The Rust Kings

The Rust Kings are a loose but culturally cohesive network of scavenger communities operating among the ruins of First-Empire sites across Aethelgard. Unlike formal organizations with centralized leadership, the Rust Kings operate as a distributed culture bound by shared language, rituals, and economic practices centered on salvaging ancient technology and magic from the continent’s vast ruins.

Overview

Formation: Circa 800 years ago (during the Dark-Centuries following the Cataclysm) Structure: Decentralized network of independent scavenger groups sharing cultural practices Primary Activity: Salvaging First Empire technology, magical artifacts, and structural materials from ruins across Aethelgard Status: Operates semi-legally in most territories — tolerated where useful, prosecuted where inconvenient Estimated Population: 5,000–8,000 active members across approximately 40 recognized settlements

The Rust Kings are not a single organization but a cultural identity adopted by scavengers who work First Empire ruins. Someone becomes a Rust King not through membership registration or initiation rites but through participation in the shared practices and economy of ruin-scavenging. Their name derives from the oxidized copper and iron that characterizes much of the surviving First-Empire metalwork — the “rust” they harvest is the visible evidence of their livelihood.

Origins in the Dark Centuries

The Rust Kings emerged during the Dark-Centuries, the period of chaos, famine, and societal collapse that followed the Cataclysm approximately 1,200 years ago. With the First Empire destroyed and its centralized governance shattered, vast quantities of abandoned technology, stored magical materials, and intact infrastructure fell into uncontrolled access across the continent.

The first Rust Kings were not professional scavengers but desperate survivors — displaced peasants, ruined noble retainers, and orphaned children who wandered through the ruins of collapsed cities searching for anything that might sustain them. Over generations, these scattered individuals developed shared practices for navigating ruins safely, identifying valuable materials, and trading their salvaged goods with surrounding communities.

By approximately 800 years ago — the end of the Dark Centuries — a recognizable Rust King culture had emerged with distinct customs, language elements, and economic networks that extended across multiple territories. The culture proved resilient enough to persist through subsequent centuries as Aethelgard’s civilizations recovered, adapting its practices to serve both subsistence scavengers and professional artifact dealers.

Language and Culture

The Rust Kings have developed Rust Kings’ Cant — a specialized language that incorporates vocabulary from at least four different source languages (pre-Cataclysm First Empire technical terminology, common Valorian, elven dialects, and dwarven mining terms) into a functional patois used for communication between scavengers of different ethnic backgrounds.

Key linguistic features:

• Technical terms derived from First Empire engineering vocabulary repurposed for everyday use (e.g., “conduit” means safe passage through unstable ruins; “resonance” refers to valuable magical artifacts; “dampening” describes something worthless)
• Numbers expressed using a base-12 system inherited from First Empire metrology, making Rust King arithmetic distinct from the base-10 systems used by most other peoples of Aethelgard
• Status markers conveyed through vocabulary choices rather than titles — experienced scavengers use more precise technical terminology when describing finds, and this precision is understood as a marker of expertise

Ritual practices:

• The First Touch: Every significant find is marked with a distinctive three-line carving on the nearest stable surface. This marking serves both as a territorial claim (other Rust Kings recognize it as indicating that a scavenger has already documented the find) and as a form of respect for the civilization whose ruins are being worked — a acknowledgment that the scavenger is borrowing from something greater than themselves
• The Ash Offering: Before entering particularly dangerous or sacred ruins, individual scavengers leave a small offering — typically a piece of their own personal metalwork (jewelry, tool components, or clothing fasteners) — at the ruin’s entrance. This practice originated as a practical warning system (the offering marks that someone is inside) but has evolved into a genuine ritual gesture
• The Last Caravan: An annual gathering where Rust Kings from across a region meet to trade finds, share information about ruin conditions and structural stability, and socialize. These gatherings serve as both economic events and cultural reinforcement

Internal Factions

Despite their decentralized structure, the Rust Kings can be divided into three broad factions based on their approach to scavenging:

The Diggers: Traditional subsistence scavengers who focus on extracting raw materials — metal, stone, preserved building materials — from ruins. They are the largest faction and the most numerous. The Diggers view First Empire structures as quarries and resources rather than historical artifacts, operating with minimal concern for preservation or documentation. Their methods are destructive but efficient, and they generate the highest volume of tradable goods.

The Readers: Scavengers who focus on identifying and recovering usable technology and magical items from ruins. They employ more careful extraction techniques, use basic diagnostic tools to assess artifact functionality, and maintain informal networks for assessing the value of recovered items. The Readers are the most numerous among professional scavengers and represent the faction most likely to produce high-value finds that enter legitimate commerce through channels like The-Gilded-Compass.

The Keepers: A small minority (estimated 200–300 individuals across all settlements) who believe that First Empire ruins should be preserved rather than exploited. The Keepers do not typically engage in active scavenging; instead, they document ruin conditions, monitor structural stability to prevent collapses, and occasionally intervene to protect significant finds from destructive extraction by Diggers or Readers. They are the faction most likely to attract sympathy from scholarly institutions like the University-Of-Valoria, though their independence makes them unreliable partners for academic research.

Economic Role

The Rust Kings play a complex economic role in Aethelgard’s society:

Supply chain integration: An estimated 30–40% of all First Empire metalwork and pre-Cataclysm building materials circulating on the open market pass through Rust King channels before reaching their final destination. This makes them an essential link in the supply chains for construction, repair, and artifact trade across the continent.

Black market connections: A significant subset of the Readers faction operates in connection with Shadow-Trade networks, selling recovered magical artifacts to buyers who prefer not to trace purchases through formal channels. These black-market transactions are particularly prevalent along the Shattered-Coast, where the density of First Empire ruins and the relative lawlessness of Rift-Touched settlements create ideal conditions for unregulated artifact trade.

Relationship with major powers: The Kingdom of Valoria has an ambiguous relationship with the Rust Kings — official policy treats ruin-scavenging as a regulated activity requiring permits, but enforcement is inconsistent and many scavengers operate in territories where the Crown’s authority is weak or nonexistent. The Sun-Temple generally opposes unauthorized access to First Empire ruins on theological grounds (viewing such structures as belonging to a heretical civilization), while the Inquisition-Of-Light occasionally uses Rust King networks for intelligence gathering, recognizing that scavengers have access to locations other organizations cannot reach.

Notable Ruin Complexes

The Rust Kings operate across numerous First Empire ruin sites, but certain complexes are particularly significant:

The Aldara Undercity: Beneath the ruins of the former Library-Of-Aldara, an extensive network of underground chambers and tunnels contains some of the richest concentrations of intact First Empire technology on the continent. The Aldara Undercity is the most heavily trafficked Rust King site and also the most dangerous, with frequent structural collapses and pockets of residual magical radiation that have proven lethal to inexperienced scavengers.

The Seven Spires periphery: While none of the Seven-Spires themselves are actively worked by Rust Kings (due to their continued magical activity and association with sacred Cataclysm sites), the surrounding areas contain numerous support structures, storage facilities, and worker settlements that yield significant finds. The proximity to active magical phenomena makes this a high-risk, high-reward zone.

The Shattered-Coast ruins: A scattered collection of First Empire coastal installations, observation posts, and waystation complexes along the unstable coastline east of the Great-Rift. These sites are particularly valuable for their surviving maritime technology and astronomical instruments, but access is complicated by the ongoing geological instability of the region.

Current Status and Concerns

Recent decades have seen several developments affecting Rust King operations:

The Deepdark effect: The Deepdark incursion approximately 40 years ago opened new ruin complexes beneath the Ironspine Mountains that were previously inaccessible, creating both opportunities for scavengers and dangers from unstable tunnel systems. Several Rust King groups have begun exploring these newly exposed areas, though reports suggest that the creatures responsible for the Deepdark incursion may also be attracted to disturbed ruins.

The Collector’s attention: The-Collector, a Shadow Council operative acquiring First Empire artifacts from the Silver Coast for over two decades, has been linked to several Rust King settlements through intermediary agents. Whether this represents genuine recruitment or informal procurement remains unclear, but it has raised concerns among Keepers that organized artifact acquisition could destabilize the carefully balanced economy of ruin-scavenging.

University interest: The University-Of-Valoria’s growing interest in First Empire technology and its potential applications for modern magical engineering has increased scholarly engagement with Rust King communities, particularly Reader factions willing to share information about recent finds in exchange for formal recognition or material support. This relationship is mutually beneficial but fragile — tensions between scholarly preservation goals and scavenger extraction practices periodically flare into open conflict.

See Also

First-Empire, Dark-Centuries, The-Gilded-Compass, Shadow-Trade, University-Of-Valoria, Shattered-Coast, Seven-Spires, Library-Of-Aldara, The-Collector, Great-Rift, Deepdark, Inquisition-Of-Light, Sun-Temple