1250 AC (After Conquest)

Carthmoor enters the present year at a moment of uncertainty.

King Jorrel II is dead. Queen Maessa serves as Regent while the High Council determines which eligible member of House Jordayne will next occupy the Sapphire Throne.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the succession, Carthmoor has not ceased to function. The Lord High Chancellor and Small Council continue the administration of the kingdom, while the Great Houses govern their lands and uphold their obligations to the Crown.

Beneath that stability, older tensions remain.

Relations with the Elder lands have never fully recovered from the Salt War. Mercia remains a sometimes-restless neighbor beyond the northern approaches. Piracy, smuggling, and illicit trade persist along the coasts despite centuries of attempts to suppress them.

The Church of Ceros remains one of Carthmoor's most influential institutions, even as tensions endure between some of its ancient doctrines and the laws and practices of the Crown.

And the royal succession has once again reminded every Great House that the stability of Carthmoor depends upon a careful balance between Crown and nobility.

Whoever inherits the Sapphire Throne will inherit a strong kingdom.

That sovereign will not inherit an uncomplicated one.