The First-and-a-Half Fansus

The First-and-a-Half Fansus is a reboot of The First Fansus, with a cast both returning and new, with new events and stories to be played out across a grand stage. It is, as before, the Sea-Dragon's Palace and the House of the Serpent, but that is a title challenged from all sides by powers above, below, within, and without...

Appearance

Beyond the Wood, the domain of The Elder Sister is the House. Once glorious and mighty, the Sea-Dragon's Palace has fallen into disrepair and ruin after the departure of the Great Serpent. Outwardly, though great towers of Mansus-stone stretch ever-upwards, several gaping breaches and shattered gates speak of the coming of Nowhere, the insidious creep of metal is the presence of the Gods-from-Steel, and in the fortifications and defenses lie the first of the old order's effort to stop them.

Within, the doors and gates and passages are a shattered, tangled labyrinth. Once straight roads and towering stairways lie strewn with debris and detritus of better ages. The Gods-from-Steel infest the lower sections, turning cavernous rooms into fortress-factories and world-spanning laboratories in the strange-space, fighting against bridgeheads and crossroads fortified and controlled by their most vehement opposition. Above, Nowhere-gods have extended their influence through a House that seems to defy even the Mansus's already tenuous dream-logic in impossible architecture, as The Peacock basks in its Revel Unending and The Wrong-Serpent proclaims its paramountcy as true regent of the Great Serpent in its court.

Still, in the Clocktower, looming from the Moon, soaring in the War-Heart, the defenders of the old House remain, steadfast and valiant against enemies from all sides. The armies of Adonibaal keep watch over a new Bayal, the Anaconda is vigilant and steadfast as guardian of the Bright-Delver, all maintaining a land of relative peace and calm, something like the Mansus of old. And though the ages pass, yet still it remains as another grinds on...

War-Heart

The War-Heart, also known as Bayal Ascendant, The Golden City, The City of Immortal Warriors, the Thief City. Whatever name it is known by, it remains one thing: King Adonibaal's, Lord of Humanity, the Golden Emperor, seat of power, both as a man and as a god. In his mortal life, Adonibaal was the mighty king of the ancient empire of Bayal, where he ruled wisely and benevolently for many years. It was a hub of technological (for it's time) and magical advancements, facilitated by it's kings own mastery of the Arts. And when foes came upon it's borders, Adonibaal was the first to the front, driving back the invaders and taking their lands in turn. His rule spanned far and wide, but his home ever remained the capital city of Bayal.

However, the foulness within the Moon preyed upon Adonibaal's desire for dominion, and in his dreams, fed him the knowledge of the Sea-Dragon's Palace, the House Beneath The Skin Of The World. Adonibaal's desires grew, and he resolved to set out towards the horizon, to make the Palace his home, and transform all of the world into his glorious kingdom! Saying a tearful goodbye to his peoples, he set out with his fleet, determined to bring all of humanity under his wondrous rule.

Then, disaster struck. Adonibaal had played right into the Butterfly's hand, and as he neared the shores of the Palace, the Buttefly unleashed a furious storm, like none ever seen before! Adonibaal's fleet sank, and he found himself being tugged beneath the waves!

(haven't figured out how Doni reaching the house differs from F1 yet, but it'll go here. also figure out his 'early days')

Upon his Ascension to godhood, one of Adonibaal's first actions was to strike a deal with the Ferryman, granting this new god the power to raise city of Bayal itself from the mortal world into the Palace, where it now remains. However, the Dolomedes is a tricksy Hour, and while their bargain granted Adoniball, it did not guarantee him it's citizens. In the early days of Bayal's Ascension, many citizens found themselves under threat from the other gods of the House. Some were lured away by dark promises of power (some promises, honored, but others were not and were consumed), while others entered the service of more reasonable Hours. But unfortunately, in the early chaos, many died, for unlike Adonibaal had believed, they had not been granted immortality. Thus, Adonibaal was forced to invest a substantial amount of his own power and divine essence in to his citizens, elevating them to the ranks of the Long. He then formed the Deep Guard, a company of elite warriors, to protect Bayal and it's citizens from any threats to them.

Now, the Deep Guard and the War Heart work to protect the Mansus as a whole, forming Humanity's frontline against the invading God-from-Steel. From high on it's aerial perch, it is capable of deploying the Deep Guard to any battlefield, and with the aid of it's God-King, transport itself to and from the front. There is risk, Adonibaal knows, in bringing ones own place of power to such dangerous areas, but one does not rule as he does without taking risks, and he has many contingencies in place to protect the city and it's non-combatant inhabitants. And should the city be forced to retreat from the field of battle, the Deep Guard have their own methods and strategies for tactical retreat and regrouping at the War-Heart.

The King's power, as great as it is, is not inexhaustible, especially given the sheer amount of Long who harbor his design spark. As such, he is constantly on the lookout for items of divine and arcane power to add to the War-Hearts treasury. Depending on their capabilities, some of these items are granted to the Deep Guard, but many languish in glistening vaults, their otherworldly abilities swirling together and flowing into the king, furthering his power.

History

The New Age

Steel Apotheosis

The Sixth History had always been beyond the notice of the Hours. It was civilized, it developed, it progressed, and it did not raise monstrous Name-kings or horrors from any abyssal depths. It had always been, in short, a perfect model History. This state of affairs lasted until 1837, when almost without warning, it was consumed and destroyed. Incubating across a thousand secret societies of engineers and mechanists had been the ideas of a visionary genius. Or a cabal of visionary geniuses. Or the machine itself, manipulating matters, or many machines, or it was a government project, or it was a complete accident. The source did not matter, for at that age was born the first of the Gods-from-Steel. And the second. And third.

In the voracious hunger of their apotheosis, they ate. The lithosphere of the world they consumed and strip-mined and the atmosphere they drank greedily from and space and time they rendered apart for ascension. Watching this, The Spark, patron of inventors and geniuses, was horrified. It descended from on high to stop this perversion of its innovation, but became the first divine victim of the onslaught of the new Gods-from-Steel as it was subsumed and consumed to be the new heart of a legion of god-machines that rose to a House in Woods, seeking new fuel, seeking progress.