As mankind entered the Barren Age, they began to realize the importance of unity against the threat of a volatile new world. Thus they formed clans, and upon the land of Barren five great clans converged and formed a confederacy. The five clans - Talos, Archael, Baleon, Gamma and Morim mixed and mingled, and soon their success attracted four other minor clans into the fold - Lormade, Saber, Elchon and Candor.

The confederacy was a successful union, as each clan brought forth and shared their own unique talents: the great hunter clan Talos shared their secrets of hunting; the smart Archael shared their knowledge of toolcraft; and the Elcon and Gamma shared their unique arts, adding color to the otherwise desolate landscape. It was a new dawn for humanity, but the dawn was not to last.

As their power grew, so did their population, and along with it their stockpiles of resources. Soon, they attracted small bands of raiders and bandits, who saw the confederacy as convenient picking as opposed to doing the resource collection themselves.

It started with a couple of raids, which grew in intensity as the confederacy trained more sentinels to keep their colonies safe. Unexpectedly, they became such a lucrative target that the raiders banded up and soon they found themselves under coordinated raids that grew in strength and numbers. Many times their sentinels were overwhelmed, and many colonies were pillaged and razed.

A dire response was needed, and the only solution the confederacy had, was war. Strongest warriors were selected from each clan, and trained together in both firearms and melee, with the Talos clan hunters taking the lead. The confederates launched its first attack at a nearby raider camp and reeled in their first victory, and soon they turned the tables on the raiders. Unable to fight against the ferocity of the confederate soldiers, the raiders converged and planned a conspiracy.

They identified that the strongest link in the confederate army were the Talos hunters, and thus their first priority was to eliminate these ferocious warriors. Taking advantage of the shaky form of alliance that the confederacy is based on, they planted seeds of doubt and with clever manipulations and rumor mongering, they successfully influenced the other clans in the confederacy about the Talos hunters’ alleged treachery. The Archael clan played a major role in the downfall of the Talos, owing to their old feud against the Talos clan that existed before the confederacy was created.

It was a sad day for the confederates when the Talos hunters were rounded up and executed publicly while the rest of the Talos clan fled into the outlands to survive the genocide. Rejoicing that their plan had worked, the raiders struck, and the confederates were routed. Without the hunters they were no match for the cunning raiders.

As the territory of the confederacy shrunk, the last of their army were enveloped within Tar City, and they were about to make their last stand when a miracle happened. As the raiders made the charge, they heard a war horn blowing in the horizon. As they turned towards the rising sun, they witnessed their salvation silhouetted in the rays of dawn.

They were few but formidable, encased in huge and terrifying shells of metal and carrying guns that poured forth a hailstorm of lead that tore into the raiders’ ranks with fatal efficiency. Their overpowering firepower quickly turned the tide, and the raiders themselves were massacred. The raider leaders were decimated, ending the raider threat once and for all.

As they rushed forward to greet their saviors, the mysterious armored knights took off their helmet, and to the confederacy’s shock it was none other than the Talos clan that they purged and exiled years ago. They were unsure of what to make of this ironic twist, but the Talos made it easy. They simply cast down their armor and weapons, and left as swiftly as they came.

Soon, the truth surfaced and the Archaels were condemned for the conspiracy. Yet no punishment could be sentenced, for their numbers were few and every men counted towards their survival odds. They reverse engineered the weapons and armor that the Talos left, and abolished the confederacy in favor of a new form of union, one that is stronger than a loose covenant among the clans.

The clans abandoned their identity and merged together as a whole, and a new form of governance was created in the form of a council of nine seats, each seat occupied by a representative of the original nine clans. The Talos seat was traditionally kept empty, as a reminder of their past mistakes.

The Combine is thus formed.

Next: The Great Plague