The spread of the British Empire has been accompanied by the spread of the Stygians, with a few notable exceptions. As British troops attempt to quell rebellion in India, so do Stygian legionnaires strive to conquer the Shadowlands of that country, establishing citadels where they can within the British Protectorate. The absorption of Egypt has already been completed, as has the seizing of South Africa from the Dark Kingdom of Ivory. The strange shadowlands of Australia are a continuing process, as are those of the Pacific Islands which Britian claims as its own.
Of more concern to the Overlords of the London Citadel and their superiors in Stygia, however, is the state of the war with the Dark Kingdom of Jade. Since the acquisition of Hong Kong, the two Empires have been in a constant state of conflict, which the events of the Opium War did not help to quell. There is much debate over whether the expansion in the Orient should be ceased or if further troops from Stygia itself should be committed to the engagement.
The first Citadel was established in London, so it is of little surprise that Britian is the center of Stygia's holdings in the Shadowlands, as well as a convenient means for it to expand its own empire. Following the Her Majesty's ships and troops to the four corners of the globe, the Dark Kingdom of Iron has been successful in conquering over half of the world for, unlike Britian, it has not lost its holdings in America.
With such widespread expansion, however, comes resentment. Few among the dead want to be shipped halfway around the world, away from their fetters and the lands they know, to face strange ghosts with frightening abilities and alien beliefs for some distant Emperor far away in Stygia. This has led to much of the Hierarchy's resources being used to keep order in new territory they have taken, limiting chances for future expansion.
With the sudden growth of the Empire, Stygia has no shortage of Renegades clamouring for the heads of the Hierarchs and sabotaging their plans. Often centered around slain leaders in new territories, and revolutionary figures in Britian itself, Renegade cells have made life very difficult for Hierarchs in the last hundred years. With no Maelstrom is recent memory, they are finding more and more souls who can be swayed to their cause.
In Britain, Heretics are generally built around some Christian interpretation of the afterlife and salvation, though a few sects do exist that proscribe to more radical beliefs. One particularly large group is formed around a very old witch who was burned at the stake during the reign of Edward the Confessor, and who carries an intense hatred of any authority, be it temporal or spiritual.
In the colonies, however, Heretics are often just remnants of the original culture which was destroyed by the Stygians when they invaded. Thus, in Africa the Heretics practice the old religion of Yoruba while in Central America they cling to the old Aztec beliefs. These sorts of Heretics often possess strange arcanoi and sometimes odd relationships with their shadows. Their differences often lead Stygians, citizens and soldiers, to fear them greatly.