Doc’s return from the Tsarrus brought both joy and sorrow. His children were growing up fast, and he’d missed their earliest years. When he finally made it back to Furden and his family, he soaked in the love of his wives and the excitement of his children. Doc finally had something he’d always yearned for: a full family.

But things were still moving toward confrontation. The Church of Apoc was mobilizing the entire nation to stand against Doc and his “false religion.” Doc and his allies weren’t ignoring the growing threat, instead making plans of their own. Everything kicked off when the Emeritan government tried to seize Doc’s businesses and assets. The plans were pushed forward, and the western states declared secession, making a new government in Western Emerita.

Even worse, that wasn’t all. The church again tried to assassinate Doc, but failed to account for who was in the carriage they’d targeted. The Driver brothers— who’d been driving and guarding it—died in the explosion, as did Sequoia, Ayla, and Ginger. Ayla’s gifts from Doc brought her back, but that still left the others dead. That heralded a long-standing Dwarven proverb: “a good man went to war.” Bereft of his wife, Harrid took up arms, guiding his templars to be the bulwark of Western Emerita against the army of Eastern Emerita.

Even with the military legends of Lee, Grant, Jackson, and Pershing leading Eastern Emerita, they found themselves devastated. None of them had faced Mother’s children united. Led by Rosa, the dryads were on every battlefield, crushing artillery emplacements and giving Western Emerita a steep advantage. In the end, Eastern Emerita petitioned for peace and retreated across the Big River.

But not all was settled—the Pontiffica was still alive, having crushed War’s new Voice. Knowing that the gods were moving, the Voice of Darkness would begin to lay his own plans. Emerita might’ve found an unsteady peace, but the world was in for something it had never seen before.