Era
The current era. Black powder weapons — first developed in the eastern frontier states — are spreading across the Compact, threatening to upend centuries of military tradition built around runic warfare. The Compact's ruling council is divided: some see the new weapons as a tool of conquest; others as the beginning of the end for everything they know.
The first black powder weapon arrived in the Compact's capital in the form of a captured eastern cannon — hauled 4,000 miles by oxcart, half of its escort dead from the journey. The Council put it in a locked room for six months before anyone agreed to fire it. The explosion took out two walls and killed the court alchemist who pulled the trigger. The debate over whether to adopt the technology has not fully resolved in the forty years since.
The Age of Black Powder is the richest era for character drama. Magic users feel their relevance slipping. Soldiers who have drilled for twenty years in runic combat must unlearn everything. Political factions have formed around the question. A story set here should feel like standing at a crossroads with no good options on any road.