Vainqueur (Continent)



Vainqueur is the continent in which Rh takes place, and in the events of the game is slowly being turned into sand.

Geography
Vainqueur is a very mountainous continent, the only flat regions being the interior of Celestia, Abyssia Forest, Gran Plain, and Itolia Wasteland. Snowmelt from the northern mountains is implied to provide Alistel and possibly Granorg with water. In the northeast is the Lazvil Hills, and the industrial city-state of Alistel and forests of Celestia beyond them. Far southwest is the growing Itolia Wasteland, which houses Cygnus and Skalla, as well as the only entrance to Abyssia Forest, where the Gutral nation of Forgia is based and humans avoid at all costs. The northwest contains Gran Plain, where Granorg, the remains of the Empire, is based. The Itolia Wasteland also holds the Sand Fortress, which is directly in the center of the continent and a much-embattled fortress between Alistel and Granorg, and the Imperial Ruins, where the Empire was based. Thanks to desertification, all are covered in sand.

Granorg
Granorg is perhaps the oldest country on Vainqueur. A thousand years into the past, a great Empire, based in what is now the Imperial Ruins, ruled most of the continent, but were irresponsible with their power, causing desertification for the first time. This lead to the collapse of the Empire and the creation of the Itolia Wasteland. However, the court mages were the only people on the continent with enough power to control the desertification, and Mana was so disturbed that they had to Sacrifice themselves to do it. Their bloodline eventually became the royal bloodline of Granorg, from which Princess Eruca is descended. They have the right to rule because they Sacrifice their beloved family members to end the desertification; but over time, the general public forgot this.

Under a century prior to the events of the game, a religious minority who believed in the divinity of Prophet Noah formed in Granorg. They were the target of much religious oppression, and were forced to flee they country. After their exodus, established a state in the abandoned northeast of Lazvil Hills: Alistel.

About a decade prior to the events of the game, King Victor became the monarch of Granorg. Victor was a tyrant, oppressing the masses to control opposition to him and make him the absolute ruler. Under the advisory of his court, particularly Dias and Selvan, Victor divorced his first wife and married Queen Protea, who was originally a commoner. Seeing that Protea and Victor would bring ruin to Granorg, his son, Ernst, founded the Resistance to bring them down and restore Granorg to peace.

Despite his cruelty, Victor was still concerned about the world and desertification, so he killed his brother, planning to use his corpse in the Ritual. However, his brother's reanimated body fled Granorg before the Ritual could be completed, and he fled to Alistel with two books commonly used in the Ritual -- the White Chronicle and Black Chronicle -- and took the name Heiss. Next in line was to be the daughter of Protea and Victor, Eruca, but Victor killed Ernst because of his actions as a member of the Resistance instead. Heiss kidnapped his beloved nephew and took him to Alistel, giving his reanimated body the name Stocke. He also assassinated Victor (reanimating him as a a Shadow) and began working against Eruca, to keep any more Sacrifices from ever happening.

The power void that resulted made Protea a puppet ruler, manipulated from the shadows by Dias and Selvan as a way of making them de facto dictators. Protea had no interest in the state of Granorg, only wanting to watch gladiator duels all day and eliminate her daughter to destroy the Resistance once and for all. The tyrannical rule of Protea provided a good excuse for Hugo to blame the desertification on, resulting in a war between Alistel and Granorg.

During the events of the game, the Resistance grew in public popularity, and the citizens of Granorg considered it a good way to overthrow Protea, Dias, Selvan, and the military of Granorg. The Resistance also had a second purpose by now: to recover the Etherion from Protea so that Eruca can perform the Ritual on Stocke, if she can ever find him.

In the Standard History, Protea retaliates against the Resistance by ordering the burning of the entire city, causing countless civilian deaths. Shortly after, Alistel falls, and the Resistance is forced to flee to Cygnus. Dias attacks Cygnus, but the Granorg army is crushed, thanks to King Garland the Mighty and the intervention of the Resistance, as well as a lack of planning for the windy climate of Itolia Wasteland. An alliance of Cygnus and Forgia later invades Granorg, restoring Eruca to the throne.

In the Alternate History, victories at Gran Plain and the Sand Fortress cause Alistel to gain the offensive, and ultimately conquer Granorg. Dias and Selvan kill Protea as a way of persuading Alistel to keep them in power. However, Granorg is liberated by Celestian and Forgian forces, again bringing peace to the country.

Alistel
Alistel is a much smaller and more recently established nation than Granorg or Cygnus, and where much of the game takes place. It was founded by religious refugees lead by Noah, and is a steam-punk styled nation. Fennel and his fellow engineers are the reason that Alistel is so successful with its implementation of Thaumatech technology into warfare.

Alistel is a steam-punk styled nation in Rh. This nation is the home of Stocke, Raynie, Marco, Rosch, Sonja, Heiss, Field Marshal Viola, Lt. General Raul, General Hugo, and Engineer Fennel and serves as the center of many plot points throughout the story, which is a quality that is only rivaled by Granorg in the amount of screen-time its given. Fennel and his fellow engineers are the reason that Alistel is so successful with its implementation of Thaumatech technology into warfare. As a result, Alistel's capital has an industrial economy.

At some point in the country's past, Noah grew ill and died, leading to the rise of General Hugo, a government official who claimed that Noah was still alive and that he spoke through Hugo because he was too ill to come out to the public square.

Hugo accused Vainqueur's peopole for not stopping the rule of Protea, claiming that the Desertification was God's punishment for her tyranny. Despite their technological advantages, Alistel made little progress against Granorg's superior numbers, and the war became a stalemate.

In the Standard History, Stocke doesn't intervene in the Battle of Gran Plain, leading to the fall of Alistel. It is liberated at the end of the Flux War, when Granorg's military is brought down by Cygnus and Forgia.

In the Alternate History, Stocke's intervention at the Battle of Gran Plain causes the fall of Granorg and the beginning of the Celestian War, where Alistel attempted to crush the 'heathen' Satyros in Celestia. However, Stocke and Lt. General Raul found proof that Hugo attempted to sell out the Rosch Brigade at Gran Plain because they were gaining too much popularity and he wanted to assure his rule over the continent. This caused them to turn on Alistel, leading to the victory of Celestia and Forgia, even though Cygnus was conquered by a secret weapon, the Divine Judgement, created by Fennel.

Cygnus
Cygnus is a desert nation founded in the Itolia Wasteland some time after the fall of the Empire. While little is known about its history, the rise of King Garland the Mighty lead to its might-makes-right ideology. As a result, Cygnus is a haven for gladiators, mercenaries, bodyguards, assassins, and others who make a living off violence, including a young Raynie and Marco.

Despite (or perhaps because of) this, Cygnus is the most peaceful Mankind nation, holding no grudges against a people if they can show their strength. Its remote location has kept either country from turning on it for most of the Flux War. Even in neutrality, it has an effect on the war, because mercenaries are often hired from it.

In the Standard History, Resistance troops under Stocke and Eruca are captured as gladiators while fleeing from the burning Granorg, but break out of prison and persuade Garland to prepare for war against Granorg. Sure enough, the Dias Knights cross the Itolia Wasteland to recapture Eruca, but are unprepared for the whirlwinds of Itolia, and are crushed by Garland's forces.

In the Alternate History, Cygnus is only mentioned; it is conquered by Alistel via the Divine Judgement, forcing the Celestians to find new allies. This leads to the intervention of Forgia and the defeat of Alistel.

Forgia
Forgia is the the larger of the two Beastkind countries on Granorg, lead by Bergas of the Gutrals. Little is known about its founding, but it's looked upon with suspicion by Mankind countries, due to racism between humans and beasts.

Even after the industrialization of Alistel, the medieval divine-right-of-kings beliefs of Granorg, and the might-makes-right beliefs of Cygnus, Forgia maintains tribal values, including a coming-of-age ceremony in the Holff Ruins where Gutrals (and humans planning to speak to Gutrals) must defeat a Guardian and several Monks in combat and claim the Beast Mark.

In both Histories, Stocke meets with Bergas bearing the Beast Mark and explains the dire state of Vainqueur, persuading Bergas to invade Granorg/Alistel and restore Eruca to the throne, so the Ritual can be completed and expansionism will not pose a threat to Forgia.

Celestia
Celestia is a tiny nation just southeast of the Lazvil Hills, where the Satyros live. While Aht is their spiritual leader and shaman, she is only a child, so their de facto ruler is Elm. They all deeply distrust humans, especially Alistel, which is hinted to have tried to invade them in the past out of religious zeal.

Celestia only appears in the Alternate History; Stocke, Rosch, Sonja, and Raul flee here after Stocke discovers the truth about Hugo's manipulation during the Battle of Gran Plain. Alistel invades Celestia when Granorg falls, leading to the campaign of the Flux War known as the Celestian War. Satryosian archers hold off Alistel until Cygnus falls and Hugo's entire army can be devoted to Celestia. Fortunately, a Gutral named Gafka who lives in Celestia convinces the group to ally with Forgia, leading to Alistel's defeat.