For millennia, magnificent Taldor reigned as an enduring empire, praised for its culture, military, wealth, and connections to the glory of Azlant. By the beginning of the fifth millennium ar, Taldor had begun to sag under the weight of excessive ceremony and decadence. Its old rival Qadira led an invasion against its declining neighbor in 4079. Sensing an opportunity, many of Taldor’s western provinces declared their independence in what was called the Even-Tongued Conquest—a war on two fronts that the empire could not handle. Taldor repelled the Qadiran forces, but it never regained its lost lands.
In the aftermath of the war, emperors of Taldor sought scapegoats to bear the shame of their defeat. They stripped numerous noble families of their titles and lands to condemn their failures in the two campaigns. Most who suffered this punishment faded into obscurity and never rose again. For an ambitious few, reclaiming the titles they should have inherited is an all-consuming goal. Countess Honaria Alcasti was an influential commander during the campaigns before and immediately following the Even-Tongued Conquest, yet all her skill could not make up for the shortage of supplies, and her career came to an ignoble end. When she dared to critique the crown’s strategies, the emperor sentenced her family to life as common people. Her many-times-great grandson Remaio Alcasti only has incomplete references to his ancestor’s heroism and title, and he longs to exonerate her name and regain the noble title that he believes he deserves. If he can gather the right evidence and present it in Oppara, he is certain that he will succeed. He needs the PCs’ help to follow his leads across several countries to uncover the truth and, with evidence in hand, to advocate for his ancestor’s grand legacy.
These six adventures take the PCs to an ancient grove, a basilica in Taldor’s shining capital, a fortress-city in the deserts of Qadira, an Andoren farm under siege, a crumbling tomb on the edge of civilization, and finally a formal audience with some of the highest members of Taldor’s aristocracy.
