The Marnish Empire

The Marnish Empire
"...United as one, the world shall begin gloriously anew. This is the destiny of man, of the Marnish, to take back the reins of Crestas and build a new world order. The so called "gods" of Ladoroth will know mortal humility at the hands of Marnish steel and dragonfire. This I swear, as protector and emperor of all under the golden sun--never again will the Ladoroth ravage my people!"

-Emperor Raz Algethi V during his ascension speech.

Marnsmede
To the northwest, in the shadow of the World's End Peaks, stands the tall and magnificent city of Marnsmede, seat of the mighty Marnish Empire and her many vassals. An ancient kingdom, Marn, began as a lone city-state surrounded by competitors and often enemies. From its founding by the mythical Roldaeran Empire over a thousand years ago to the present age, the Marnish have grown into one of the greatest powers known to Crestas.

The city has nine levels, one for each of the Nine Hells.

A sprawling hive of forges, spires, gilded keeps, and billowing clouds of black smoke, the city of Marnsmede is built on the snowy peak of Mount Marn and is often called the "City of a Thousand Castles". The city has a distinctly labyrinthian theme with buildings of pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses. It is very easy for one to get lost in the city with its tens of thousands of residents, minotaur construction, and smoky air.

Deep below the winding complex is the lair of the Red Goddess where the great dragon has given birth to countless bastard dragons used in the empire's many wars. At the heart of this city is the Obsidian Citadel, a massive structure made entirely of the glossy material and it is here where the Emperor sits on his Onyx Throne and rules one of the mightiest empires to ever march armies on the fields of Crestas.

The People of Marn
Nearly every race known to the world of Crestas can be found living within the wide and ever growing borders of Marn but the original citizens and strongest factions are composed of Humans, Dwarves, Minotaurs, and Tieflings.

Humans
Humans easily make up half of the population in the empire. Their numbers are rivalled only by their ingenuity, ambition, and growing aptitude for industry and conquest. They can be found in all walks of life from lowly slum-dwellers in the hovels of collapsing and lightless oldtown to richly adorned nobles of the high Dragon Houses. And although ruled by an aristocracy consisting mostly of Tieflings, the ruling house Algethi being of the infernal race, the wants and needs of humans are placed high in the agenda of the empire.

Dwarves
The dwarves of Marn make up many of the crafters guilds and merchant chains of the empire. They are shrewd, stubborn, often greedy, but a quite honest and intelligent people. As advances in technology developed and new found ways to effectively mine precious metals grew so too did the rise in dwarven expeditions for earthly treasures. And although consisting of less than a quarter of Marnish population, the dwarves are invaluable to the empire's economic stability and production. It was the dwarves of Marnsmede that discovered the properties of gunpowder and invented useful means for the substance as a weapon and construction tool. Some of the finest warriors and inventors are among the dwarven people and their status in the empire has grown exponentially with time.

Minotaurs
Dauntingly big, hardy, and surpisingly intelligent given their brutal reputation, the minotaur population of Marn are well-respected if not feared within the empire. Some of the deadilest infantry battalions of the empire consist of minotaur shock troops wielding massive warhammers and battleaxes. The warrior culture of the minotaurs has brought countless glories to the Marnish people and their labyrinthian architecture is a trademark of many Ma rnish buildings. A society of minotaur artisans and stonecutters, The Horned Masons, are fabled for their intricate art and design as the empire's most advanced civil and combat engineers.

Tieflings
Living in majestic spires and often ruling from atop fire-breathing dragons, the noble Marnish Tieflings are the leaders and commanders of the empire. Tieflings are not a numerous race and yet their sphere of influence in Marnsmede has reigned supreme for many generations as previous Tiefling emperors carved a history of conquest and success for the Marnish people with tactical brilliance and a kind of cunning found in many of the infernal race. Many Tiefling nobles look down on their non-tiefling subjects, and especially those of fey descent in the vassal states, but most of the empire's leaders look to keep order and the law over all others, including themselves.

The Empire is a great expanse of land and although humans, dwarves, minotaurs, and tieflings consider themselves the heirs to Marnish legacy, there are many settlements and cities of various other races. The recently defeated

elves and eladrin of Hyrondel have been kept low as serfs but the fey-folk of occupied Vahastria still enjoy a relatively fair puppet-state under the Imperial Army. Likewise, the gnomes of Lhukyra have long lived under similar circumstances as vassals to the Marnish.

Vassal Provinces
As the largest empire in the west, rivalled only by the Rhinavarians to the east, the Marnish Empire has occupied the following kingdoms and subjected them either to puppet-hood or martial-law.

Lhukyra
Occupied in the spring of 1071 A.R. The island kingdom of gnomes was the first to fall under Raz Algethi V's rapid campaigns eastward. Resistence was minimal as the gnomes had little to protect themselves from airbourne assualts, be them from dracoknights or the empire's airships. After three months of fighting the gnome council had ceded the island to the empire under surrender and peace terms. For the last decade of imperial occupation in Lhukyra, the gnomish leaders have enjoyed relative comfort as purely domestic leaders to a puppet-state. However many nationalistic factions have risen over the years and the population is fiercely divided in the debate between independence and imperial occupation.

Hyrondel
For ten years the fey kingdom of Hyrondel resisted the advances of Marnish legions and air-strikes. The war was one of bitter attrition where the guerilla elven warbands relentlessly attacked imperial supply lines, eladrin war-wizards countered tiefling warlocks, and the Goliath Griffon Knights of Hyrondel bravely faced unimaginable odds against the empire's dracoknights and air fleet. In the end, the stubborn fey kingdom collapsed under the might of Marnish armies returning from wars in the far west against the wildings. The war ended with Queen Cajora surrendering the Heartseed Emblem as a sign of Marnish sovereignty over Hyrondel. This act of surrender was seen as a weakness and an insult to a resistence group of radicals still clinging to the war and as a result the radicals assassinated Queen Cajora and the entire Hyrondel royal family. This event turned the whole state on its head and in order to subdue the rampant chaos, Dracoknight Commander Vaylter ordered the burning of Hyrondel. The city and the surrounding Everspring Forest were forever transformed into a wasteland of ash and cinder. The survivors of this travesty now ekk meager lives as serfs to the empire or as desperate refugees in Tyr Vaktmar. The conflict with Hyrondel lasted from 1072-1082 A.R., with the assination of Queen Cajora and the razing of Everspring Forest in the fall of 1082.

Caer Metium
Long before the war with Hyrondel was over (occupied in 1075 A.R.), the human and halfling nation of Caer Metium had fallen to the Marnish after a combined sea and air campaign over the Trench of Orland. After the defeat the city had surrendered with no resistence as Marnish troops marched truimphantly through the Red Swan Square bearing the bloody hand-blade of Caer Metium's late Admiral-King, Samson Ironhand.

Agromond
The dragonborn of Agromond have long openly declared the Marnish defiliers of their dragon heritage with their abuse of the Red Goddess and the war between the empire and Agromond was and still is a vicious affiar. Although officially surrendered after the defeat of Scale-lord Zyphaed in 1077, the dragonborn of Agromond have resisted imperial occupation ever since. The largest garrison outside of the empire's homelands is based in Agromond and riots are regular affiars. Emperor Raz Algathi V and the other nobles of Marnsmede will not allow for another incident like Hyrondel but tensions continue to rise as the war for Agromond's independence wages in red streets.

Vahastria
Occupied in the current year of 1083 A.R. the city fell into imperial hands after a long two year siege.

Vahastria is an old city and has seen countless invaders both from the west and the east. Situated at the southern edge of the Sandsea and the northern borders of the Talneth wastes, the city is an oasis to travellers coming and going between the east and the west. The war between Vahastria lasted two years as the city's defenses, although formidable by any standards, had just recently staved off an attack by the Ladoroth Oratyr (The winter ravaging of 1081 A.R.) and could not repel the war machine that is Marn. The people of Vahastria are a resilient people and although many resist the empire's occupation many more see the empire as an opportunity to help protect the people from the Ladoroth. More and more imperial troops are stationed at Vahastria as the tensions between the Marnish Empire and the Rhinavarian Empire continue to grow. Both empires understand that Vahastria is the key to controlling trade between east and west and it is predicted that the coming war between the two superpowers will engulf the ancient city with rivers of blood and skies of iron and smoke.

Military
The military of the Marnish Empire is arguably the largest and most effective fighting force to ever emerge from the north-west of Crestas. By using well-disciplined combined arms and modern technology, the professional armies and fleets of Marn are able to bring low nearly any opposing force.

The Dracoknights of Marn
Infamous for their exploits in the Empire's many campaigns, the Dracoknights are a fearsome force of warriors flying on the backs of fire-breathing dragons known as the children of the Red Goddess. The Red Goddess is an elder red dragon that has been imprisoned by the Marnish Empire for the last 600 years. Exact accounts on how the empire attained this dragon and were able to breed it so efficently to create an entire fighting force of dragonriders are closely guarded but general consenus is that the dragons Marn creates are bastard dragons that are far less-intelligent that their more natural cousins and not as powerful or as big either. Nonetheless, the strength and capability of these dragons is not to be underestimated, as the Dracoknights have proved time and again that their ability to dominant the skies and rain death from above is just as effective as any advanced airship fleet. The current commander of the Dracoknights is Sir Vaylter of Witherrend, notorious for his brutal tactics and his burning of Hyrondel and the Everspring Forest.

The greatest challenge the Dracoknights had ever faced were the Goliath Griffon Riders of Hyrondel. Although not an official fighting force, the Griffon taming Goliaths of Hyrondel's mountain-clans proved to be stalwart allies to the fey folk of Everspring and provided invaluable air support to their ground-based allies. As of today many Griffons have been relentlessly hunted by Dracoknights and the species is slowly being eradicated.

The Western Marnish Legions
Said to contain the empire's most battle-hardened troops (a term that can apply to nearly all Marnish soldiers), the Western Legions have for generations waged war on the hordes of wildings to the west. Attempts to settle and subdue the wildings have all failed and when the savage tribes grow restless, the empire must push back bold warbands that seek to raid the western edges of the empire. The lands beyond the western edge of the empire are known as Theras and they are home to various races of brutes the civilized races of Crestas have rarely come in contact with. Minotaur warriors returning from the west talk of "armies that cover the hills like an oncoming ocean" of humanoids called "orogs". Dracoknights that have spent seasons in the west complain about the skies being too dangerous as the "sargai" bands overwhelm them from all angles. Dwarven warriors underground and digging for precious aerocite often come into conflict with horrific underground beings like "myrogs", "urgols", and even giant ant colonies. Suffice to say, there are few things the Western legions won't encounter. It is even said that the occasional Ladoroth has been seen on this dangerous frontier.

The commander of the Western Legions is currently the minotaur known as Golahax Half-Horn of the Ursion Clan. He is a wizened old steer, a veteran of countless battles against the wildings of Theras and even in his old age his mighty warhammer can send the young bulls flying. They say he lost half of his left horn when a particularly large urgol tried to eat him whole. The monster devoured half of the minotaur's helmet with ease before Golahax had finished the urgol with a stab to the neck.

The Eastern Marnish Front
Composed of the empire's vanguard and core troops, the Eastern Front has marched from Marnsmede all the way to the Great Rhinavarian Barrier and back. These are the soldiers that garrison the many provinces of the empire like Caer Metium, Agromond, Lhukyra, and Vahastria. Additionally, this force is charged with the defense of the empire from various outsiders, be them from the rival empire of Rhinavar or from the orcs of Andaloch or the crusaders from Tyr Vaktmar. Although not nearly as experienced in war as the fabled Western Legions, the Eastern Front is still made up of very capable infantry and cavalry regiments. The pike and arquebus square formation of the empire was made famous by the Eastern Front's ability to defeat far more numerous opponents on the open field with minimal casulaties.

Command of the Eastern Front is currently under the watch of Lady Ozmeralda, the Ambermasked General. Lady Ozmeralda was made famous in her victory over Hyrondel's Amberguard where she defeated the elven sword saint, Master Toriellon, in single combat. During the heated duel she used her halberd to decapitate the elven swordmaster and as a homage to the fight she kept the elf's amber helmet and wears it to battle to this day ten years later. The dwarven woman is an inspiration to many aspiring female combatants and her presence on the battlefield spurs the Eastern Front just as much as the Emperor himself would.

The Emerald Fleet
The naval forces of the empire are effectively known as the Emerald Fleet. Although not as large as Tyr Vaktmar's Holy Armada of Farim, the Emerald Fleet is a capable collection of dreadnaughts and frigates under the command of Admiral Cazik Haar, a middle-aged human with a knack for sea warfare. In his youner days, Cazik Haar was rumored to have been a pirate but he joined the Empire to avoid execution. As of today, A dmiral Haar has proven that even with the rise of airships, that control of the sea can mean the difference between a crushing victory or a harrowing defeat. Second only to the Holy Armada, the Emerald Fleet has sixteen dreadnaughts, twenty frigates, and ten destroyers.

The Ruby Order
Called the Ruby Order for the signature crimson aerocite that powers the air fleet's flagship, Behemoth, the empire's airship force is second only to the "Clockwork Storm" of Sol Uhrwerth. However those more opposed to the empire, especially to its bombardment tactics often refer to the air fleet as the "Flying Ladoroths" in reference to their destructive power. Composed of twelve Leviathan-class airships, seventeen Basilisk-class ships, and twenty Wyrm-class frigates, the Ruby Order can rain black-powder hell on its opponents. Complimenting the Ruby Order as a highly maneuverable strike force are Dracoknights who often work side-by-side with the fleet.

The current command of the Ruby Order is divided between two admirals. Admiral Throskar, a half-orc that quickly rose through the ranks of the empire's conscripted airship-to-airship boarding marines. He leads with matchlock pistols and saber as a ferocious gunslinger and warrior. The second admiral is Lady Ymiraz, the Ruby Queen. Lady Ymiraz is a tiefling witch that earned her place as an admiral for her stellar tactics and her ability to magically interfere with enemy airships aerocite, causing the ship to become unstable and crash. Numerous attempts on her life by Sol Uhrwerth assassins have failed as she is religiously guarded by none other than Sir Octavian and Sir Pharzon, two Onyx Guard knights usually charged with the watching of the Emperor himself.

The Onyx Guard
The personal bodyguard of the Emperor, these elite tiefling warlock hexblades are trained in the most ad vanced dark magics known to the empire and wield vicious runeblades that can asorb the life-force of those they strike. The Onyx Guard typically stay with the Emperor, the seven knights forming a defensive ring of obsidian platemail whenever he is in the open. However, Raz Algathi V is unlike previous Emperors, he is a man that understands that an emperor is only as strong as his loyal retainers and thus he has often employed his Onyx Guard to perform special tasks that only they could possibly complete. Two of the Onyx Guard, Sirs Pharzon and Octavian are the designated protectors of Lady Ymiraz, and rumor has it that the Emperor and Ymiraz share a bedchamber and thus he longs to keep her the next safest individual in the empire. However this is merely commoner rumor as there is a far more logical explanation for the Emperor's insistence on protecting Ymiraz. She may be the key to defeating the mighty "Clockwork Storm" Fleet of Sol Uhrwerth.

The current Onyx Guard are the following knights:

Sir Pharzon the Vigilant

Sir Octavian the Ravenlord

Sir Jaggeoth the Wicked Huntsman

Sir Styrmar the Golden Mask

Sir Caathis the Firelord

Sir Gerik the Half-Breed

Lady Mali the Balor's Bride

Typically there are nine knights of the Onyx Guard, one for each of the Nine Hells, but a kin-strife within House Melniboné brought an end to Sir Yyrkoon, the previous wielder of Mournblade. The runesword has yet to chose another wielder. The last runeblade, Stormbringer, is currently in the hands of Elric Melnibone, the murderous brother of Yyrkoon. The Emperor is ardent about bringing Elric to justice for the deaths of his loyal Yyrkoon and the Lady Cymoril.