Legionary of the Third Empire

The Imperium (latter known as the Third Empire thanks to the efforts of the Order of Keepers) began with the city states of Belcini which emerged out of the chaos left by the destruction of the First Empire around 2724 BIA (the first year of their calendar) among several other city states just south of Ilvanas, with which it competed with frequently. After three hundred years it had managed to best its rivals and had begun the process of expanding it's rule steadily thanks to superior organization. It faced it's first challenger in the High Kingdom of Frenroth, an emergent feudal state to the north born out of a minor garrison of the First Empire that survived in an isolated mountain valley and had adopted a distinct anti-non human ideology before expanding.

There were three wars between the emergent powers (2411-2403 BIA, 2365-2332 BIA and 2314-2301 BIA). At first the High Kingdom had the advantage over the Belcinian forces despite their superior numbers thanks to their heavy cavalry. All was nearly lost when the city of Belcini was sacked and levelled in 2346 BIA by a Frenrothi host, though two things ultimately saved their state. The first was the legendary stand of the Marcenius and his Legion, which bought time for most of the population to escape the sacking and relocate to fortified garrisons across the Belcinian territory. The second was the resolve of the remainder of the Belcinian Republic's population (including that of it's integrated territories) to beat back the invaders, which they did after ten long years of fighting and eventually took the fight to the High Kingdom's lands. After the conclusion of the war, Belcini was left as a graveyard and a new capital city was built on lands taken in the counter offensive. As a sign of defiance against the High Kingdom (which they would ultimately destroy) they named their state The Imperium. The Third War saw the destruction of the Frenroth with some Dwarven assistance to bypass the mountains that shielded it directly.

Within another century and a half the Third Empire had emerged as a sufficiently powerful state to go hold it's own with the Second Empire in regards to the Anvosi Peninsula, fighting four wars over the area and halting the Second Empire's advance southwards across the bluewine sea while the Third Empire turned it's attentions to the north and west. At first the Second Empire was the larger of the two polities, but by 2000 BIA the Third Empire had eclipsed it, even if the League viewed them as being backwards and uncouth. Even so beyond driving them off the Anvosi Peninsula in 2077 BIA major action against the League was only taken during and after it's self destructive fragmentation, with it's conquest of former league territory being complete in 1901 BIA.

The Imperium was an oligarchic republic which a hierarchical society divided into three general categories: Citizens, Subjects and Slaves. These were sub divided into various different formal and informal classes. All male citizens had the right to vote in local elections, but only the wealthy or those who had served the Imperium (usually militarily) were allowed to vote in Imperial elections or hold public office. The highest office in the Imperium was that of Imperator, who was elected by the Senate and ruled for life. Subjects (freshly conquered unintergrated peoples and freed slaves) were free and had legal protection, but were without political voice. As much as 40% of the Third Empire's population were chattel slaves. More importantly the Imperium was very well administrated. Using a network of Linkglass stations and a complex bureaucracy it was able to effectively manage it's provinces and get the most out of them.

Though the Imperium did have plenty of mages eventually and a formidable reserve of Dragons which eclipsed those of both the first and second empires, ultimately the foundation of it's power were the Imperial Legions. A vast professional standing army over two million men strong at their height, the Legions were well trained, drilled, equipped and organized. It's backbone were forces of heavy infantry (swordsmen, pikemen and crossbowmen), but this was backed with Cataphrat heavy cavalry, an exceptional Siege Corps as well as a few local special troops such as archers, light cavalry, elephant riders and skirmishers. The Imperium's Navy was considered a component of the Imperial Legions. In addition to the legions there were also various local part time militias as a reserve.

The Third Empire is generally reckoned to be the greatest of Empires. At it's height (between 1870 and 1444 BIA) the Third Empire had a population of more than two hundred million people and had achieved much in terms of academics, magic, science, architecture, infrastructure (most notably in the creation of two additional great canals and the expansion of the first), literacy, art and culture and (barring a few civil wars and repulsed Drow incursions) had peace. Even so this peace alienated the Imperium from the High Elves as it eventually settled into comparatively amiable trade relations with the Drow States who had eventually come to find trade (in particular the importation of food) with the Empire more profitable than raiding. This was seen by the High Elves as a corrupting influence on the Imperium, a position they attempted to promote among the Imperium's population though generally with modest results. Even so, said efforts did eventually have an impact.

In 1446 BIA there was a famine in the Imperium's western provinces which resulted in an increase in grain prices around the Empire. This was capitalized on by several provincial governors with Anti-Drow stances who ordered a ban on the export of foodstuffs to the Drow Empire as long as this happened, which in turn lead to tensions between the Drow States (in particular the State of Falizoroth). Things might have been resolved peacefully if it was not for a series of chance occurrence as well as the actions of the anti-drow block, other Drow States seeking ways to undermine their rivals, radical Warrior Houses who saw peace and trade with the empire as being a malign influence breeding weakness and the High Elves (though to what degree each faction had in it is still a contentious debate) the matter was not defused and resulted in war. First with some attempts at control and restraint but soon escalated to unprecedented intensity after 1444 when the a force of some 500,000 Legionaries (which was soon aided by 200,00 High Elven warriors) was brought to bear against Falizoroth and after two years managed to overcome it's defenses and lay waste to it. This action was enough to unite the squabbling Drow States to acclaim the Second Dark Emperor and focused them all on the task of the annilation of the Third Empire.

The resulting war lasted forty three years and had a steady intensity to it which eclipsed that of the on again/off again campaigns of the War of Four Centuries. The Imperial Legions stood their ground valiantly, being superior to Janissary forces and were often able to go toe to toe with Drow warriors. Three more attempts were made to try to break into Drow States to level them, but the Drow responded to these quickly and were sucessful at lifting the siege. The Drow's general stratagy was to keep the Imperium from massing too much of it's military in one place while gradually eating away at it's territory. It was a long costly process but ultimately an effective one. In desperation the Third Empire sent ships around the world in search of things that could hopefully allow them to win the war, these ranged from strange magical plants and relics to potatoes to various artifacts and (what most scholars now agree) was gunpowder, which they used in primitive naval cannons they called Vulcanii. Though in the case of said weapons was limited and the manufacture of said powder was restricted to one fortress in what is now the Principality of Oestia which blew up when a Drow army was on the brink of overrunning it in 1416, just after the remainder of the Imperium's Naval Forces and a massive fleet carrying tens of thousands of refugees sailed west to the then largely legendary Northwestern Continent, an expedition that was presumed lost at sea for over a millennia.


The Imperium held out until the Imperial Capital fell in 1401 BIA, having weathered three sieges it was eventually overrun by a drow army of 150,000 Dark Elvish Warriors and 300,000 Janissaries led by the Black Emperor himself. But as the last of it's people fell the remaining mages unleashed a terrible spell that they had been preparing for over two decades. Said spell unleashed a tidal wave of Necromantic energies across the ruins of the former capital that caused every corpse within twenty miles to rise as an undead warrior commanded to kill any Drow Warrior or Janissary they saw and then wander the land in search of others. That final act of defiance destroyed the besieging army and would take years before the last of the undead warriors was destroyed. After the fall of the Imperial Capital the remaining Imperial Forces were left in disarray and ceased to be a cohesive whole and another Dark Age had begun. Even though the Dark Elves had suffered massive losses (amounting to a 35% reduction of their total population from pre-war levels) they would still have been in a position to assert dominance in the aftermath if it was not for succession issues causing division among them.

Note: The soldier in question is wearing a steel mask