The Children of the Ancients are a nomadic group of religious fanatics whose general population is concentrated in the northern regions of the former country of Ohrlus. Their leader is a boisterous and charismatic man by the name of Jefferson Kimmel. The Children channel their mental focus through the detritus of an extinct civilization in order to create weapons of fantastic power. Made up initially by prisoners, slaves, and ex-farmers forced off their land - the Children have organized under Kimmel with the goal of not only retaking Ohrlus for themselves but also toppling the industrial regime of Laperia.
Ohrlus is a northern province that was primarily agriculture based until it was annexed for the rich Laperite veins weaved under its vast fields. As Laperia's wealth exploded and their internal mines ran dry they were forced to look beyond their borders. As much of the flatlands to the East were blocked by the Andress Mountains the most logical course of action for the Industrialist Guilds was to move north.
A deal was struck with the governing body of Ohrlus to pay a sum per square meter of occupied land. Laperia was also permitted to use the port towns of Falur and Olar to import and export goods. It was a boon for Ohrlus which had traditionally been a self-sustaining but overall poor nation. No one could have foreseen how far Laperia's mechanized progress would reach. Mere months after the agreement was put in place, Laperia began claiming ownership of large swaths of land and forcing the Ohrlundian workers off their property and into the cities of Lockenheim and Norheim. Those who retained their holdings found that the fumes and ecological destruction caused by the mining operation snuffed out the miniscule living they were scraping by with. The populace was left with little choice but to sell their land to Laperia or face imprisonment for resisting Imperial law.
The Ohrlundian government pitched a last ditch effort to remove Laperia from their borders by arresting mining bosses and other high ranking officials. In response, the Laperian Imperial Army blockaded the port cities and starved the population into subservience. As part of the bargain to open the ports Ohrlus officially became a Laperian territory.
Jefferson Kimmel was a field hand at a grain farm that was "purchased" by Laperia. No farming meant no income for Kimmel. His only option was to make the long trek to Norheim in search of work. As population, corruption, and poverty swelled in the Ohrlundian cities, Kimmel - living on the streets and, if he was lucky, in the backrooms of public houses and brothels - turned to a life of crime. Some months after Laperian rule took hold permanently he returned to his homeland hoping to clean up and find honest work in the Laperite mines. It was here that he discovered a small group of devotees to an ancient religion. They used odd trinkets to perform wonderful feats of strength and were tightly bound to each other in brotherhood.
Kimmel began to travel around the poorest areas of the northern province, recruiting new followers as he went. He created elaborate rituals that were meant to pledge undying allegiance to the ancient relics and - perhaps more importantly - to himself. He would hint that he was a direct descendant of the race that once wielded these relics and promised to rebuild their society as it had once been. In the proceeding years he stages several attacks on Laperite mines ultimately ending up in the city of Lockenheim where he incites a riot in protest of Laperian authority. It is the first open demonstration of the power that can be wielded through the relics and the fear instilled by the weaponry that allows Kimmel to publicly declare himself the leader of the Children of the Ancients and take control of the city. He invites open war with Laperia and vows to destroy the industrial world.
