The Mythic wargame has finally released a novel to explain a few aspects of the setting and it’s a mess. Worth reading if you enjoy the game as I certainly do, but narratively it’s not great.

Only 48 chapters and with a few dozen named characters, the story follows a young monsoorai girl seeking revenge for the death of her family at the hands of the infamous Stormgate Confederation. She goes from sect to sect learning what makes them unique and what sorts of powers they have so she can later join the attack on Stormgate and kill the elf who murdered her clan.

The setting is a vast and diverse world. Belief shapes the gods and the landscape and the magics that the various sects use.

The world is ruled by a divine emperor as a spiritual leader, and the sects operate within the system as noble families, corporations, temples, and schools. Some sects are righteous and work alongside the law and empire, like a harada, while others are villainous and selfish, amassing power for their own benefit. Imperial provinces regularly contract the sects to apprehend bandits or clear zones of monsters.

Stormgate is a confederation of villainous sects bent on taking over the empire, with our protagonist, Manila, taking advantage of the war to get her revenge on the villainous elf Aedale.

The story is convoluted and somewhat flat. Characters in the wargame cannot learn from multiple disciplines, so Manila’s journey is just a method to explore the game’s many factions. Aedale also doesn’t have much of a presence, or a good reason for attacking Manila’s clan. We never even learned the name of the planet.

The release of the novel coincides with the release of Stormgate as a playable faction, with new models available for purchase.