A Brief History of the Empire

What follows is a history of the more salient points of the Yerbian Empire's rise to dominance over much of the known world.

1000 BE (Before the Empire): The War of Iron comes to a conclusion. Dwarves and Elves sign a peace treaty after more than a hundred years of conflict. The Elves retreat to their island sanctuary while the Dwarves take possession of the continent.

700 BE: Humans migrate to the continent across the Great Land Bridge to the south. A younger race, they nevertheless prove to be successful, and begin slowly spreading across the land.

100 BE: Human population on the continent has grown to the point where more than a dozen nation-states flourish and occasionally go to war with each other. Trading begins with the Elves. The Dwarves grow mistrustful of Humans.

80 BE: After years of escalating conflict, the Dwarves declare war on the Humans.

78 BE: Queen Sankis of Yerbia calls on the leaders of neighboring nations to form an alliance against the Dwarves. Blede, Jergan, and Palagonia all join forces with Yerbia.

70 BE: The Yerbian Alliance, now joined by the realm of Sukiamer, drives the Dwarves out of their scattered fortresses across the continent. However, they are unable to make any headway into the Dwarven Kings' mountain strongholds. The war becomes a stalemate.

65 BE: The Elves come to the aid of the Yerbian Alliance, teaching Humans the secrets of Dark magic as well as providing pegasi to match Dwarven wyverns. With these new advantages, the Alliance rallies and manages to take one of the Dwarven Mountainhomes.

64 BE: Dwarves and Humans sign the Treaty of Zrossan, in which the Dwarves ceded their west-most and south-most ranges in exchange for the return of the lost Mountainhome and an end to the war. The Yerbian Alliance remains intact. Many years pass without extensive conflict.

2 BE: Spurred by a decade of increasing bandit activity, Queen Olissa of Yerbia convinces the other members of the Alliance to launch a military campaign against Rasparol.

0 BE: Rasparol is crushed by the Yerbian Alliance. With her homeland's borders completely secured, Queen Olissa declares herself Empress Olissa, first empress of the Yerbian Empire. As the political and geographical heart of the new empire, Yerbia is renamed Heartland.

5 AE (Age of the Empire): Toulouse attempts to annex the recently-conquered Rasparol. The Empire takes exception to this and swiftly counterattacks.

8 AE: Toulouse issues its unconditional surrender and becomes part of the Empire. Shortly afterwards, the land of Corax offers to pay tribute to the Empire in exchange for independence.

30 AE: The Grand Mage Academy is founded in Grenoga. By imperial decree, all mages must be registered in order to practice their art, and the Academy is the only place where mages can legally receive training.

46 AE: The Empire invades Migarr. The war goes well until the Empire's armies reach the Migarr Range, at which point they are halted. Eventually, the conquered western half of Migarr becomes the province of Deros. The now-smaller land of Migarr remains independent.

62 AE: The Khanate of the southern continent invades Montaga, striking across the Great Bridge and through the mountainous, barely inhabited lands beyond. Montaga requests the Empire's aid.

70 AE: Montaga becomes a part of the Empire. The Khanate is pushed back to the land north of the Great Bridge.

80 AE: Weary of constant harassment and disfavorable trading with the Dwarven Kingdoms, Diodormant requests membership into the Empire for protection. After some debate, the request is granted.

120 AE: Derosian patriots attempt to secede from the Empire. A bloody conflict ensues, mostly among those that wish to remain in the Empire and those that desire re-unification with Migarr. In the end, the secessionists are defeated.

122 AE: The Khanate launches a second invasion but is stopped by the new group of political entities known collectively as "The Mountain Princes".

123 AE: The Empire stages a counter-attack which, for the first time since the Khanate formed, pushes the Khanate back south of the Great Bridge.

124 AE: The Khanate rallies and the Empire's attack is halted. Months of negotiation pass before the Khan cedes part of his territory, including the Great Bridge, to the Empire. This land becomes the new province of Kahleigh.

130 AE: Construction begins on a mighty wall that blocks the narrowest part of the Great Bridge. This very expensive project is not a popular one, and decades pass before it is completed.

168 AE: The Mage's Academy is thrown into uproar as new tomes from unknown schools of magic begin popping up seemingly out of nowhere. These new schools - eventually named "blood magic" and "necromancy" - are considered to be incredibly dangerous, and the Academy launches an investigation over who has introduced them. The investigation turns up nothing, but Empress Yolanda decrees the practice of blood magic and necromancy to be forbidden.

190 AE: Rumors begin to circulate about a powerful warlord in the far south, beyond the Khanate. Scholars of the time insist that such rumors are nonsense as nothing can survive in the Wastes.

196 AE: Strange warriors in unfamiliar ships land on the southern shores of the continent. Several coastal villages are ransacked, and walled cities are besieged. Reinforcements are summoned from Blede, Sukiamer, and Heartland. Reports from Corax indicate that they are also under attack, but they refuse the offer of aid.

197 AE: Trade with the Khanate slows, then stops altogether. Refugees arriving by boat report that many smaller Khanate cities are burning.

198 AE: The Duke of Kahleigh reports that the Grand Wall is under attack by an overwhelming force using unknown magic. The Duke claims that the enemy force had marched out of the Southern Wastes, and urgently requests reinforcements. The Marshall of Yerbia, Duke Angondi, rides with his army to Kahleigh's aid.

Less than 10% of his army returns. The Marshall is not among the survivors. Panicked soldiers confirm that the unknown enemy - termed "Wastelanders" - had made extensive use of both blood magic and necromancy. The Grand Wall is reduced to rubble in places.

A herald claiming to represent a man called "Abih the Cruel" appears in the Imperial Court before Empress Jehana. The herald declares that Abih had claimed ownership of the entire world, and that his armies were absolutely dedicated to making that claim a reality. The herald also demanded that the Empress surrender herself to Abih, promising that if she did so then her people would "mostly" be spared. The herald is executed.

Attacks upon the southern shores continue as Abih's forces march through the lands of the Mountain Princes and into the Empire proper.

199 AE: Duke Clarence Eastland of Montaga is killed when his castle walls are breached. His sons are out of the province at the time, and survive.

Empress Jehana sends calls for assistance to all neighboring nations. The Elven Republic responds promptly. Corax is under heavy seaborne attack and can contribute little aid. Migarr refuses to help, remaining staunchly neutral. The Dwarven Kingdoms debate the matter for nearly a year before mobilizing their armies.

Montaga almost entirely falls to the invaders. Aside from some outlying forces assaulting Diodormant, the main bulk of the Wastelanders march towards Palagonia.

200 AE: Abih's army faces solid resistance for the first time in Palagonia, but continues to push forward. Lords across the Empire conscript large numbers of peasants in order to further slow the progress of the Wastelanders. Entire villages are left nearly defenseless, which makes them easy prey for the roving hordes of undead and monsters that Abih's chief mage, Zagathax, set loose to cause chaos far from the front lines.

A sizable force of Wasterlanders is thrown back from the gates of Palagonia's capital in shambles, handing the warlord his first true defeat. Unfortunately for the Empire, this was primarily a distraction to tie up both Palagonian and Jerganese forces. Taking personal command for the first time since the offensive began, Abih lead his elite forces directly into Heartland.

As the year draws to a close, Abih's army initiates the siege of Grenoga. Monstrous creatures summoned via blood magic tear down the great city's outer walls. Reinforcements arrive just in the nick of time, and assault the Wastelander army on all sides, but Abih simply marches his force through the gaps in Grenoga's wall.

Bitter fighting erupted in the Empire's capital, as soldiers clashed street by street towards the very gates of the Imperial Palace. The Cruel himself led the final assault straight down the Grand Avenue, where Empress Jehana met him in personal combat along with the Palace Sentinels and the few remaining city troops. After a fierce battle, Jehana slew Abih and sent his forces running.

They did not get far. Caught between the vengeful Empress and the grand army still fighting to retake the city, most of Abih's world conquering horde was slaughtered. Among the casualties was Zagathax, torn apart by his own unnatural creations when they broke free from his control and turned on him.

201 AE: The Empire begins to pick up the pieces. Roving bands of Abih's warriors still lurk in ruined towns and forts. Swarms of undead prowl the undergrowth. Some of Zagathax's monsters still stalk the night. The Empire is far from at peace. But it endures.