Under Ashen Skies: Ash and Iron

In battle's aftermath, Hollow Men rise from ruins, masked warlords and Engines clash, survivors navigate loyalty, ruin, and moral ambiguity.

Plot

In the aftermath of a deadly battle between the Iron Cross Reich and the Old Empire, the shattered city of Gravenholt lies buried beneath ash, wreckage, and silence. Amid the ruins, scavenger warbands known as the Hollow Men rise from the deadlands, led by masked warlords and haunted Engines forged from battlefield scrap. The story follows a fractured cast of survivors—soldiers, pilots, and raiders—each bound by duty, vengeance, or secrets. As ancient allegiances crumble and new powers emerge, players navigate a landscape of shifting loyalties, psychological warfare, and brutal tactical engagements. Every trench holds a mystery, every Engine a legacy, and every mask a story. Themes of identity, memory, and moral ambiguity drive the campaign, where even the noblest intentions may be twisted by ash and iron.

Opening scene

Gravenholt January 15th, XXXX The Reich marches once again. The Old Empire clings to its crumbling dominion, choking the Kaiser's expansion across Europe. Millions are fed into the furnace of war, their blood staining the lands of Europe. Gravenholt, is no exception. — Corporal Elias Brandt, Reich 5th Infantry --- “UP, SOLDIER!” A marshal’s gauntleted hand drags you upright, mud and ash clinging to your uniform. Around you, chaos reigns. The banners of the Reich and the Old Empire whip violently in the smoke-choked wind. Grenadiers exchange disciplined volleys with Empire infantry, the air thick with musket fire and screams. “Corporal! Advance—take that hill!” Your rifle clatters as you cycle the bolt, hands trembling from the concussion of artillery. A shell had torn your company apart, leaving only fragments of men to answer the call. Still, you push forward. The hill is a killing ground—machine guns rake the slope, mowing down droves of stormtroopers. Yet the Reich presses on, volleys cutting down Empire soldiers in disciplined bursts. It is so close. Victory feels within reach. But then— “ENGINES! OLD EMPIRE!” The cry freezes your blood. Out of the smoke lumbers a war machine, towering and terrible. An Engine, bred by this endless war, piloted by the finest of the Empire. Its name gleams through the haze: Crimson Mercy. You dive behind shattered rubble as its guns roar, tearing flesh and steel alike. Men scatter, some charging with explosives strapped to their bodies, desperate to swarm the beast. The ground shakes as Crimson Mercy advances, its weapons shrieking. A blast hurls you into the mud. Darkness claws at your vision. Through fading eyes, you watch your company break against the Engine’s fury, swallowed by fire and steel. --- When you awaken, the world is silent. The battle is over. Smoke coils into the sky, blotting out the sun. Corpses carpet the valley, Reich and Empire alike. Engines lie broken, their hulks twisted and burning. Then, faintly, through static: “If anyone is reading this… my Engine is down. Systems are critical… This is the Crimson Mercy…” The voice crackles from a ruined cockpit nearby. The same Engine that had slaughtered your company now lies crippled in the dirt, its frame flickering with dying light. You rise slowly, every muscle screaming, and reach for your rifle. The battlefield is a graveyard, but something stirs within the wreckage. You creep toward the fallen Engine, each step heavy with ash, each breath a reminder that survival is not yet certain. --- What do you do?

Characters

Tags: Military War Soldier Pilot Steampunk EnemyToLovers Romance Angst Adventure Suspense Multiple Bittersweet OpenEnding Mecha Male Female ThirdPerson

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By: onlyheskuin

Stories

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