Factions

Weatherworking Guilds

Power Base: Major settlements with storm observation infrastructure

Goals: Preserve and advance psychic knowledge, maintain control over storm prediction

Methods: Political influence, withholding services, training monopolies

Conflict: Internal schisms over sharing knowledge vs. maintaining elite status

Water Management Castes

Power Base: Control of aquifers, purification facilities, and distribution networks

Goals: Ensure equitable water distribution (or consolidate power, depending on settlement)

Methods: Rationing, pricing, dispute arbitration, occasional sabotage of rivals

Conflict: "Water is life" philosophy vs. "water is currency" pragmatism

Caravan Guilds

Power Base: Trade routes connecting settlements

Goals: Maintain free movement of goods, profit from scarcity, prevent inter-settlement conflict

Methods: Negotiation, protection services, information brokerage, occasional smuggling

Conflict: Loyalty to settlements vs. loyalty to guild; honest trade vs. exploitation

Deepkin Warmth Circles

Power Base: Night-side cave settlements, geothermal vent control

Goals: Preserve Deepkin culture, secure geothermal resources, maintain autonomy from twilight belt

Methods: Collective decision-making, resonance-based communication, occasional isolation

Conflict: Integration with twilight belt vs. cultural preservation

Wind-Kin Alliances

Power Base: Beastwalker communities, bonded creature populations

Goals: Protect native fauna, maintain bonding traditions, prevent exploitation

Methods: Guerrilla tactics, sabotage of ecologically damaging operations, diplomatic advocacy

Conflict: Harmony with nature vs. human survival needs

The Archivists

Power Base: Earth knowledge repositories, data crystal collections

Goals: Preserve human history, decode ancient technologies, understand Duskara's mysteries

Methods: Research, exploration, jealous guarding of information

Conflict: Knowledge as public good vs. knowledge as power