Genres: First-Person Shooter
Release Date: 2001-3-28
Publisher: Sierra Entertainment
TRIBES 1 goes through the year 3940. TRIBES 2 begins with the cataclysmic events of 3941. The Seventh Firetruce occurs, and Renn Gistos yl-Harabec, the Phoenix Prime and leader of the Children of Phoenix, is assassinated by a renegade warrior of the Diamond Sword. The Children, already dangerously close to being dominated by the fanatical Harbingers of Phoenix faction, throw their support to the second in command of the tribe, a woman known only as Lilith. Lilith, however, hands power to the leader of the Harbingers, the Firelord Anton Malderi. Under the domination of the Harbingers, the tribe embarks on a galactic jihad to bring the tribes back into the wings of the Phoenix.
Meanwhile, the Blood Eagle are locked in an increasingly bloody war with the Starwolf. The Blood Eagle themselves are divided, as their Great Eagle, Alexandre Konovalev, suddenly pulls his forces out of the conflict and goes into seclusion. Konovalev's hatred of the Starwolf has rendered him mentally unstable, but his withdrawal surprises everyone. His main rival for power, the general who calls herself Fury, continues to fight the Starwolf packs, but she is sorely outnumbered and is losing ground.
The Starwolf gather almost all their strength for a massive offensive against Fury, Operation Hagalaz. However, as they mass their army, they are hit by a surprise attack from a new enemy: the BioDerm Hordes. The Hordes hit the Starwolf at nearly four to one odds and decimate the entire tribal army. The Starwolf virtually cease to be a Great Tribe overnight, and the survivors flee in hopes of mounting some kind of hit-and-run guerrilla resistance. However, new bands of Starwolf that no one has seen previously are trickling in from the periphery of the wilderzone, so some hope that the far-flung tribe has more packs returning from distant worlds. It is still too early to tell.
The Diamond Sword has been remarkably silent, but the betrayal of the Firetruce from their own ranks has shaken them. The Triad that rules the tribe had already withdrawn to a world called Falcon's Crossroads, where they hold mysterious conference. In their absence, the Court of Blades rules an increasingly restless tribe. The Triad issues periodic orders that deploy tribal forces to specific worlds and order them to take up defensive positions. Some of the generals in the tribe have whispered that it is time for new leadership, but thus far, no one has stepped forward to challenge the Court of Blades or the Triad.