Many in Freedom: Act I

The year is AE241. The world has changed drastically during the time after the Cessation. Billions of people live in historic prosperity, but have become more divided than ever.

For a time the world was at relative peace, balanced on the pillars of three ideologies that shaped the world. In the east the USC embraced technology as a way to perfect mankind. In the south the Union Bloc feared what the masses would make of the changing times, and limited control to those who could properly manage them. And in the north the Republic of Agathos stood for liberty - cherishing ancient ideas and faiths, yet openly welcoming the gifts of this new world.

But the equilibrium could not last. When the USC invaded an ally of Agathos, the republic stood down for the sake of peace. But Chariman Phylus, Agathos spymaster, swore his nation would never again abandon a free people. He engineered a second conflict, and shocked the world by revealing a call to battle from an Archangel, Michael. But like the ambitions of many great men, they turned to ash in his mouth. Desperate to force the government to support his crusade, Phylus launched a coup d'tat. Agathos descended into a bloody civil war, and the USC struck swiftly. As the conflict grew to a fever pitch the USC used a new super-weapon, the Chaos Bomb, to annihilate the allied city of Yu'ian and its 10 million residents. Enraged, Phylus stole the plans to the weapon and attempted to bring retribution on the enemy capitol.

At this time a group of heroes, former allies to Phylus, exposed Michael of being a fraud - a fallen angel with no divine authority. They were forced to kill Phylus to stop his genocidal wrath, and with the help of Reiko Arthen protected the republic's capitol, Agalos City, from the Chaos bomb. The miracle left unanswered questions about the Cessation, but the USC advance was stopped, if only for a time.

Two years have since passed. While the war has burned unabated, something new has begun in the former lands of the republic. A new faction has risen, and had preliminary success uniting partisans from various creeds, faiths, and peoples. With lessons learned painfully from history both recent and ancient, the United Free People's Federation seeks to renew Agathos with a better republic- one that freedom-loving people of all kinds can support.

But their plans are not limited to ending the civil war. Taking the events at Agalos City as divine providence, many in this new nation see their destiny in the complete destruction of the USC, and final victory in the global conflict. Without even the ability to govern most of it's claimed territory, already there is talk of a Great Emancipation - a quasi-religious effort to liberate all peoples everywhere.

And so the second phase of the Long War has begun. The federation walks the knife's edge to defeat competing factions, while cooperating with them to fight the USC juggernaut. Former enemies must be convinced they can live together, and shown that they are not simply trading one tyrannical government for another. One mistake may be all it takes to see the hopes of the free world ended in the fires of totalitarianism. History stands at a crossroads, and all ways forward are filled with peril and great sacrifice.

But millions have already staked their life on this cause. Though they sometimes agree on little, they stand together in these dark times. Their rallying cry on the battlefield - “Many in Freedom, One Under God; Liberty with Law.”