Sphigypt.

Once a mighty and feared kingdom, the sphinxes' ancestral home fell twenty years ago to turmoil and infighting.

A new Pharaoh sits on the throne in Thebanus now, and he has a single goal in mind: recover his ancestors’ legacy and unify the kingdom once more.

The Republic of Akhri stands in his way. Weak and unstable, plagued by corruption and an exploding social question, it's armies will not survive the coming onslaught.

And the Federated Kingdom of Owlstria, architect of the Southern Campaign that once brought Sphigypt to its knees, shows an ever-growing distance from a puppet that it never managed to fully control.

In the mist of all this, foreign powers have set their sight on these lands, some openly, others not so, and this small, local conflict might very well spiral out of control, setting the entire continent ablaze in the process.

Captain Edward Blackwing doesn’t like being in Sphigypt. Still, that’s where he and his company are, assigned as garrison in the city of Kaska. There isn’t much to do, unless you’re interested in running behind petty river smugglers. And as day after day pass by, some might wonder if his career in the Owlstrian Royal Army has truly reached a dead end.

But as the threat from the West grows, Kaska itself turns into a powder keg ready to blow, and Blackwing will find himself in the middle of a literal maelstrom. Alone, and with only an handful of allies by his side, he will have to employ all his cunning and ruthlessness if he and his company are to survive, or they'll soon become the first casualties of a bigger and bloodier war.

A sandstorm is approaching, and heroes shall either be born or buried in its wake.

WARNING: This story contains violence and profanities, althought not so much of the latter. In any case, readers discretion is advised.