Enemies
Monarch’s Bluffs combines the dangers of a shipwreck coast with the remnants of old kingdoms and Ancient ruins. The territory contains Lost sailors and Withered inhabitants, active Ancient Guardians, pockets of Corruption, dangerous wildlife, and organized human raiders who arrived during later conflicts.
That variety fits the territory’s history. Monarch’s Bluffs has repeatedly been a place where newcomers tried to establish power, from the kingdom of Artorius to pirate crews and Varangian war parties.
Enemy Families
| Enemy Family | Presence in Monarch’s Bluffs |
|---|---|
| Lost | Drowned, Withered, and elite undead occupy coastal ruins, keeps, and pirate strongholds. |
| Ancient Guardians | Defend Ancient sites such as Antares and Chason Steep. |
| Corrupted | A continuing threat to the territory, particularly around the coast and areas touched by the modern main story. |
| Human | Gold Sabres and Varangian Raiders provide organized living enemies in addition to supernatural threats. |
| Beasts | Lynx, wolves, and other wildlife occupy the cliffs and forests between settlements. |
The Lost
The coastline makes Drowned enemies a natural part of Monarch’s Bluffs. Sailors and pirates who died at sea or lost themselves after reaching Aeternum continue to occupy forts, coves, and wreck-strewn locations.
Corbenic Castle is associated with Drowned enemies, while Teyrnon Keep contains Withered. The two groups show different outcomes of the Lost condition: some retain the trappings of sailors and soldiers, while others have deteriorated into far more broken forms.
The territory’s most famous Lost stronghold is Deadman’s Cove, an elite area populated by powerful undead including Dreadscythe enemies and named threats. It turns the pirate theme of the coast into one of the region’s most dangerous concentrations of Lost.
Ancient Guardians
Monarch’s Bluffs also contains Ancient Guardians at sites including Antares and Chason Steep. These enemies have little connection to the later kingdoms and pirate settlements built around them; they are remnants of a much older layer of Aeternum.
Their presence helps explain why so many later groups fought over the Bluffs. Human history occupies the visible surface, but Ancient structures show that the region was significant long before Artorius or modern settlers arrived.
Human Raiders
Not every hostile force in Monarch’s Bluffs has surrendered to undeath or supernatural corruption. The Gold Sabres operate as a human enemy group around Southern Bluffs Bay, demonstrating that ordinary ambition and violence remain dangerous on Aeternum.
The Varangian Raiders later expanded this theme on a much larger scale. They landed on the southern shores of Aeternum and established war camps in both Monarch’s Bluffs and First Light. Their forces include armored fighters, scouts, archers, and knights operating under a military command structure.
The Varangians also connect directly to Monarch’s Bluffs’ Arthurian history. Their founder, Varik, once belonged to the Round Table of King Artorius before eventually establishing his own warrior faction.
Corruption
Corruption remains an additional danger throughout the territory. The modern starting story places new arrivals in direct contact with Corrupted forces along the coast, making the supernatural threat visible almost immediately after reaching Aeternum.
This is important thematically: Monarch’s Bluffs may preserve legends of kings and knights, but the same Corruption that destroyed later armies continues to threaten every new generation that attempts to settle the region.
Notable Threats and Strongholds
- Deadman’s Cove — Elite Lost stronghold containing powerful pirate and Dreadscythe enemies.
- Corbenic Castle — Drowned-held location.
- Teyrnon Keep — Withered stronghold.
- Antares and Chason Steep — Ancient Guardian sites.
- Southern Bluffs Bay — Associated with the Gold Sabres.
- Varangian war camps — Military positions established during the Varangian invasion of southern Aeternum.
The Enemy Landscape
Monarch’s Bluffs contains enemies from nearly every era represented in the territory’s lore. Ancient Guardians predate the human kingdoms, Lost pirates preserve the failures of maritime settlers, Varangians continue the island’s Arthurian military legacy, and Corruption threatens to consume all of them.
The result is a territory where history is not merely remembered. It remains armed.