleric 13) Archmage Gamalon Idogyr (CG male human wizard 20) Underbaron The juggler (CN female human bard 8/ rogue 7) Marketplace Base Value 32,640 gp; Purchase Limit 240,000 gp; Spellcasting 8 Minor Items all available; Medium Items 4d4; Major Items 3d4
Bralian Holidays
The following Items are illegal to import into Bral without a Royal License:
Undead other then Skeletons or Zombies Living puddings, oozes, or slimes of any type. Infinity Vine. Slaves. Greek Fire, Smokepowder, other incendiary substances Weapons. Poison.
Bral also imposes a tax on all trade goods, 5% of the fair market value. “Trade goods” are defined as goods “obviously intended” for resale on Bral or elsewhere. Each crew member and passenger on a vessel is entitled to two bags worth of “personal effects”. Customs Officers interpret this to widely varying degrees. The tax is import only.
Bral Port Fees Dock Fees: 1 sp per ton per day Air tax: 2 sp per ton Fouled: 100 gp fine Poisoned: 500 gp fine Replenish ship’s water: 1 sp per 5 tons
Longshoreman’s Guild 6 sp per day+ 2 sp per worker (2 per 5 tons of cargo)
Before leaving ship’s must schedule a departure time and destination with the Master of the Docks’ office (#100). Ship’s not scheduled to leave are intercepted by the wreckboats of the Customs officers or one of the Royal Bralian naval vessels which is always on picket. Pursuit of vessels leaving is not usually very enthusiastic but the vessels description is added to a list for “incoming” vessels to watch for.
Arriving vessels are met at the docks by Customs officers and harbormasters, where they must pass a customs inspection.
Balic’s Blades The Drunken Neogi The Edge The Rockrat The Shady Rest The Laughing Beholder
History[]
While the current monarchy and government of the Rock of Bral is little more than two-hundred years old, the Rock has been inhabited for a much longer time than that. Its history goes back at least eight-hundred years, during which time the Rock was used as a haven for space pirates. However, dwarven excavations have revealed beholder and illithid artifacts in the Rock’s caverns and tunnels, deep below the surface. The Rock’s history may indeed be older than the pirates ever would have guessed, and who exactly it could have belonged to is unknown.
The Rock takes its name from Captain Bral, a notorious pirate who needed a secure hideout. He ignored rumors of “haunted space” and settled on the Rock as a lair to stash his loot. The Rock supports abundant air and water, and the caverns within were ideal for creating caches for his acquisitions.
Charismatic and a cut above most other pirate leaders, Captain Bral assembled a small fleet of corsairs known as the Black Brotherhood which raided a number of planetary systems and civilized fleets. The Rock only continued to amass more and more wealth as it gradually grew from a mere hideout to a base of operations. Captain Bral himself came to a rather poor end, vaporized in his ship, the Starwind, by the Elven Imperial Armada in an ambitious and foolhardy raid.
The Rock of Bral did not die though, and neither did the Black Brotherhood. A new leader rose up to take Captain Bral’s place, and the pirate holdout continued to grow bit-by-bit each passing generation. While the quality of leadership fluctuated, the asteroid’s growth rate did not. What was once a secret hideout became a haven for scum and scoundrels, where criminals hid from the law and con-artists flocked to get their own piece of the treasures stolen by the pirates.
As the centuries passed, something strange happened. Pirates who brought their families to the Bral gradually increased over their years, and the descendents of pirates who did not join the family business increased. Eventually there came need for people to run inns, bars, shipyards, restaurants. While it was usually the shady sort at first, Bral attracted doctors, businessmen, entrepreneurs, construction workers, and all manner of civilians. Two hundred years ago, it came to pass that the majority of the citizens were no longer pirates, but those who lived off the looted gold spent at their establishments. Tension grew between the permanent residents of Bral and the pirate crews.
The majority of the pirates never respected the legitimate business run by the “lubbers’ wailing”. One did. A pirate captain named Cozar sensed that times were changing on the rock and that the days of piracy were numbered. Deciding to act on it, Cozar systematically and quietly bought every square foot of land on the Rock for anyone who owned it and would sell. Anyone who opposed the partitioning of the Rock into lots was simply bought out, with promises of free leases continued in perpetuity to their descendents. Some powerful and influential holdouts were granted land ownership privileges, which would later form the basis of Bral’s nobility. Regardless, in a matter of months Cozar owned the Rock.
The Age of Cozar
Once he owned everything on the Rock, Cozar evicted any pirate who could not produce a legitimate business or lease. There were clashes multiple times, but most of the townspeople were tired of the endless brawling in their carefully built ale houses or inns. People sided with Cozar outright, and one-by-one pirates were either forced to accept Cozar’s generous terms or leave. Cozar then produced a Royal Charter in which he claimed lordship over the Rock and set forth the basic laws by which it would be governed. With this, House Cozar was born.
Prince Cozar, though he had no talent for magic himself, heavily invested in the education of his young son Han and set the stages for the next generation of Cozars. To keep pirate captains happy, he formed the Council of Captains as the chief governing body of the city. To the surprise of many, it turned out to be more profitable to turn their ships to trade.
The code of law on the Rock was established as well. A militia and common army was formed to enforce the laws as well as see to the defense of Bral against any who would seek to steal (or steal back) its fortunes. While it did not happen overnight, old pirate lords eventually followed the money and transformed into business families, while foreign companies across the Known Spheres began to take interest and saw opportunity for investment. By the time Prince Cozar died, Bral had been tamed.
The Rule of Han
Unlike his father who spent his life as a pirate captain, Prince Han was born to a mother native to Bral and grew up on the Rock. Also unlike his father, he did not have to get by with wits and cunning alone: Han was every bit as bright as Cozar but had the education to back it up. By the time he took the throne, Han was a powerful wizard and sharp economist.
The first act he did as Prince was to siphon tax money and direct it towards a project that up until then had only been theory. He poured millions upon millions into the research of a planar gateway, and with his own arcane talent as well as the collective minds from a dozen different worlds, he constructed an artifact that would be beyond any individual magical collect alone. Eight years after taking the throne Prince Han finished construction on the Interplanar Dimensional Gateway.
The Interplanar Dimensional Gateway, safely located within the Rock’s deep depths, used a number of foreign and only partially understood magical devices that Prince Han had discovered during his adolescence in addition to objects of great power important and purchased at great expense. The pay off though was greater than what anyone could have expected. The gateway allowed a group of mages of even just moderate power to open up stable passes to summon outsiders from any outer plane onto the Rock, under the condition that they obey Bral’s rules and pay the fees associated with their visit to the Prime Material Plane.
Though stable gateways were not unheard of in the past, and nor was the summoning of outsiders something uncommon, the control that the Interplanar Dimensional Gateway allowed, as well as the restraints placed on even the strongest summoned outsiders, was unparalleled. Outsiders from many different planes found reasons to come to Bral to further their own agendas. Prince Han profited from the fees they payed daily to remain, while they were given relatively free reign to pursue their own motivations. Trade from foreign planes was also introduced which completely changed the way Bral’s markets were viewed by other nations of Wildspace. Bral became the place to go for odd, rare, and valuable items
It was during Prince Han’s rule that the various noble families of Bral formed as well. Han, with the new riches coming in each day, decided to expand to more than just the asteroid he was on. He purchased businesses and companies across Wildspace, bought land by hundreds of acres on scores of worlds, and encountered many foreign powers in the process. The most powerful trade organizations began to desire a more prestigious place defined in Bralian society, and Prince Han gave them the means to do so.
Connected to hundreds of worlds and the outerplanes itself, land on Bral was the most valuable land in the Prime Material Plane, and ownership of it was the greatest mark of status a family could aspire to. Those trade families that offered something that expanded upon Bral’s greatness or helped maintain its status were given land by Prince Han. Even a handful of lots of land to be owned was enough to mark a family as nobles, a bit of control over the nexus that was beginning to unite the Known Spheres.
In the later years of Prince Han’s long rule, he sought to expand on the arcane value of the Rock. While it had been moved in the past, as far back as Prince Cozar’s rule, it was done by attaching powerful spelljamming ships to the Rock by anchors and was a slow, difficult method of traveling. With the success of the Interplanar Dimensional Gateway decades earlier, Prince Han easily found the money to invest in his new project without having to draw on tax money.
The Rock was fitted and lined with magical circuits that were attached to the gateway’s power source. Gravitational control devices were installed under the surface of the asteroid in wide arrays. A control system was built into the Prince’s Manor. Before Prince Han died, he saw that the Rock became the largest spelljamming vessel in Known Space, said to rival the legendary Spelljammer itself. Specially tuned astrolabes were distributed across the Known Spheres so that the Rock could be found even as its location changed. When Prince Han passed, Bral had an established nobility that was formed out of the most talented, wealthy, and beneficial trade families to be found across space, was a beacon for outsiders and other, stranger forms of intelligent life to meet without fear of hostility and perform business, and was surrounded by fleets of ships for defense and trade.
By the death of Prince Han, the Rock of Bral had entered its modern age. While an infant compared to the ancient spacefaring races, planetary civilizations, and interplanar entities, Bral filled a place in the Known Spheres that had long been desired. It was a center for money and accumulated wealth to be massed and wagered. Fortunes that had stagnated for centuries or longer became the entry pieces into a new game. Bralian economics and interplanetary trade empires became the new tokens on the game board of the Prime Material Plane. The Rock of Bral started something that the major players of the Known Spheres had been waiting for without even knowing it.
The Middle Years
By the time Prince Leo took the throne after his father’s death, he was already middle-aged with years of experience working as an intermediary for House Cozar and their various allies and partners. Before working for his father full time on Bral, Prince Leo was a member of an adventuring party under a false name, starting the tradition of Bralian nobles traveling in their youth before inheriting their estates as a means of avoiding stagnation and staying in touch with the modern world.
While Prince Leo was no powerful mage like Han was, he had trusted advisers and allies at his side who could monitor and maintain what his father had put into motion. The first half of Prince Leo’s rule was marked with the same consistent growth that the Rock of Bral had known since the early days of Cozar. If Prince Leo had a flaw it was his tendency to stay out of the spotlight. He lacked the natural charisma of his father and grandfather, and unintentionally sent messages that he was a weak leader.
The decline of the Rock of Bral took place during the second half of Prince Leo’s rule, but began with events entirely unrelated to him. The sun of the crystal sphere at the center of Vodonispace erupted into a nova, destroying the central government of the Vodoni Empire and the twelve star systems they ruled over. While the Vodoni Empire was notoriously evil and corrupt, it had stabilized a distant region of the Prime Material Plane that was inhabited by a number of other dangerous entities. The Vodoni Empire’s ruler, Emperor Vulkaran, left no methods of succession in place as he planned on ruling forever. Chaos fell upon the twelve crystal spheres of the Vodoni Empire one by one, as rebellions that had long been brewing finally had the opportunity to strike at the tyrants who ruled over them, who had found themselves confused with lack of leadership, distracted with looking to fill various gaps of power, and vulnerable due to cut supply lines.
While the conquered territories of the Vodoni Empire won their freedom over a decade of fighting it was at great cost. As the Vodoni Empire fell the evil they had kept in submission was let loose. Space monsters that were only contained by the well organized legions of Vodoni troops were set loose, while long oppressed cults were free to openly worship their dark deities now that the state worship of Emperor Vulkaran ended. Neighboring crystal spheres that had massed armies and navies to prevent the Vodoni Empire from conquering them now saw nearby star systems exposed and ripe for the taking.
Because the region of space the Vodoni Empire occupied is separated from the Radiant Triangle where Bral is located by a dark and deadly expanse of phlogiston called “The Weird”, it took time for the effects to reach the Rock. But attacks of massive space monsters were reported. Bold strikes by rogue navy fleets that had turned to piracy disrupted what had been stable trade routes. Worship of evil deities on the rise lead to a number of dark clerics surfacing and seeking glory in the name of their gods, and a rise of undead plagues let loose on planetary systems. When tough times hit Bral’s economy, Prince Leo was unsure of how to deal with new developments and answered the questions of investors and businessmen with silence.
The honeymoon of the “Bral experience” quickly faded public attitude changed and those with wealth, either old or recently acquired, looked to hoard it in the face of upcoming hardship. Space exploration and trade took back seat to many planetary-based governments that wanted to prepare for local issues of their own or who needed ships to combat marauders crossing the Weird. While a younger Prince Leo may of had the fire in him to rise up and lead people through the crisis, he was old by the time of the Vodoni Empire’s collapse and died without ever giving resolution to the troubled times.
Bral’s Collapse
When Prince Frun took the throne of Bral people were hopeful that he would provide better leadership than Leo, and at first he showed the right signs. Having never adventured, Frun was a bit of a local celebrity in Bral known for attending parties and befriending average citizens. He had never gone to a formal school or academy, practiced no arcane magics, and seemed to be the sort that people could relate to. Further, he was charismatic and a down-to-earth public speaker. The public was hungry for a change of leadership from Prince Leo’s distant and hands-off approach.
But for all the public confidence that Prince Frun enjoyed he brought zero experience or sense to the table. While Prince Leo heavily depended on advisers and systems put in place by his father, he assumed that his son would have the same safety nets. Yet much time had passed since Han’s death and advisory and specialists had changed hands to others that were equally skilled but loyal to themselves, not the Cozars. Frun’s ignorance and inexperience was taken advantage of by the people who his father had told him to trust, and he ceded political power unwittingly and foolishly invested the crown’s riches into enterprises that were unlikely to turn a profit or had little to no long-term benefit to Bral.
As danger was on the rise in the Known Spheres, business entrepreneurs were put second to defense. The oldest and most unified military organization that existed in the Radiant Triangle was the Elven Imperial Armada. Consistent of long-lived elves experienced in naval and ground warfare, the armada was unified in a single pantheon of deities and dedicated to the defense of the innocent. Mercenary defense companies that had waited for the opportunity to prove themselves found that when the time came they had no funding. Even Prince Frun put his confidence in the Elven Imperial Armada and donated ridiculous sums of both personal funds and tax money to their actions, moving the spotlight and initiative from Bral to the elves.
While the Elven Imperial Armada was able to set up a stable blockade around the Weird and kill or drive off the most dangerous of foes, Frun’s actions had inadvertently made Bral irrelevant. While for the majority of Frun’s rule he remained popular, it was only due to his friendly attitude and the work of various propaganda artists looking to make the crown seem stronger and wealthier than it actually was. The turning point came when Prince Frun agreed to meet with a neogi ambassador, who he kept waiting for two weeks. When the neogi finally grew impatient and demanded Prince Frun’s attention, the king had the ambassador thrown out of the palace.
The response by the local neogi fleet was to approach Bral, which was relatively undefended due to the decline of mercenary ships, and drop a large meteor in the middle of the city. The result caused over a thousand deaths, destroyed millions of gold worth of business establishments, and lost all faith both local and foreign in the throne. As money poured out of Bral slums developed in the city. Though Frun’s two sons had left home to become adventurers during the later years of his rule, they returned to find their father a bitter man distracting himself with what little coin he could sell off from the once great vaults of his family. Prince Frun died not long after, having drank himself to death in front of a picture of his great-grandfather with the shame of letting Cozar’s dream die.
The Rise of Andru
The fifth king of the Rock of Bral was Prince Calar, Frun’s eldest son. Like his father he was a nice man, good looking and leader-like. He was a warrior that adventured across multiple star systems, a bit of a hero with stories popular with the citizens. Perhaps his most important similarity to Frun was that he was completely inept, with no understanding of money, income, or business. While he was an adventurer, Calar dealt with radical tyrants and underhanded despots with his sword. As king, it seemed he would attempt much the same.
Calar never got the chance, as six days after he was crowned king he went missing. A couple days later he was found dead, having somehow been jettisoned into space along with a heap of trash. Prince Calar left behind a young and pregnant wife, Ellana, and citizens of Bral hungry for leadership and change whose dreams perished along with him.
Then came Andru. The younger brother of Prince Calar, Andru had been a bookish and quiet youth who stood in his brother’s shadow. During their adventuring years he had studied wizardry that he supported Calar with, and while many thought that he would continue his studies upon his brother’s death he took up the throne.
Proclaiming himself as king until Calar’s son, Aric, came of age, Prince Andru restored the glory to House Cozar. He was bold and ambitious like Cozar himself, knowledgeable about magic like Han, and could cut good deals and learn when to delegate like Leo. The first task that Andru did upon taking the throne was to clean out the wreckage of the neogi meteor crash site and rebuild it as the Grand Market. Andru took out numerous loans at ridiculous interest rates to fund his projects, and reopened the Interplanar Dimensional Gateway that had shut down decades prior due to lack of maintenance. Andru invested his own personal wealth from his adventuring years and marketed family treasures as collateral to start up his projects. Taxes were lowered dramatically when the market opened: Prince Andru was practically paying businesses to come back to Bral.
It worked extraordinarily. Andru attracted old investors who had thought Bral’s time had passed, both foreign and planar, and set up shops across the Grand Market. He invited delegates and ambassadors from planetary systems and businesses across the Known Spheres to Bral, trips paid for by himself, to negotiate deals. In a matter of years Andru had paid off all the debts he’d accumulated to start his projects with full interest paid. He tapped allies and resources acquired by his house that were distant and out of contact, and began building his trade empire.
The first ten years of Prince Andru’s rule saw him buy every ship that he could get his hands on and provide cheap shipping with high-paying wages for his crews. He set construction to be performed on various land owned by House Cozar across various interplanetary systems, and took advantage of cheap labor to offset his large expenses. Prince Andru worked hard to earn trust and sign business agreements not just with not only Bral’s nobility, but of nations far and distant with construction of embassies for them to use.
Though productive, Prince Andru has been largely a phantom in his rule, as he has only appeared to the public a handful of times. Most appreciate what he has done, as Bral’s natives around during Frun’s rule can see how much the economy has approved. Others claim that Andru worked behind the scenes, dealing underhandedly with threats and associating with dark forces in the process of Bral’s restoration. It’s no secret that the number of usually hostile races who come to Bral have dramatically increased, including illithids, beholders, drow, and the occasional fiend.
But for those willing to look the other way, Andru’s rule has a number of benefits. The mercenary companies that he’s funded now rival the Elven Imperial Armada in number and strength. Piracy is at its lowest in centuries, with many pirates bought out by Prince Andru to join his trade empire or mercenary companies for more pay than they made raiding. He’s heavily invested in magical arts, having hired a great number of wizards to maintain not only Bral’s complex spelljamming systems but also to provide magical defenses. While many rumors circulate about Andru and his practices or reasons for his secretive nature, no one denies his shrewd business skills or diplomatic genius.
Modern Day
In the past eight years, Andru has cemented his rule over Bral tighter than any king prior to him. He owns land on dozens of different planets and is king over far more people than one would expect. While he rules from the Rock, a small asteroid, the combined population of his subjects far exceeds that of most groundling kings and queens. Most of the land he owns is resource rich, which his fleet of trade ships circulate across the Known Spheres.
Prince Andru maintains good relations with rulers, leaders, and figureheads on many different planets, from a number of different governments, religions, and military groups. Any organization with power has been offered an embassy on the Rock of Bral, save those forces of evil in the material plane. While on the surface a force of good and law, Andru remains ties with more questionable allies to ensure that they don’t interfere with his own holdings, and quietly directs them towards fighting themselves over him.
Various aspects of Bral’s economy are delegated out to the noble families, who maintain the local economy, foreign relations, living necessities, defense companies, magic services, and any other business which he considers profitable and healthy for society.
Andru’s power is diverse. His numerous lands and the workers who dwell in them, as well as the trade fleet that goes between them represent personal sources of income. He also benefits greatly from taxation on the businesses that go through Bral, since as king he owns nearly all of the land on the Rock and maintains the right to levy taxes. Economics aside, Andru holds 49% of the votes of the Council of Captains, the delegation that decides laws on the Rock of Bral. This number is not by chance: since votes are determined by how many ships one owns, he buys or sells as necessary to hold the same percentage.
In the shadows, Andru has personal ties to a large number of organizations and has earned the trust, or at the very least respect, of entities and associations widespread and powerful. Only he knows exactly how complex his web of promises and deals is. Prince Andru also controls the group known as the Watch, an organization designed to ensure economic fairness and come down on lawbreakers, though his critics often point out that the Watch is more so a tool for Andru to keep power in the hands of those with his favor.
If Prince Andru has a weakness it is that his rule is not legitimate and his claims to the throne are coming to an end: Calar’s son, Aric, is soon to come of age and as per the laws of Bral’s succession, Andru must cede the throne to him. Despite this, Andru has made no attempts to further a transition of any sort, nor discussed such a thing with any of his allies or partners. While many are wary of this unjust reach for power from Andru, others suspect that the great wealth and advantages that the Rock enjoys are only due to a very delicate balance that only Andru himself knows how to maintain. Whether Prince Andru will yield the throne to his nephew, or if Aric Cozar will wrest it from his uncle’s grasp, remains to be seen.