Power is decentralized in the sprawling expanse of the Habsburg Empire, which held a strange balance of power, with house-on-house warfare springing up on worlds across the galaxy. Amidst this political chaos, the starship forge world of Graue Welt has emerged as one of the Empire’s primary shipyard planets, crafting some of the best ships in the galaxy. These shipyards have made Graue Welt one of the wealthiest planets in the galaxy. However, under this veneer of prosperity and peace lies the billowing clouds of war. 

Graue Welt stood on the precipice of civil strife. Count Klaus von Sietasch, once the dashing leader of House Sietasch, lies bedridden with the Grey Shade. With no heir to inherit his title and lands, an impending vacuum of power-loomed. The old Count's brother's children, the barons of the planet's continents and surrounding moons sensed an opportunity to seize the throne.

Count Klaus, aged one hundred and forty, teetered on the brink of death. Months of illness weakened his once-vigorous frame, and the void magic that had prolonged his life began to wane. The Gray Shade, a relentless affliction, seeped into his body, turning his skin ashen. The magic that had extended his existence was now powerless against the ravages of this ailment.

The Gray Shade is a disease where the skin of the infected starts to slowly turn gray. After the body has completely turned gray, the infected would start to have a fever of 105 degrees and start coughing up blood until they eventually die a slow and painful death.

As the Count's fate hung in the balance, Gronland's lush jungle low-gravity moon held its own dangers. The young Baron Gunther ruled this harsh realm, a place where the towering Kalabora prowled. These seven-foot-tall predators, akin to tigers, roamed the jungle's depths, hunting anything that moved.