The Shale Alliance is a resistance movement formed from unhappy Shaloar commoners, merchants and nobles.
Shaloar
Shaloar was the first country Dentheria chose to invade on a bid to conquer the continent of Theyndor. The monarch, King Jole, was a competent and beloved ruler, and the army who marched under his banner skilled. None of it mattered; the Dentherions, who had access to technology far in advance of calvary and footsoldiers with lances and swords, obliterated the resistance with armed, unmanned vehicles and firearms. They executed the monarch, his family, the nobles who fought against them, and left the people to flounder under an incompetent sycophant named Lucis while they instituted heavy taxes on food and goods. Such was necessary, to continue to pay for their conquests.
The Shale Alliance
Discontent was immediate and fierce. Commoners, merchants and nobles seeking comfort soon realized how many felt disillusionment and impotent rage. One seedy establishment, patronized by all types because no one asked questions about who and why they drank there, had a large number of angry customers who, after a few drinks, were not shy about their hate. These people formed a comaraderie, and within a few years, they began to meet to discuss the occupation with serious intent to disrupt it.
One man, a farmer by profession, a pauper after the invasion, decided he had had enough. Dauris asked his comrades to meet near a shale outcropping near the tavern, to plan a revolt against Dentherion rule. The number who showed up shocked him, and that night, thirty people formed the basis of the Shale Alliance.
The Alliance initially tried to match strength with Dentherion agressors, with no success. They did not have the tech or equipment to battle them as equals, nor had they the backing of a terrified populace. So Dauris decided on another tactic; sabotage. He and a few carefully selected members snuck into a resupply depot and stole a ransom's worth of supplies and tech. Their success was short lived, for when they attempted to figure out how to use the weapons, they failed. More common items, like medical equipment, were carefully secreted away and only employed in dire situation, because once the Dentherions even suspected a Shal of possessing anything considered 'advanced', they were executed. Most of the stolen items were stored in crates, hidden, and forgotten; at least they were not left in the hands of the invaders.
An Unglorified Struggle
Over the next several years, the Shale Alliance watched country after country fall to Dentheria and their technologically-advanced armed forces. Members felt helpless, alone, and moralle plummeted. While eager younger members took on missions to sabotage Dentherion business and bases, the older ones drifted away, disillusioned and unmotivated.
The Shale Alliance was, for all intensive purposes, defunct, until Hestoran rebels applied their sabotage methods and obliterated a Dentherion army depot. The destruction, and the sudden dearth of tech weapons, motivated the remaining Shale members. Delvinia, a great-granddaughter of Dauris, gathered as many individuals as she could muster, and renewed the bonds of alliance.
The Shale Alliance completed missions and sabotaged what they could, with the realization that they did not fight for themselves, but for the future generations of Shal. They would not see the defeat of the Dentherions in their lifetimes, but hopefully their children would.
The Wolf Collaborate
No rebellion in any country made headway against the Dentherions over the next two hundred years, the Shale included. While some tech restrictions had fallen due to the Ramiran Skull's defeat of General Malk, conditions in the vassal states remained poor. The Shale leader, Istak, decided a renewal was in order. He had received a letter from another rebel leader, Alaric, who fought against the empire in Jilvayna. Alaric sought to unite the disparate rebellions under one banner, where information and resources could be shared. Istak agreed, that a combined force would battle against the Dentherions with greater force than each rebellion had alone. He traveled to Nicodem, Jilvayna, to meet wtih the man.
Other rebellions also sought to unite, though not all. The Skulls, under Javosa, refused to even consider the offer. Istak believed them too stubborn, for how many victories had they accomplished after the Malk disaster? Claiming success for a battle that happened 150 years previous, while having nothing else to show for their efforts, was pathetic. His disdain needled Javosa, and she reluctantly agreed to join the Wolf Collaborate.
The Shale Alliance found the access to information astoundingly helpful in their sabotage efforts, especially concerning weapons and defensive tech shipments. A few rebels in other countries knew how to use some of it, and they taught others how to equip and manipulate it. Successes, no matter how small, built on one another throughout the lands.
Current Events
Istak was devastated to learn of Alaric's assassination, and sickened when told that Gall had butchered the entire family save for the eldest son, who had not been home at the time. He knew Faelan was a staunch and dedicated rebel, but his youth bothered him. Even so, when the remnants of the Jilvayna royal family spoke for him, Istak accepted him into the Wolf Leadership. He acquiesed to Javosa's insistence on a ruling body, and the Pack was formed.
Shaloar has seen an increase in media presence over the last few years, with journalists drawn by their successes. Istak has even met with some of them, though he distrusts their claims of truthful reporting. Through these interactions he met a Dentherion named Makella. She had an interesting offer; she, as a member of a Dentherion group who felt conquest had cheapened Dentheria's morals and ethics, wished to form an alliance with the Shale and provide them with weapons and armor, as well as training in how to use them. In return, they would fight to shed the shackles Dentheria placed upon them.
Istak deserately wished for the offer to be legitimate, but caution had always ruled his decisions, and he saw no reason for that to change. He did bring the offer to the Pack; as expected, their distrust of Dentheria proved stronger than the opportunity that might come from an alliance. Only Faelan seemed more interested, and privately agreed to meet with Makella. Istak awaits his assessment with dread anticipation.
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