
In long-gone days, the Vanguards were an order of knights operating under license issued by the nation of Waels. When that country fell to civil war, and in the dark days that followed, none dared to claim the knights who dwelled in the towering Citadel of the Fist. The Vanguards were the second faction to find a summoning stone, and the first to stand against the Fallen Kingdom, turning them into a beacon of hope for the rest of the world.
Refugees flocked to the citadel, hoping the might of the Vanguards would protect them, and so makeshift camps were formed outside the citadel walls. Over the long years, the camps gradually grew up into a patchwork city called Heap. The Vanguards are still a powerful force for good, though the unending war has taken a terrible toll, and the order now finds itself drained of resources.