Factions
There are three primary factions involved in the story: The Blood Eagle, The Children of Phoenix, and the Empire itself.* The story is primarily concerned with the conflict between the Empire and the two Tribes, though the developers have hinted that we will see other factions in the game as well. One specific mention was made of seeing some details regarding the birth of the Diamond Sword*, as well as the development of some other heretofore unseen factions. Whether or not the origins of the Starwolf will likewise be addressed remains unknown, but one would hope that this would be included as well given that their genesis predates that of the Diamond Sword.
Characters
The primary character in the story appears to be a young daughter of Imperial aristocracy named Julia, though the team has stated on numerous occasions that the story will be advanced through multiple viewpoints. There are likely to be a total of five to six characters* that you play as through the course of the story, with three of them being the major protagonists. Other characters that we know about besides Julia and her mother include a Phoenix tribesman* who is forced to fight for his life and his home, and an assassin*.
Julia is the daughter of an Imperial aristocrat who grows up to be a sports superstar* and is somehow integrally linked to the upstart Tribes that defy the Empire. Little is known about her beyond this, and even less is known of her mother, but we do know that the story revolves around these two characters and how their choices and experiences impact the Empire, the Tribes, and humanity as a whole.*
Plot
The team has released just enough information to construct some loose sequences of events, but not nearly enough to ascertain an overall picture of the larger plot. We do know that the story involves the tragic demise of Julias mother* and an overarching theme of loss and redemption.* We also have hints of a Mosaic Exodus theme* that suggest young Julia may abandon her Imperial roots to join a Tribal cause, and we know that the tale spans a twenty year period.
The one sequence of events that we do seem to be able to piece together is a series of scenes where you begin play as an older Julia, searching for answers about her deceased mother or possibly searching for the man who killed her in order to exact retribution.* As you reach a key character at the end of this scene you are transported back, in a sort of flashback, to a young five year old Julia as she evades intruders who have assaulted her and her mothers palatial abode.* You flee armed pursuers without any weapons or armor of your own, and at one point have to learn to use a jetpack entirely too powerful for your small five year old frame.* At the end of this mission it seems that Julia witnesses the murder of her mother at the hands of an assassin*, whom you then proceed to play in the very next mission.*
We know also that one scene has you playing as an embattled Phoenix tribal defending his homeland* from a raid, and another places you back in the shoes of Julia as she attempts to win a championship sporting event before a crowd of thousands.*
The Campaign
The campaign is linear in that you proceed constantly from beginning to end without any deviation or side quests but is presented in a non-chronological fashion over the course of approximately 16 to 18 missions.* You will jump back and forth across the timeline of the tale, piecing together the story as you go, through the eyes of different protagonists. Ken Levine has likened this style to the Tarantino classic Pulp Fiction in its presentation.* There will not be any way to co-operatively play the single player campaign* and the play time should clock in at about 20 hours total.*
Sierra and Irrational have publicly committed to making the integrity and quality of the story in the single player campaign of paramount concern.* They expect to receive a Mature rating* for the content of the story and have not attempted to place any restrictions on the storytelling in order to achieve a specific rating.*
