Marleybone

One of the great naval powers of the Spiral, Marleybone is a thriving center of industry and innovation. The center of a mercantile empire, Marleybone has colonies in Skull Island, Darkmoor, Krokotopia, and Zafaria, and their trading companies sail the entire Spiral. Marleybone enjoys strong treaties with MooShu, and has established full colonial rule over the exotic realm of Rajah. Their economic supremacy is second only to the great Merchant Families of Valencia, though they would never admit it.

Past rivalries and wars with Monquista, Valencia, and Polaris spurred Marleybone to forge a military power to match its economic might. The red coated soldiers and marines of Marleybone's army are among the best trained anywhere, and the Royal Navy, with her "wooden ships and iron Dogs," is feared by rivals and smugglers in every corner of the Spiral. Marleybone played a key role in the defeat of Napoleguin in the Polarian Wars, and in recent years tensions in Skull Island have brought Marleybone to the brink of war with Monquista. Now the ascendency of Valencia and the Armada pose a threat unlike any the Dogs have seen before.

Marleybone is a land of great natural beauty, from the idyllic fields and countryside of Kent to the stark, beautiful highlands of Albion and the White Cliffs of Rover. But few visitors ever see those distant, rural places, for Marleybone is also a realm of great cities, some of the mightiest ever seen: Marleybone City, home of the Queen and Big Ben, with her dirigibles and modern architecture; and the Isle of Dogs, center of trade and shipbuilding for all Marleybone, dominated by huge warehouses and a massive factory.

For all her success, Marleybone is not without flaws: Marleybonean society is built upon rigid ideas of class and manners. Wealthy elite Dogs live in opulent mansions, never mixing with the middle class craftsmen and tradesmen, who toil for relatively little pay. But even the lot of the downtrodden Dogs is as nothing compared to the plight of the Cats and Foxes of Albion, who lack any political representation in Parliament and can get only the most menial and degrading jobs. The tensions between classes are a growing problem, but a new threat has shaken Marleybone to the core.

Marleybone is in crisis: tensions with Valencia in Skull Island recently erupted into full scale war. The proud Sky Dogs of the Royal Navy expected a quick and easy victory; but the wrath of the Armada has been more terrible than any dared imagine. Valencia has launched fierce attacks on all fronts, stretching Marleybone's navy to its limits. What was expected to be a skirmish in the outer colonies has turned into a fight for Marleybone's survival. In recent weeks the Bastions protecting the Stormgate into Westminster Skyway have fallen: now the Armada's fleets have unfettered access to Marleybone's home Skyways, and are preparing for an assault on Marleybone City! The war is having a profound impact on life in Marleybone: as sieges and shortages make life hard, the working class Cat population turns to crime, while Radical Foxes meet in secret to plot violent rebellion. Marleybone faces a dire test - only the most heroic deeds can save her.