Factions:
Swordhaven: most adventurers, warriors, mages, and rogues all live in and fight as a part of the kingdom of swordhaven. Towns which are a part of this kingdom include the famous cities of Battleon, Willowshire, and Falconreach. The kingdom of swordhaven's ruler, King Alteon, is a powerful and benevolent ruler, and was rumored to be quite the hero himself in his younger days. He and the rest of swordhaven are generally passive in terms of governing, and do not go to war for purposes of expansion or conquest. Nonetheless, being the largest kingdom in terms of both power and scope, the kingdom of swordhaven often goes under attack, most notable the city of falconreach or battleon tend to be targetted, with the purpose of crippling the adventurers living in those towns - arguably one of the most powerful forces in the world, even though they only tend to reside in these two towns.
Deren: a faction allied with Swordhaven, most scholars gain their education from the kingdom of Deren. Deren is ruled by the drakel king Tralin, and is known as the most enlightened kingdom on the planet. Not to be underestimated, however, is their equally great might, as though Deren adventurers are not quite as numerous or powerful as the adventurers native to swordhaven, they make up for this fact by holding quite a bit of previously lost knowledge - such as long forgotten spells, for instance, or ancient weapon forging techniques.
While not normally aggressive, Deren reacts quite strongly to attacks and stamps out any agent of the network wherever they are found.
Vampires of darkovia: With only a few exceptions, all vampires have pledged their allegiance to the dark queen Safiria and her faction of vampires in Darkovia. Her territory is small compared to the huge kingdoms of Deren and swordhaven, but with her entire citizenry constantly prepared and ready for war, and even the weakest of her warriors strengthened by vampiric energies, with literally all eternity to master their skills, her forces could quite possibly take much more land and power, spreading their curse and expanding constantly, were it not for the countering force of the Lycan network in darkovia hampering them whenever they can.
Safiria's constantly looking to expand her kingdom, though at least for now seems currently focused on simply taking darkovia for herself. This brings her into constant conflict with the lycans, who are hated and killed on sight by any self-respecting vampire. The fighting between the two is quite bitter, though it seems the individual leaders - Safiria and the Werewolf king - will not openly fight one another, instead letting their armies do the warring for them. 'Tis a good thing, as well, for a fight between two of their massive strength would devestate the land around them, so powerful are the two.
Brotherhood of wolves: Most Lycans pledge their service to the brotherhood of wolves and the werewolf king. A vast network of lycan creatures, they grow their numbers by infecting humans with their curse. While not holding a kingdom as large as swordhaven or Deren, this is not for a lack of power, as all lycans are strong, immortal and capable of combat. Left on their own, they could spread their dominion all over the land, quite easily, if not for the fact they are held in check by the equally powerful forces of Safiria's vampires.
The Werewolf king wishes to create his empire everywhere, and tries to expand his territory quite often, but as a result of the vampires residing in darkovia, The werewolf king focuses his conquest there. A mixture of the fact that he and the rest of the lycans have a deep hatred of vampires, mixed with the fact that common sense dictates that when already in constant conflict against a force so powerful, fighting another would end in defeat, keeps him from attempting to expand past darkovia for now.
Guardian order: an order existing within the borders of, and often aiding, swordhaven, but with it's own jurisdiction and set of laws for members of the order, Guardians are general protectors of the realm, using their lore and abilities unique to their order to safeguard all who are foes of the good and true. The guardian order is led by a select council of higher ups in each tower, as each tower tends to be self-governing.
While not often actively going to war, guardians are sent to fight off attacks, specifically on peaceful villages, or those of peaceful races, who request help, and tend to help resist any attempt of aggressive expansion, regardless of the source, or those who bring and foster the flames of war.
