In this debut season of Arant Chronicles, the Sage Coalition and Nova Ordo will be fighting over a place known as Ibinia. Ibinia is a kind of Middle-East inspired region. It's a very small, arid country, with a mostly rural population. A few cities exist, founded around reservoirs and oases scattered across the sandy deserts, and there are mountainous forested areas where vegetation is plentiful. Ancient ruins and abandoned ghost towns can be found across the desert. The nation borders a large sea on one side, so there are beaches as well, but most of the coastal area is covered by harsh cliffs.

Ibinia is ruled by a confederacy of a race of intelligent dragons who control the production of a material known as firemoth silk. This material is crucial to the proper incubation of Ibinian dragon eggs and a beloved food source for the dragons, but also has magical applications. It accelerates the magical development of those in close proximity. While it doesn't necessarily amplify the power of a magic user’s abilities, it does allow people who have struggled to learn magic to develop their powers far more quickly. It’s a wonder material, and only Ibinian dragon artisans know how to cultivate it.

While the aristocratic Ibinian leadership has previously denied any official access to their prized firemoth silk, a massive company known as Arc Trading is close to securing a deal. Of course, Arc Trading is one of the many corporations covertly run by the Sage Coalition. With exclusive access and control over the trading of firemoth silk, they’re poised to gain a major advantage that could aid them in their goal to control more and more of Arant.

Upon learning of the plans, the local Nova Ordo branches immediately knew they had to put a stop to it. Arc Trading had long been suspected of being a Sage Coalition proxy by them, and the move to secure the trading routes of such a valuable material was an obvious power play.

It's the closest the two factions have come to all-out warfare. But some members from the Sage Coalition (working through Arc Trading) decided to propose an alternate plan to the local Nova Ordo rebels, anticipating they would try to stop the trading deal by whatever means necessary.

Both factions will select and send in fighters to engage in organized 1-on-1 matches. The secretive battles will be hosted in various areas around Ibinia, with permission from local lords. Whoever wins 15 of these matches first claims victory. If the Sage Coalition wins, they get their new firemoth silk trade route, and Nova Ordo must not interfere. If Nova Ordo wins, the Sage Coalition will give up their deal.

The Sage Coalition proposed this deal with great confidence, believing they could easily defeat the Nova Ordo rebels. To them, it's essentially just a way to get what they want while expending little effort and not risking total chaos that could threaten the Ibinian trading deal or firemoth silk production. War can be very good for business, but not in this case.

The local Nova Ordo branches were cautious, but ultimately agreed to the deal after consulting some other branches and members. It’s not in their best interests to get involved in full scale war either. Ibinia is already a political powder keg with the conflicts between the aristocracy of dragons, the local lords who rule under their watch, and the non-dragon species that make up the bulk of the population. Nova Ordo is solely against the Sage Coalition and wants to avoid causing the deaths of innocents by any means necessary.

Thus, the preparations for this small-scale proxy war began, with each side recruiting the best fighters they could get their hands on...

For an altnerate, lengthier version of this same lore with a bit more detail and story to it, read this document here.