New information about Bluehole Studio’s upcoming steampunk-fantasy MMO Ascent: Infinite Realm continues to slowly trickle out, this time with a bit of lore about the game’s two factions, the Vulpin and the Ontari. Unlike many opposing factions in MMOs, the Vulpin and the Ontari have not been enemies since time immemorial. In fact, they were once united as the Solumn Empire. But as the Empire began to evolve and expand, so did its technology, which rapidly became an obsession for many within the Empire who wished to use technology to unlock the secret of immortality. Before long, however, these immortality-seekers became corrupted, and the Empire descended into civil war, leading to the splintering of the Vulpin and Ontari factions, who fled the Empire to avoid the destruction that soon followed.
Now, the Vulpin and Ontari have established their own civilizations, with the Vulpari in the Dharan region in the south of the continent of Harth and the Ontari in the north. The Vulpin, who were once “the richest and most powerful faction on the Harth continent,” are a people with an affinity for art and agriculture who take great pride in their abundant fields. The Ontari, on the other hand, are a militaristic and industrial people who make their homes in the mountains and forests of Urabos. It’s unclear what kind of relationship the two former allies have with one another by the time the events of the game take place, but despite what differences they may have, it seems that they have a common cause as the curse that corrupted the Solumn Empire now stands to spread among the Vulpin and Ontari alike.
