Conquest Lore Explainer: The Sorcerer Kings of Eä

The Sorcerer Kings faction is utterly unique in wargaming. Drawing on an Arabian Nights aesthetic it leans into elemental forces in its approach to battle, caring little for life and looking down its nose at the simple magic other factions rely on. Rather than performing tricks by manipulating the environment around them, the Sorcerer Kings commune directly with reality itself, tearing apart the essence of Eä in order to have an impact on the battlefield, which they invariably do.

A (Relatively) Young Faction

The Sorcerer Kings are descended from the community of magicians who brought about the Fall of Hazlia. While it feels like every faction on Eä has a strong connection to this event, the Sorcerer Kings are both its cause and effect. As the Old Dominion began to fracture, mighty sorcerers took the decision to tap into Eä's foundational elements in order to grow in power. The primordial souls of Water, Fire, Earth and Air were bound to them, meaning these sorcerers transcended mortal limits and were able to square off against the mad ungod.

Sorcerer Kings Efreet Flamecasters. Credit: Rich Nutter

The immediate aftermath of the Fall was chaos, and so the sorcerers fled to the south, raising new volcanic islands from the sea to allow passage to a new continent of their own making. This provided refuge from the other factions due in part to distance, but due mainly to simply not knowing they are there - no factions since the Fall have been able to invest in seafaring and no maps from before would have found this Forged Land they called Jaadoghar Kajhaana because it didn't exist.

The Four

Of the original Sorcerer Kings, four survive, one for each of the primal forces they mastered:

Erme - Water. Her realm, Jeel Sangar bursts with impossible vegetation and misty peaks.
Dyelin - Fire. His volcanic fortress of Jalaag is the centre of his dominion over lands rich in metal and stone.
Hormus - Earth. His realm of Adharnev is home to fertile plains and the most populated towns and cities.
Alessa - Wind. She dwells in Hava Mahal, a floating palace with no fixed location, from which she aids and meddles.

Working together - and against one another, of course - the Elemental Courts comprise a vast empire of scholars, nobles, elementals and servants. Their common cause is the ongoing perfection of magic and mastery over creation.

Sorcerer Kings Maharajah. Credit: Rich Nutter

The Elemental Courts

The centre of Jaadoghar Kajhaana is the location for the Trophaeum Pinnacle, a massive volcano that plays host to four thrones. These are mainly symbols, and sit empty virtually all of the time. The Kings, and indeed many of their greatest sorcerers, spend most of their time within the Elemental Domains rather than Eä itself, gathering power and conducting experiments to allow them to perform better against the other factions in battle.

But these domains are also a battlefield in themselves. Sorcerers enter to extract resources and bargain with elemental beings, which at times demands more force than others. A sorcerer able to bind challenging powers to their will commands great respect from their peers and fear from their enemies.

Sorcerer Kings Steelheart Djinn. Credit: Rich Nutter

But the continued absence of these most powerful sorcerers allows those who remain in the mortal world to extend their own power, such as it is. The experience of a citizen of the Sorcerer Kings is in practice one characterised by bureaucracy. They are obsessed by hierarchy and have many titles denoting people's rank, which are awarded following duels of magical pride that emerge from rivalries and infighting that is commonplace across the entire continent.

The Enclaves

The cities of the Sorcerer Kings are the Enclaves, beautiful and sustained by elemental power to create a virtual utopia. When it rains, the rain is clean and perfect for cultivating crops in the rich soil. When a fire burns it is efficient and pretty, and eternally under control. Living in the Enclaves is prosperous, ordered paradise.

And yet it has a price. Living in the Enclaves means existing solely to serve the needs of those in power. All governance structures - education, economy, laws - orbit around searching for gifted children who will become the sorcerers of the future. Those children are taken from their families to the Trophaeum Peak, and judged. If they are deemed worthy, they are apprenticed to the Courts. If not, they become lifelong servants.

The Sorcerer Kings Mahut, crewed by Dhanur Disciples. Credit: Rich Nutter

For centuries, this has provided an uneasy Balance that has survived. While emotions run high in the families directly affected, the level of day-to-day comfort is unimaginable, and the system from end to end is efficient and honourable. But the Sorcerer Kings have allowed their focus to shift back to the place of their birth, and expeditions and battles demand resources that were previously not required. The society long accustomed to luxury is now beginning to feel the pinch of war.

The Tribes

Alongside the ruling class and the faithful populations in the Enclaves, another people group arrived on Jaadoghar Kajhaana. Refugees blessed by the goddess Ninuah reached the new continent in need of aid, but were rejected and cast out from the Enclaves, unable to benefit from the structures, not even as a sub-caste. So they found a way to live in the wilds.

Through sheer resilience and the not insignificant blessing of Nninuah they formed their own nomadic lifestyle as herders and warriors. Their faith remains strong, and their hatred of the Sorcerer Kings grows, along with their numbers.

It's the Tribes that can be thanked for awakening the Elder Kings, in truth. The minor clashes between local Tribes and well-equipped Enclaves escalated and threatened a holy war, which has ultimately brought the Sorcerer Kings to the position of conflict they are in today.

The Destiny of Kings

The Sorcerer Kings are driven by a belief that they are called to become the ultimate masters of creation. They are still aiming to pierce the deepest reaches of the Elemental Domains, merge them with the mortal world and awaken Balance itself, the true power behind the Elements. Succeeding would allow them to become the divine stewards of existence they trust would make them saviours - surely others would think more likely tyrants, so it is worth stopping them.

Sorcerer Kings Windborn Djinn. Credit: Rich Nutter

At the present moment, the empire of Jaadoghar Kajhaana remains a delicate realm of brilliance and prosperity, of paradise and order. But the beauty hides corruption and all power is dangerous in the wrong hands.The Sorcerer Kings are undoubtedly both great architects and dangerous inheritors of the ancient powers that once felled Hazlia himself.

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Tags: Conquest | Conquest Last Argument of Kings | Lore Explainer | Sorcerer Kings