The Eternal Empire

The land of necromancers and blood magic

It has existed for over a thousand years, yet no one is quite sure exactly where, when and how the Eternal Empire was founded. Wherever the Empire goes, it destroys any history books and scrolls it can find, and kills any historian in its lands. Without a history, the Eternal Empire simply is. It exists, it has always existed, and it will always continue to exist. And losing their histories mean that the various kingdoms, empires and tribes absorbed by the Eternal Empire begin to lose their very identities. They forget that there ever was a time when they were not part of the Eternal Empire, and they accept the inevitable: that they will always be subject to the Emperor. If anyone disagrees with this simple fact, or tries to find the lost histories, the best they can hope for is death and not the eternity of undead slavery that they could face. In its thousands years, the Empire has conquered nearly the entire continent. Its land reaches from the frozen wastelands in the north to the scorching deserts in the south, from the dawn lands in the east all the way to its newest conquered empire in the west. Only one small strip of land has escaped its grasp thus far: the Dominion of Man. Once it takes these lands, the Emperor will own the entire continent and then he will cast his eyes across the seas. The Eternal Empire is the home of necromancy and blood magic, and many claim these powers come from the Eternal Empire himself. Whatever their origin may be, there is a deep divide between the necromancers and the blood mages. Each want to own as much as possible of the Empire as they can, and these immortal nobles don't like to share. The Empire wages more wars with itself than it ever has with the human nations outside its borders. The Eternal Emperor only ever intervenes if these internal struggles threaten his own plans. He is more than happy to sit and watch his potential rivals weaken themselves and destroy each other. Sometimes, however, a warlord appears strong enough to rival the Emperor himself. The Empire is over a thousand year old and a true civil war is inevitable. The Empire has broken itself many a time over the past few centuries, and the Crimson Wight has had to go into exile more than once. However, the true Emperor always returns to his throne. Some times it takes only a year, but once he was missing for over a century before he appeared to take back what is his. The Emperor has only recently returned from another bout of exile mere months ago and engaged his usurper in a blood civil war that has left the Empire weakened and in need of a reprieve.

Structure

The Eternal Emperor rules supreme over the Empire. He is aided by the Imperial Council which makes sure the Empire runs smoothly, but the lands themselves are governed by the various kings, dukes, chieftains and and emperors that the Empire has conquered.