| Lady Aedale Redfist According to her teachers, Aedale is a girl who might be destined to become the most powerful spellcaster of the Empire. Not because of her current power or experience but because of the very potential within herself. Despite obviously still having much to learn, Aedale had set sails overseas to join the Imperial Army in its war against the enemies of mankind, which made her tutors rather worried that her ambition to prove herself to both others and herself might lead to her downfall. Yet, not even her father, Duke Redfist himself, was able to stop her from joining the Imperial Army - and therefore "escape" the wishes of her tutors. |
| General Aveen Elvir General Aveen, the current leader of the Falcon Regiment, is rumoned to be a distant relative of the Emperor - maybe even an heir of the original founder of the regiment. While she is a capable leader and beloved by her soldiers, she seems to prefer keeping her distance to the other generals and people that are no part of her regiment in general. The ones who believe that she may be related to the Emperor believe this to be the reason, that as a relative of the Emperor, she is supposed to keep her distance to keep her true identy hidden. Others think that she simply prefers her animals over her fellow humans - which seems to be not too uncommon for members of the Falcon Regiment. |
| Councilor Birram No record can be found about Birram or his past, which led to several rumors about him being a renegade mage. These rumors grow into claims that the kind of knowledge the scholar tampered with was of rather dark and unknown nature, the kind of forbidden knowledge that should not be used. He first appeared on the very day Gardon Bloodclaw was made general. Birram was his generals' advisor on all magical matters from the very beginning and fiercely loyal. Despite appearing to be a mage of great power, Birram had always prefered to serve as Gardons' advisor rather than serve him in battle - and Gardon had Birram be part of his personal council since the very beginning of said council. |
| General Blen Greymoore General Greymoore is said to embody everything the Empire stands for. He is an honorable warrior, proud to fight for the Empire and the Emperor, following every order and doing whatever he can to make the Empire a better place - even if it means that he has to fight the enemies of mankind without showing any mercy, hunting them until they are completely destroyed. Already, many bards tell romantical tales of the veteran who was born a peasant and rose through ranks only by his wit, his tactical mind and his strength in both body and mind, saving not only his men but also fair ladies on a daily basis. Of course, the tales are exaggerated, as tales tend to be, and Blen wouldn't consider himself a paragon, having to send his men into certain death again and again to assure victory for the Empire, mourning those who he lost. Greymoore's soldiers all look up to him, seeing him, who fights at their side in every battle, as their inspirational role model. |
| Lord Brian the Fallen Long ago, before the Empire had set sail over the sea, Lord Brian was a high-ranking member of the Emperor's court. People were afraid of the lord in dark armor who was said to study the forbidden dark arts of Shadow Magic. One day, he and his family disappeared without any trace of their whereabouts. Since he didn't return after many years, people started to believe he had died. However, in truth, he had discovered ancient secrets and power. Whatever happened to him, it made him immortal and gave him unknown power and knowledge. It remains a mystery what he has done over the past centuries. |
| Lady Cora Redfist Following her father's wishes reluctantly, Cora joined the Imperial Army instead of continuing her studies in the Imperial Academy. Having proven herself as a valuable asset of the army, she was given the offer of joining the Imperial Navy. She had always loved the sea and knowing that the Imperial Navy would enable her to progress further in her studies of water magic, Cora accepted the offer and became a member of the navy, later serving as the liaison officer between the Imperial Navy and the Golden Guard. Over time, she developed a certain dislike for Renald van Durce, the general of the Golden Guard, considering him arrogant beyond measure. |
| Commander Daric The mercenary commander Daric spent many years in service of the Empire, putting down revolts and uprisings in many regions both in the Empire and the Kingdoms. For his service and his ingenious tactics and strategies, he had been rewarded with lands between the Kingdoms of Salria and Rengar. However, Daric refused to take any noble title and instead had decided to continue using his title as a mercenary commander, focusing on taking down the enemies of the Empire. It is said that Sir Lerrig Goldheart has hired Daric to make up for Lerrig's own rather lacking strategic skills. While Daric himself considers Lerrig a poor tactician, the experienced mercenary acts professional and respectful and is the one keeping Lerrig's men in line - though now many soldiers began to say that things would go much better if Daric was in command instead of Lerrig. |
| General Dorbric Berangar The current leader of the Bull Regiment, the veteran General Dorbric, is said to be as strong as ten men, his axe having cut large Demons in half with but a single strike. There are also rumors that, on the way to the Kingdoms, his ship was attacked by a sea snake and he tore the beasts' jaw apart with his bare hands as it tried to devour him. Like his warriors, he prefers to charge right into trouble and break through anything in his way, leaving the more complex strategies to other regiments and generals. Still, labelling him as little more than a simple-minded buffoon would be a grave mistake. One should not give the Bull a reason to start a stampede while standing in front of him. Dorbric may be more of a brawler than a leader, but exactly that made him the perfect leader of the Bull Regiment. |
| King Dorten of Kerrel The King of Kerrel, Dorten, is the oldest king still alive and the only living king who, as a young prince, had fought the war against the Demons BEFORE the Empire had arrived. He is the only king to remember the days when there had been no one to help them when the Demons charged in, wave after wave, day for day. Then, when his father died, he became king and led his people from afar, yet had to see them die while the Demons kept throwing wave after wave against the Humans, as if there was no end to their numbers. When the ambassadors of the Empire arrived, promising help to the Kingdoms - if the Kingdoms agreed to their terms and joined the Empire. Like the other rulers of the Kingdoms, Dorten saw no other way than to accept the offer and wait. Then, the Empire of Humanity arrived. Thousands upon thousands of ships came to the shores of the Kingdoms, to destroy the demonic threat. Yet, despite them being here to fight a common foe and while everyone else cheered, all that Dorten felt was fear and dread. They had invited new conquerors to their homes and welcomed them like their brothers. The Empire had managed to defeat the Demons, yet failed to destroy them for good, and for years, a countless number of Imperials, of strangers, sailed over the ocean to march through his kingdom. Dorten, now a bitter old man, despises the Empire, seeing them as double-tongued liars who didn't keep their word and forced the Kingdoms into servitude, even recruiting his very own subjects to join their Imperial Army - and for what? To keep failing. Dorten made the officials of the Empire feel his discontent on so many occasions that the Imperials had decided to ignore him completely. "Age will kill him soon enough anyway" they said. |
| Duke Volarian Redfist the Tyrant While being considered a tyrant by many to the point that it became his official title, the history of Duke Redfist is a rather tragic one. Despite being born in the Empire, Redfist, only a lowborn noble back then, moved to the Kingdom of Lor only shortly after the Void War had ended, having found the love of his life in that kingdom during the war, marrying her and founding a family. However, fate was cruel to him and he found his family lying dead around him sooner than he could imagine. Broken, Redfist returned to the Empire, locking himself up for weeks in his chambers within his family's castle. When he left his chambers, he was a different man. Where kindness had been, there was mercilessness. Where tolerance had been, there was hatred. Where compassion had been, there was apathy. Redfist was now driven by nothing but his hatred and rage, which fueled him to rise quickly through the ranks of the Empire, even becoming a duke despite being of "low birth". It is said that even the Emperor and his advisors fear his rage. Redfist married again and founded a new family, having several sons and daughters with his new wife. As it was with most other families of mankind, they lost several children in the war against the Demons. It is said that this new family managed to damp his rage, but no one within the Empire doubts that they could escape his endless rage if they dared to threaten him or his family. No one knows what his goals are, as he doesn't seem to care much about power, but about one thing, there can be no doubt: Redfist is still driven by his rage, and the day of his reckoning will spare none of his enemies, whoever they are. |
| General Gardon Bloodclaw General Gardon is the most ruthless and merciless general in the Empire. He is known for using every available weapon against his enemies without showing any pardon. His background is a mystery. He simply appeared out of nowhere and became general. He proved very fast, that he got that position for a good reason, destroying the enemies of the Empire with fast, merciless effectiveness. He is the commander of the Ironfist, an elite force of the Empire, which often carries out top secret missions for the Emperor himself. According to rumors, Gardon himself enjoys the favor of the Emperor - much to the frustration of many higher-ranking Imperials. Yet none would dare make a move against him, as in the past, such attempts ended in disaster. |
| Lord Genethas Born in the Empire, Genethas already was a respected veteran of the Imperial Army when it arrived in the Kingdoms. Having fought against the Demons for years, he and his soldiers had gained quite the reputation in the Imperial Army. Lord Genethas was the general in charge of all armies during the Voidwar, the war against the Demons that was supposed to be the last one. He led the army of Humans, Elves and Dwarves to victory after victory. However, they were betrayed by a general of the Imperial Army and lured into a trap. All other generals fell, only Genethas survived and he ordered the armies to retreat. Without this retreat, the remaining army would have been wiped out and the Kingdoms would have been left defenseless. Despite the failure, Genethas was honored for his efforts and offered a chance to retire, living the rest of his life in peaceful luxury back home. However, Genethas declined, stating that he would continue fighting against the enemies of mankind until they were all finally dealt with, once and for all. |
| Lord Harmos the Guardian of the Flame Being the Guardian of the Flame makes Harmos one of the highest-ranking and most respected members of the Order of the Flame in the Kingdom of Rengar, second only to the grandmaster himself. Harmos had been given to the order when he was still but a child. Harmos showed great understanding and control of the flames early on. On his thirty-third birthday, he summoned the great elemental of fire and completed the trials of the flame, making him the new Guardian of the Flame, a sacred position within the order - as it was with the other elemental magic orders. Both in his youth and in his later days, Harmos was known for a rather fierce personality, having little patience for anything he considers a waste of his time and was called "grumpy" by others behind his back. Yet, he had a great heart and always held humanity's best interests before his own. |
| Horgar Whitebeard Horgar Whitebeard is the current ruler of the Lorekeeper Dwarves and the order of runepriests, being one of the oldest of their kind. While technically the "king" of the Lorekeeper Dwarves, like those who came before him, Horgar does not wear this title. After all, Horgar, was a true traditionalist and never considered himself a "king" by any means, he was the advisor and supporter of the other kings - and the high king of course, Horgar being the one who crowned Zarin like he crowned the two who had come before him. Unlike the progressive Bloodstone Dwarves, Horgar opposed the idea of leaving the Humans on their own during the First Voidwar, before the Empire had arrived, and it was him who convinced the high king, Zarin's predecessor, to ignore such requests, reminding him of the friendship between the two races. Like Zarin and many other Dwarves, Horgar would not tolerate the Dwarves leaving the side of their allies unless the latter convinced the vilest of crimes. |
| General Kenos Harron Silent and mysterious General Kenos is the leader of the Phoenix Regiment. He always wears his mask and is fully clothed. Most believe the rumor that a demon sorcerer had once trapped Kenos inside his own phoenix, slowly burning him alive. It is said that the pain made Kenos, a recruit summoner back then, accidentally channel too much magical power into the phoenix. This overflow of magic energy is said to have caused a massive explosion, killing the demon sorcerer but also further burning Kenos alive, making it a miracle that he was still alive. Since Kenos never speaks about this, it is unclear how much truth is to this. Some rumors claim that Kenos is in fact the original founder of the Phoenix Regiment who has used the secrets of the regiment to cheat death. |
| Larine the Exile Larine used to be the personal guard and a good friend of the elven queen. However, she began criticizing the fact that the Elves were hiding in their woods instead of fighting side-by-side with the Imperials and Dwarves. She blamed the Queen for the fact that the Elves were despised by many of the Humans who had been forced by their superiors to defend them. She left the Elven Kingdom shortly after the mysterious death of her lover and was later exiled. She traveled to the court of King Dorten of Kerrel and began working for him, gaining his respect. Trained in both archery and nature magic, she is ready to fulfill her superior's every command, while secretly still hoping that she would be able to return to her people one day and save them from the incompetence of their Queen. |
| Sir Lerrig Goldheart Sir Lerrig Goldheart is a high-ranking military commander of the Imperial Army, hailing from a powerful Imperial family. Shortly after having been knighted, Lerrig married the daughter and only child of one of the most powerful figures in the Imperial Court. This marriage and his heritage gave Lerrig his current position of a high-ranking commander, yet he kept having problems keeping his soldiers in line. The reason being that his strategies and tactics were often either flawed or required the sacrifice of large amounts of soldiers. Yet, him being the son-in-law of a very powerful person within the Empire protected Sir Lerrig from all attempts of higher-ranking officers to get rid of him. It is said that Lerrig had begun hiring mercenaries to advise him in military matters to improve his own skills - though some rumors persist that he merely did this to let them do all the work for him. |
| Lord Korras Retka Lord Retka, a wealthy and influential noble of Pyrru, always was an enemy of the Empire. He never understood why he and his family should throw themselves under the rule of some foreigners who, in his eyes, were unfit to rule lands they neither knew nor understood. The young king of Pyrru, however, was a fierce follower of the Empire who was even married to a noblewoman of the Empire - much to Retka's frustration who considered this borderline betrayal. Then, when the king of Toran broke the betrothal between his daughter and Retka's son in order to have her marry an Imperial noble as well, Retka began to understand what was going on. The Imperials were marrying nobles of the Kingdoms to gain rightful claims on the lands of the Kingdoms, attempting to take their land from them! When they approached Retka for a similar offer, asking for the hand of his sister and also offering a wife for his son, the enraged lord threw them out of his castle all by himself. However, he also saw this as an opportunity. A cause that would make the other nobles join him, a chance to take the crown of Pyrru - and of Toran too. He gathered other nobles and prepared. |
| Lord Marin Hailing from a wealthy noble family, Lord Marin is, without a doubt, the most renowned and skilled engineer of the Empire. Being the inventor of many amazing weapons used by the Empire, including the famous Destructors, even the Dwarves are impressed by his genius and understanding of mechanical weaponry. Some were wondering why a man like him, who is driven by nothing but logic, not by faith, came to join the righteous Golden Guard (some even claim that he merely joined to escape "boredom"), but he is known to be a close ally and even friend of High Lord Inquisitor Renald van Durce, having fought by his side for many years. It is rumored that Marin is working on new methods combining arcane power with his machines which would, without a doubt, result in powerful yet terrifying war machines - even more powerful than the ones he already deploys in battle. |
| Admiral Merlon Seabright Both in the Imperial and Royal Fleets, Admiral Merlon Seabright is a living legend. It is said that he was the captain of the ship that killed the Terror of Feraldir, a gigantic, demonic sea monster that had terrorized ships for thousands of years. Merlon dislikes staying on the shore for longer than absolutely necessary, for the sea is his true home. He is said to have been a critic and even an enemy of Gardon Bloodclaw until the two of them were assigned to a special mission. After that mission, Merlon remained silent about Gardon and even proclaimed to assist Gardon whenever he was needed. Today, he is Gardon's most loyal ally who is not part of the Ironfist. |
| Orgen Bloodstone A distant cousin of King Ragnar Bloodstone, Orgen had been serving in the armies of the Bloodstone Dwarves for many years when the First Void War broke out. When the Bloodstones were finally allowed to support their kin, Orgen was among the first to join the fight, killing many Demons from afar with his modified rifle – and piercing through the chest of those that came too close. It was also during this war that Orgen first met the Humans of the Kingdoms – and like many other Bloodstones, he supported the idea of leaving them to their fate as they only hindered the defense efforts. When the Humans of the Empire arrived, he also found himself prefering them over their kin in the Kingdoms, just like many other Dwarves. After the First Void War, Orgen was offered to be promoted into the higher ranks of the dwarven military but politely declined as he wanted to return to his duties as captain. He did not want to bother with the politics and other responsibilites, he wanted to keep doing what he liked the most: Hunting creatures, tinkering with his rifle – and blowing things up. Orgen was still a real Bloodstone after all. |
| Sir Praxeus "The Holy Bastion" Braelon Nothing is known about the exact origins of the Holy Bastion, but when he joined the Order of the Righteuos (and therefore, by extend, the Golden Guard) Sir Praxeus already was a very skilled paladin of the Empire. Being a massive figure, tall and strong, and wearing an armor, so heavy that no one else could wear it, forged by himself, Praxeus was intimidating yet it was made clear very soon that he was a good man with a pure heart, even if unwilling to talk about his past. He stood in the first line of every encounter and shielded his comrades with his armor and spells alike. His loyalty made him rise quickly through the ranks of the Golden Guard, yet unlike most of his comrades, Praxeus was not considered arrogant. When others were sitting around campfires, he would often be found sitting alone, thoughtlessly looking at the amulet he always wore and refused to take off. |
| General Ramerius Prideblade The proud and somewhat imperious General Ramerius is the current leader of the Dragon Regiment. Like all human members of the Dragon Regiment, he serves the Empire and Emperor with pride and has a high opinion of the abilities of his regiment. Some say that his behaviour and rather extreme confidence come from the time when he was a soldier of the Golden Guard. He would probably still be a member of the Golden Guard if his father had not been the leader of the Dragon Regiment before him. When his father asked him to join the regiment to one day take his place, Ramerius followed the call. He proved to be even more skilled than his father in the art of warfare, combat and even in controlling the beasts of the Dragon Regiment. So, when his father retired, Ramerius took his place. |
| High Lord Inquisitor Renald van Durce Being one of seven younger brothers of the former emperor and therefore one of the uncles of the current Emperor, Renald could have lived a peaceful life of luxury in the Imperial palace. However, he loathed his other brethren for letting the luxury make them become lazy and corrupt. Becoming a great warrior-priest and leader, he himself led the final assault that removed all Demons from the continent of the Empire. Renald had always been arrogant, but his success made it even worse. However, his loyalty towards the Emperor is almost limitless and only the Emperor himself can command van Durce. Whenever he and his Golden Guard are sent on a mission, the Emperor sends his finest, most loyal and most arrogant soldiers. His full title is: High Lord of the Imperial Court, Lord Inquisitor of the Order of the Righteous, Lord Consultant of the Emperor, General of the Golden Guard. |
| Queen Renova Renova was raised in a life of luxury and wealth, far away from the problems of the "commonfolk", just like most other elven nobles were, yet, as she reached adulthood, she rebelled against her mothers' wishes to have Renova "stay inside the palace" and, when her mother was "visiting" the then-king of Rengar, Renova sneaked out of the palace to see her future realm with her own eyes, like an ordinary elf, not like a noble. She learned much about her people during this time, but it wasn't too long until her mother's henchmen had found her and when Queen Keera returned, she punished her daughter for disobeying her by locking her into her chamber for three years - a life of luxury for sure, but a life of loneliness and of isolation. For an elf, three years weren't as much time as for a Human, yet Renova felt misunderstood and mistreated by her mother, beginning to wonder if Keera actually cared about her. Her imprisonment would have been longer if her mother had not died after these three years. Renova acted in public like a daughter mourning the loss of her mother, but behind the scenes, she removed all that remained of Keera's influence in the court. When the Empire arrived, Renova was quick to announce her intentions to closely work with the Imperials, but she still failed to have the Elves participate in the war as much as the Empire wanted and therefore left the continent to talk with the Emperor himself about the matter. |
| General Salana Woodhunter On the very day Salana became the general of the elven armies, her parents were killed by the Demons, leaving nothing but the amulet that was gifted to Salana's great-grandparents by the legendary human dragonslayer Rahandir Drakeskull behind for her to remember them. Salana, already having been in favor of approaching a more active role in the war, then decided to use her new position immediatly to prepare the Elves for war - even if her attempts to convince the queen, whom Salana served without question, of her point of view remained rather unsuccessful. Her commitment has been rewarded with a position as diplomat of her people. The more time Salana spent with the outside world, the more she began to have doubts about the policies of her people and began to think on new ways on how to convince the queen to finally change her mind. |
| Salomar the Healer The experienced paladin Salomar, hailing from the Kingdom of Lor, is the well-known leader of all paladin orders. Formerly leading only the Order of the Purehearted, when the Empire arrived, it made the paladin orders in the Kingdoms unite under a single leader, they themselves would be allowed to choose - they chose Salomar as he was respected by all others for his heart of gold and for the fact that, unlike many others, he wasn't too zealous. Being a well-tempered experienced veteran, Salomar was both skilled and wise, understanding when it was necessary to adapt to new ways of thinking and acting. Salomar's loyalty lies with the Kingdoms of Arkain over the Empire, but he doesn't care for politics, he only wants to serve his people and allies to protect them against the endless tides of enemies, be it Demons or others. |
| Scarlett Retka Calling the younger sister of Lord Korras Retka "crazy" is usually met with laughter - HER laughter before she lets fire rain upon those who call her that. It is unknown, what was the cause of her "condition" but calling Scarlett crazy is almost an understatement. Some blame the chaotic magic she has at her disposal, as those probably cause as much damage to her mind as they do to the landscape. Some believe that the Demons tried to manipulate her and failed, but damaged her mind - and others claim they may have succeeded, yet this theory is rather unlikely, considering that Scarlett has been seen tearing Demons apart with her magic. Her brother Korras makes no attempt to hide that her insanity annoys even him at times. However, he makes use of her immense powers and made her take control of the Kajon Marauders - brutal bandits and criminals - to both put an end to their raids and to gain their services for his cause. Scarlett follows her brother out of loyalty, yet, ironically, considers his plan "insane". |
| General Selior Cleavehand General Selior Cleavehand is one of the best generals of the Empire, especially when it comes to the defense of fortified cities of castles. His courage and success have brought him countless medals and he is considered to be a true defender of the Empire. He is also a good friend of General Blen Greymoore, a fellow veteran general of the Empire. The two have lived through many battles together and while Greymoore had always been the one who led the charge against the enemies of the Empire, Selior had been the one to stay behind to make sure his friend had a place to return back to successful. Together, the two are claimed to be unstoppable. |
| Prince Toraes of Kerrel The firstborn son of King Dorten of Kerrel, Prince Toraes, has been taught the ways of war by his father himself. Being the future ruler of Kerrel, Toraes has spent all of his life preparing for this role, but his focus remained on the arts of war as his father had always told him that war was inevitable and that, even after the Demons were "defeated", they would be back - as always. And even if not, there were other enemies to fight one day. While Dorten didn't really name them, the prince was sure his father was referring to the Imperials whom he, like his father, never grew to like. Some Imperials hope that, unlike his father, Toraes will be less annoying to deal with in the court, but most are not very optimistic since they consider Toraes nothing but a younger version of Dorten. |
| Vail Being the descendant heir of the Ca'laer and Ca'lea of Zyainor, the fallen and hated human nation that once controlled large parts of Arkain before it fell and was split into the Kingdoms, Vail and her family were doomed to live as outcasts for all their lives. Her parents died when Vail was still young, so she has spent most of her life isolated alone in the wilds, being all on her own. Her fate changed when she saved the life of Prince Toraes of Kerrel who made her one of his personal guards, ignoring her heritage. However, the very blood in her veins was responsible for people to continue disliking her - while Vail wasn't bothered by this, this prevented her from ever becoming anything more than she was - which DID bother her as she wanted to DO something about the threat caused by the Demons. |
| High King Zarin Hammerfall After the end of the First Voidwar, the high king of Dwarves was dead and the kings of the different dwarven clans chose Zarin of the Hammerfall Dwarves to take the seat of the high king. Zarin won the hearts of his people with his honesty, his skills both as ruler and warrior and his sense of honor. When the Empire arrived and saved the Kingdoms in exchange for the kings joining them, Zarin welcomed the Imperials in his halls with open arms, yet remained skeptical. After all, they were human but still strangers. However, he came to respect some of its military leaders whom he considered honest, honorable and courageous - unlike many generals of the Kingdoms Zarin had fought with whom he had considered to be cowards. As time went by, Zarin came to prefer working with Imperial generals over working with the ones of the Kingdoms his people had been allied with for generations - and many Dwarves tend to share the sentiments of their high king in that matter. |
| General Zoia Blackwolf General Zoia is considered to be a brutal and ruthless but effective leader who prefers unconventional tactics - which is a given since most of her army consisted of bloodthirsty werewolves and normal wolves bred only to do battle. Having grown up as the firstborn daughter of an Imperial general, she considered it her duty to join the army and was in fact encouraged to do so. Her ambition and skill have brought her to the had of the fearsome Wolf Regiment. It is said that she has high respect for General Gardon Bloodclaw. They share a few characteristics - and he had managed to tame a direwolf which was both impressive and unusual. |
| Amari The chieftain of the Cliffhunter Clan, Amari, was born as the daughter of Rangul. While women in the Orc society were forced to stay at home and take care of it and the children while the males were fighting, Amari wanted to prove to her father, whom she knew was more tolerant towards new ideas - him adopting a human girl was perfect proof for his. She secretly gathered a few other members of the Deathbreeze Clan and went on a mission to gain his trust. However, she was betrayed and forced into exile - like all Orc women who were unwilling to "stay home". The fate of an exiled female was often death. However, Amari did not want to accept that fate. She sneaked her way through to the Kingdoms where she met other exiles and together they founded the Cliffhunter Clan - a clan consisting of all Orc women who had been exiled by their clains. Therefore the Cliffhunter Clan is considered an exile clan by the other Orc clans - and therefore hardly even considered a real orc clan. Amari and her followers raided the Kingdoms for a long time, with Amari being smart enough to keep her clan moving instead of settling anywhere to avoid being detected by the armies of the Kingdoms. Since the foundation of their clan, the number of exiled Orc women has increased dramatically, showing that there are many women who want to fight. Amari promised to herself that, one day, she would make the other Orc clans accept her clan and reform the society of her people regarding females. |
| Brockta the Stomper Brockta grew up as a strong ogre warrior, quickly earning a name for himself after killing an ancient Black Dragon on his own, by ripping its head off with his bare hands. He was a brutal monster in combat, yet possessed a cunning mind - even by non-ogre standards. He quickly assembled his own war group and began waging war on other ogre groups, slaying countless powerful ogres and gaining numerous followers during his bloody path until most if not all ogres had joined him. Brockta formed the Ogre Legion, a gigantic army of ogres. Brockta had planned to lead his Ogre Legion into the Void itself. Having bested the most powerful of his own kind, Brockta considered the Void the only logical place to go. What more powerful enemies could he be looking for than the Demons themselves? With the combined might of all ogres under the command of a powerful and cunning clanlord like himself, Brockta could have managed to break into the Void itself, especially since the Demons had just begun invading the Kingdom of Lor. However, the Ogre Legion fell into a trap. On their way to the Void, the ogres marched through the Fields of Despair and were ambushed by skeletons. They were suddenly surrounded on all sides and suffered heavy losses. Half of Brockta's most powerful warriors were slain by a single undead in dark armor who called himself the "Fist of the Watcher". He would have killed the other half as well if Brockta didn't cause a landslide to bury the undead. The Ogre Legion retreated back and found their homes invaded by the Moghtar. Another war was about to occur. |
| Dogran Dogran is the current champion of the Goldaxe Clan, a powerful blademaster who represents the chieftain of the clan on all important matters. "Outsiders" don't even get to meet the chieftain of the Goldaxe Clan, he usually sends Dogran or other "officers" of the clan like the raid leader Hortnog to deal with them instead. Dogran does not seem to care as much about gold as other members of the clan, instead he seems to focus entirely on improving his skills as a warrior and is often put in charge of operations that the chieftain considers vital to further his interests – gaining more gold – and does not trust on any other of his lieutenants. While Dogran is relatively young, he has proven his strength time and again and a talented warrior wearing expensive weapons and armor should never be taken lightly. Despite Dogran being the champion of the clan, however, he is not the only one in the Goldaxe Clan acting on the chieftain's behalf, he even seems to be withheld for some of them so that others may prove themselves instead. It is rumored that Dogran is sometimes sent on secret mission deep within enemy territory to infiltrate the human realms for reasons known only to the chieftain of the clan. Members of other clans make jokes that he is probably sent there to buy wine for the clan's chieftain. Others think that it could be connected to the mercenary work of the clan. Whatever Dogran is doing behind enemy lines is known only to him and the chieftain – and Dogran never talks about it. |
| Flammedus Every third century, there is one centaur who is born during the Night of Flames. This young child has been chosen by the flames to become a flamecaller, the chosen master of fire. No other being of this race could hope to best the control over the flames that the chosen would have. Flammedus was born in such a night. Trained by the elders of his people, Flammedus was raised to become the leader of his people. Learning the mastery over fire and using its rage without falling into a fiery frenzy himself, Flammedus became a wise and respected leader, yet he remained humble for his trials during his training taught him that pride could lead to the downfall of not only himself but his entire race. Leading the nomadic centaurs through the areas between the Kingdoms of the Humans and the lands of the Demons, Flammedus was forced to lead his people through the forests and mountains deeper into the lands of the Humans when the First Void War occurred. During this war, the Humans didn't care about the centaurs as long as the creatures left them alone and so their horde rode through to the Kingdom of Salria and chose the unpopulated areas there as their new home. However, when the war was over, the Humans of Salria realized that there were many of those creatures within their borders and began to wage war on the centaurs, raiding and destroying their camps. Flammedus, first trying to negotiate with the Humans, quickly understood that the Humans, especially now that this "Empire" had arrived, would not allow any "inhuman" being to exist within their borders. The war had begun and it wouldn't end until one faction, the Kingdom of Salria or the Centaurs, would be no more. |
| Gorthog the Beastlord On the day of Gorthog's seventh birthday, a wild hydra, whose eggs had been stolen by the hunters of the Skullblade Clan in an attempt to tame hydras, attacked the clan, killing many great warriors and hunters of the clan, including Gorthog's parents and siblings. Gorthog's grandfather Groreth the Wise, the old chieftain who had ruled the clan for many decades at this point, took the boy under his wing. While Gorthog lacked the talent to become a hunter, he proved to be a great warrior and beast tamer, even as a child. He also proved to be a great leader. One day he hunted down the hydra that had killed his family and after a long fight, he defeated the beast. Then he discovered that only one of its youths had survived. Instead of reuniting it with its mother in death, Gorthog took the hydra with him and tamed it, turning it into a powerful and loyal companion. When he returned, the old Groreth abdicated and made his grandson Gorthog the new chieftain of the clan. Gorthog continued to walk the ways of his grandfather and further strengthened the animal and beast taming of the Skullblade Clan and made some even start fishing. Like his grandfather before him, Gorthog was the chieftain of the only clan that did not depend on raiding (or mercenary work) to feed its people. Instead, they were selling their food to other clans – in exchange for their loot and gold. Gorthog is an ambitious leader who has proven to possess a certain level of strategic knowledge. It is also said that he has the ability to "evolve" animals and beasts into stronger creatures. |
| King Gran Gorehowl Ever since the fall of Zyainor, the Gnolls of Gnoll Island had been ruled by a noble King of the Gorehowl family. Refusing to bow to the human kings of Salria that claimed ownership of their wealthy island time and again, the Gorehowl kings always had to defend their borders from foreign threats. During his reign, King Gran Gorehowl had to defeat an invasion of the Salrian nobility on the very first day he sat on his throne, leading his people to a great victory that day. In the next years of his reign, it was mostly pirates he had to deal with as the Kingdoms were occupied otherwise. While King Gorehowl vowed to defend Gnoll Island fiercely, he also had little interest interacting with the outside world unless he really had to, watching all outsiders that came close to his island with observant eyes. However, the noble King Gorehowl also knew that times were going to change eventually and that one day or another his people would have to return to the continent – one way or another. But they would rather die standing than return to a life of slavery. |
| Grella the Bonesplitter Unlike their Forest Troll relatives, the even more numerous Dark Trolls, while having sympathies for the Orcs, never really allied with the green-skinned beings. Their leaders back then had been undecided on how trustworthy the strange creatures really were and the Dark Trolls had always been an isolationist people. Grella the Bonesplitter is the descendant of one of these leaders, the chieftain of the Blackaxe Clan. When the prophets of her clan foretold of a great war on the horizon that would shape the very fate of her people, Grella understood that she would have to unite her people under one banner to stand a chance in the upcoming conflict. She called for a meeting with all the other chieftains and told them what her prophets had told her. The other chieftains confirmed that their prophets had received visions of a great upcoming war as well. Where other races (including their Forest Troll brethren) would have battled over leadership or would have tried to deny the necessity of uniting their people, all Dark Troll chieftains agreed that their people would have to stand united - one leader, many clans. They elected Grella to lead them. Humbled, Grella took the honor and became the leader of all Dark Troll clans. She began uniting her people and ensured that her people would spy on the actions of other races. The Dark Trolls were to remain in the shadows yet, but when the time was right, Grella would be prepared to join the war and maybe even embrace the bloodlust that her people had been containing inside themselves for so long. |
| Grofzag Being the son of Ephrog, Rangul's closest advisor and ally, Grofzag grew up together with Sasrogarn, the two being friends ever since their birth, being even born on the same day. Unlike his childhood friend, Grofzag has always been a strong and respected member of the Deathbreeze Clan. When he was still considered a child, he ripped out the back of a wolf that was trying to eat him and used it, to punch its rider, a member of an enemy clan, to death. Grofzag staying at his friend's side is often considered the only reason why Sasrogarn is even still alive, for he saved Sasrogarn's life in battle several times, providing the strength and brains his friend lacked. While proving that he possessed the brutal strength of most Orcs, Grofzag is considered far less simple-minded than most others, including his close friend Sasrogarn - the friendship being the one thing whispered to be the only mistake he has ever made, so far. He also is one of the few members of his clan who respects the human Vanessa. |
| Lokar the Crusher Being a warrior of the Ironthunder Clan, Lokar was taught in the arts of shamanism by the eldest of the clan. Being capable of keeping a cool mind, Lokar rose through the ranks of the clan and became the right hand of its chieftain, who even used him as emissary. Lokar had always felt that one day, the race of the Orcs would rise to become something more than they were when he was a child - and he also knew that the Orcs would have to unite under one banner for this to happen. He would be ready when that day had come to follow the future leader of his race to glory. |
| Okri Okri was born as the daughter of the chieftain of the Bloodhand Clan, one of the most powerful clans of the Orcs. Like all firstborn daughters of a clan's chieftain, she was supposed to marry the powerful warrior who would become the next chieftain and take care of his children. However, when she reached her later teens, a formerly close friend revealed that she wasn't really the daughter of the chieftain. Instead, his wife had been raped by some Imperial during a battle, making Okri "only" a half-orc. The Destroyer, an extremely strong but simple-minded brutish warrior of the Bloodhand Clan who was also an enemy of the chieftain called the latter weak for not even being able to protect a wife from a weak pink-skin and even letting the daughter of a human be raised as his own. He slew the chieftain and took his place and exiled Okri from the Bloodhand Clan. Her mother was executed by the Destroyer himself right away. Okri had to learn to survive alone in the wilds, and at several points, she had been on death's door. Yet, she managed to survive with sheer willpower and anger alone. Somehow, she even managed to catch a young felhound who had been left behind by other Demons and tamed him for her own. Years later, she would meet Amari who had just founded the Cliffhunter Clan, a clan of exiled orc women, and join her. They quickly became close friends, for they both had been abandoned by their clans and were about the same age. Raiding the Kingdoms to survive, while still following a code of honor during their battles, the Cliffhunter Clan grew in power. Okri quickly became Amari's right hand, both as warrior and as commander. |
| Oneeye Old Oneeye is the oldest blademaster of the Deathbreeze Clan and has seen many years come and go. Having fought in many raids and small clashes during his youth, even having been appointed to lead several raids himself back then, Oneeye had been reckless and arrogant, considering the Humans weak. A fatal mistake that caused him to fall into a trap of the combined forces of the Humans and Dwarves. Oneeye lost all of his forces to the swords of the Humans and his eye to the rifles of the Dwarves. This failure humbled him and from that day on, Oneeye had decided to remain on the island that was home of his clan, to protect his clan and teach others so that they would learn of his mistakes. |
| Pechan the Mechanic Beginning his career as just a simple tinker of the Goblin Federation, Pechan's business sense and innovative ideas allowed him to rise in the ranks of the federation. He managed to gain the favor of his superiors with the creation of a mechanical worker that was able to harvest resources and understand complicated building processes on its own without any outside interference. This allowed the Goblin Federation to expand their mining operations deeper into the tunnels since they now had more personnel to defend against the Dwarves, who didn't want them there, and the creatures that lived there. Pechan's innovation made him join the leadership of the Federation. Yet, it didn't take long until the mining operations became mundane and Pechan became bored. Understanding that the Goblin Federation wouldn't be able to continue ignoring the conflicts between the other races forever - especially since a victory of either the Demons or the Humans would be bad for business since neither had any interest in having an economical strong faction like the Goblin Federation outside of their control - Pechan began focusing more on military designs. His experiments were funded not only by the gold his mechanical workers could bring him but also by selling zeppelins to the highest bidders. In one of those bidders, the exiled Orc Amari, Pechan found not only a high bidder and good customer, but also someone who would offer an alliance between her clan and the Goblin Federation. An alliance that could lead to both profit and success. Pechan wondered if, maybe, just maybe, the Goblin Federation itself could become a powerful faction in this war if it joined forces with Amari and her followers. He convinced the other leaders of the Federation to accept the offer and since then, the goblins of the Federation and the Orc exiles of the Cliffhunter Clan would walk together as allies. |
| Rangul Growing up as a usual member of the Deathbreeze Clan, Rangul's abilities and his dedication to his race along with his strength made him rise up the ranks of the clan quite fast until he became the first and most trusted lieutenant of the chieftain. Rangul sees his race on its way to utter extinction and dreams of a realm for his people. A strong realm that would prosper and serve as staging ground for many invasions. Dedicating his life to create this realm himself, he planned to not only be the successor of the chieftain but to also unite all other clans under his command, sending them against the Kingdoms of the Humans. Their lands would be taken over and used by the Orcs who would then become more than simple marauders and pillagers. However, his plan has one major hole: The Demons and their constant attacks. While Rangul thinks that his people could be powerful enough to defeat some demonic army, he has yet to come up with any ideas on how his people should wage war on the Kingdoms on the one side and defend against the Demons on the other. |
| Rath Wolfscar The Darkmind Clan is both known and feared for two things: Warlocks and Wolfriders. Rath Wolfscar had the honor to lead the bloodthirsty wolfriders into battle in the name of his chieftain, Grael the Hunter. Rath was riding his loyal female wolf-companion Farah whenever he was sent on another pillage. Leading several assaults on the human villages, Rath was made to believe that the Humans were weaker than even the weakest peons, laughing as they died one by one. This changed, however, when the Imperials had enough of them and sent their own forces to eradicate the Darkmind Clan. They killed many warriors, women and children. The Imperials wanted the entire clan to be gone for good. Rath almost died in this battle and only barely managed to survive, his loyal wolf-companion was less lucky. Farah was lying on the ground, heavily injured, but still alive. The general of the Imperial Army killed the wolf by beheading it, leaving Rath alive without noticing that he was not dead. Bitter and vengeful Rath survived his wounds and promised that he would take revenge for his clan, his brothers and sisters and his loyal wolf companion. He would kill each and every human on the continent and, most importantly, kill the general who was responsible for the entire attack. His hatred for the Imperials would know no bounds and make him take every opportunity to take revenge. |
| Sasrogarn Sasrogarn is Rangul's eldest son and a strong spellcaster - like his father. He is Rangul's left hand and one of the few Orcs who already know of his plans and supports him. Sasrogarn shares the dream of his father and has sworn that he'd carry on his dream in case his father dies. But he doesn't share the patience of his father and approves of taking a more direct and aggressive approach. This seeming eagerness for war has not quieted the whispers that the son of Rangul is a weakling and coward, however. |
| Vanessa Vanessa grew up as the daughter of a lesser noble in the Human Kingdoms. When she was still a child, the mansion of her father was raided by the Deathbreeze Clan. Due to the absence of her father, they managed to defeat the guards and take everything they could find. Somehow, the girl wasn't terrified by the strange creatures and didn't hide. She was found by the Orcs and their leader Rangul decided to take her with him instead of killing her. She grew up among the Orcs and was even accepted as a member of the clan - at least by the chieftain and half of the clan. Many dislike her for being a Human instead of an Orc. Still, she dedicated her life towards Rangul and the Deathbreeze Clan, hoping that one day the other Orcs would finally accept her as one of their own. |
| Zairmak Little is known about the past of Zairmak, the chieftain of the Ravaging Fire Clan. He seems to be the oldest and most powerful warlock of the Orcs who is still alive. It is unknown how old he really is, but there is no doubt that no other Orc could claim being anywhere close to his age. Some whisper that he is old enough to have been there when the Orcs first set foot on the continent of Arkain, when they launched their invasion against everyone else. He himself keeps his age to himself, but he seems to know some secrets he wouldn't share with anyone. Some Orcs have begun to wonder if they could become as old as Zairmak if they wouldn't get killed in battle. Before he became the chieftain of the Ravaging Fire Clan, Zairmak lived as a hermit somewhere on a small island, until he decided one day, to leave this life behind. He joined the Ravaging Fire Clan and gained control over it a few years ago all by his own. Ever since then, he had made sure that his clan would focus on mastering the arts of magic and not let the little wars between the other clans get them involved. Unlike other, short-sighted chieftains, Zairmak seems to have special designs for his clan that go beyond mere conquest. |
| Aridon the Watcher Aridon is the most mysterious creature of Arkain – also the most unknown. No one but the Demons even knows of Aridon's existence and the archlich intends to keep it that way as long as possible. It's unknown for how long he has existed, but he has always been here. He's even older than all of the oldest Demons together. It's also unknown who or what he used to be before – if he has ever been anything else before. He calls himself the humble Watcher of Arkain who ensures that the balance isn't disturbed by the other races. The Demons and the mortals alike often tend to threaten this balance with their actions and Aridon has often interfered in the actions of the mortals – but from the shadows without being noticed. He has seen the future and has known centuries ago that in this conflict, manipulations won't be enough and prepares for a full scale war. It's time for the Undead to fix the flaws of the other races. |
| Arnos and Dornos Only few know the origin of the "brothers" Arnos and Dornos, the most trusted servants of the Bonelords. They weren't just living beings that were raised as Undead. For their creation, the Scarec Nexus collected the bones of countless different creatures and set together by the Bonelords themselves. While their bodies consisted of many different creatures, they "shared" their bones for they had been taken from the same creatures – they were simply put together differently. In spite of this, unlike their masters, the two "brothers" are known to split up a lot to fulfil their missions. Arnos and Dornos are in charge of the Scarec Nexus whenever the Bonelords are absent and are the zealous leaders of the nexus that wants all of Arkain to be nothing but bones one day. In their Cathedrals of Bones, they preach that the day will come when their masters will send them to purge the world of the impurity of flesh and prepare the Scarec Nexus for that day. When they aren't preaching, they are often far from the Dead Mountain to fulfil their missions. While Arnos leads the armies of the Nexus, Dornos either operates in the shadows or supports his "brother" with his deadly glaives on the battlefield. Alone each of them is a force to be reckoned with. Together, they are unstoppable. |
| Sir Edoarus the Executioner Even before his death, Sir Edoarus was merciless. He served as executioner in the Kingdom of Pyrru, even declining knighthood to do so. He hunted and killed everyone who broke the law. No matter what crime they had committed, they died. The concept of mercy was alien to him. However, one day, he killed the prince of Pyrru who had raped a woman and killed her afterwards. The king didn't believe that this really happened and ordered Sir Edoarus' execution. However, on the day of his execution, before he was executed, though, the executioner punched the king to death with his bare hands. Aridon brought him back, decades ago, to serve once again as executioner. While there were no traitors in the ranks of the Undead who were bound to Aridon's will, Edoarus' skills would instead be put to use against the other races, the ones who dared to endanger the balance of Arkain. Edoarus takes great pride in his service as "Fist of the Watcher". However, this position sometimes puts him at odds with Krom, who is Aridon's oldest servant and also serves as Aridon's executioner - if way more subtle than Edoarus. They are both killers, but while Krom is more of an assassin, Edoarus is more of a butcher. While Krom prefers ironic comments or even jokes, Edoarus prefers death threats or just silence. While Krom prefers a good hunt of a challenging foe above anything else, Edoarus does not differ between the strong and the weak, he slays them all with brutal ruthlessness. Yet, their "rivalry" stays professional as neither would want to disappoint their master Aridon, being one of the few things they see eye to eye. |
| The Fleshtearer The Fleshtearer was created by Aridon as a test subject: an abomination that was controlled by a powerful spirit. In combat, it would learn, improve itself, become more powerful with every battle. If slain, the spirit would be bound to another body created for this very purpose by the servants of Aridon. Some think that the Fleshtearer serves as an extension of Aridon's will, others think it is just a more powerful abomination to serve in battle. The truth depends on the point of view, but there is one thing everybody agrees on: The Fleshtearer is powerful and its abilities make it more useful than any other abomination. |
| Galareth the Great The scholar Galareth had lived an ordinary and boring life in an university in Kerrel until he decided to change it. Instead of enduring the boredom, he decided to play around with the dark arts of necromancy – and it turned out that he was quite good at it, learning quickly to raise zombies on the local graveyard in secret. He grew very skilled very soon without any outside help. Eventually, he was approached by a member of a secret group of necromancers, inviting him to join them – he declined, convinced that they merely wanted to leech his knowledge from him. They gave him a week to reconsider but he never did. On the eighth day, the scholar Galareth disappeared without a trace of his whereabouts. The Rohir Nexus had taken him in. However, rather than killing and raising him, they traded him to the Ardoz Nexus instead. The Ardoz Nexus did what they do best: Cause pain and agony. They slowly drove him insane, causing unthinkable mental and physical pain to him – but also making sure that he stayed alive. Eventually they decided to try something new. They did not just kill him, they tore his spirit out of his body and bound it to the body of another prisoner: An ogre magi who had been part of the Ogre Legion until he had fallen before the might of Sir Edoarus the Executioner. The body of the ogre now contained two souls that fought for control. But the Ardoz went further, they magically combined the two spirits into one. Galareth and Gart the Great became one – and it drove them insane, even in death. The Ardoz Nexus watched their undead ogre with the mind of both a human an ogre for several weeks as the creature did nothing but speak words that made no sense. Eventually, the creature calmed down. It now identified himself as Galareth the Great. Galareth had retained his magic skills, but he still felt the consequences of his unnatural creation from time to time. He completely embraced the way of the Ardoz Nexus. The experiment turned into a researcher, experimenting on the living to "improve" them – through pain and the abhorrent thing that the Ardoz Nexus called "science". |
| Haran'tel-kazor Like the entirety of his race, Haran'tel-kazor was born as a slave of the Undead, serving their will by guarding the Dead Mountain and doing labor for his dead masters. As all Nerubians, he too was destined to one day be turned into an undead creature. However, Haran, as his friends called him, was not willing to let this continue and started an uprising against his undead masters. His loyal rebel followers named him their one and only overlord and they started a guerilla war against the Undead. During this time, Haran learned much about war, combat and strategy - but also about loss, tragedy and death. The war against the Undead would never end, so Haran ordered to do whatever was possible to make the females of his race lay more eggs, including dark magic. His own mate, a queen, died by the exposure of this magic, but it managed to create massive amounts of small hatchlings. While weak and of little intelligence, they were extremely numerous and allowed Haran to survive the war of attrition against his undying foes even longer. He wouldn't hesitate to throw enormous numbers of lesser hatchlings and Nerubians at his enemies while the strong ones were kept safe until they were needed. Many of his race thought that both the loss of his mate and the neverending war against the Undead had hardened his heart, yet they continued to serve the one who broke their chains. Unbeknownst to them all, including Haran, their uprising had the blessing of Aridon who saw this as a chance to not only give the rogue Nerubians a reason to lay and hatch more eggs while giving them combat experience but also a chance to find the strongest of their race: Haran'tel-kazor. Aridon had allowed their rebellion to continue for a long time to see their strength and numbers grow - and then, when the Second Voidwar began, he harvested them all, including Haran. Haran was reanimated as a Crypt Overlord to serve in the ranks of the Watcher as it had always been his destiny. |
| Kazardius A powerful Ca'rach and general of Zyainor in life, Kazardius served the ancient nation of Zyainor during its final days. His leadership brought his troops many victories and their loyalty in their valiant leader was without question for he treated them well and rewarded those who had proven themselves to him. It is said that when the black dragons left and Zyainor broke apart, he and his forces stood their ground as the stalwart defenders of the capital city, protecting what was left of the ruling family during the final days. Cunning and disciplined, Kazardius managed to defend the city for many weeks despite being severely outnumbered. No foe from the outside would defeat him and his forces. However, it was the citizens of the very city Kazardius and his men defended that turned on them. It is unclear what happened, but in the morning, the civilians had let the enemy inside the city and Kazardius and his forces were gone, no corpses, not even bones remained. Only their armors and weapons – and those disappeared in the chaos that followed. In time, they had found their way to the Dead Mountain. Kazardius and his followers returned, their spirits possessing the very armors they had possessed in life. Ever since Kazardius led his bodyless forces as well as undead warriors into battle. A great tactician as he had been in life, yes, but also hateful towards the descendants of those who had turned on him. Kazardius and his forces feel nothing but hate towards the Kingdoms and would gladly see them all destroyed – they merely await the orders of their new master. Eagerly. |
| Krom the Immortal Krom was one of the first to be raised into servitude by Aridon. Only a few know that he was, in fact, an Arkainian, a member of the first and now extinct race of Arkain. Now, however, he serves as Aridon's merciless hunter and executioner, killing whomever his master wishes to see dead. Krom is the best archer on Arkain, no living and no dead creature can outmatch his skills. He never misses his target nor does he care much for the fate of any living race, he just considers them prey to be hunted. Still, Krom is no brainless brute, he has a cruel and cunning personality. He might prefer forceful solutions, especially when they include hunting down a powerful foe, but he also prefers malicious plans to find the most effective solution. Out of all Undead, Krom is the one who knows Aridon the best, better than most others, and is absolutely loyal towards his masters' goals. Given his status as executioner along with Sir Edoarus, the two share a professional, non-aggressive "rivalry", yet hold no personal grudges against each other. Krom doesn't really consider Edoarus a rival, he considers him a butcher while he considers himself a hunter. |
| Lady Meya In life, Lady Meya was a countess of Toran, a beautiful noble with countless suitors, however she never married any of them, she enjoyed watching them all trying to gain her favor. The countess was a selfish, vain and arrogant woman, uncaring about anything except her looks. However, as she grew older, Meya began to worry. She was still beautiful, but she knew that time would take her beauty from her. As many others before her, she was approached by the Demons who offered eternal youth - for a prize. She was very, very tempted, but despite her vanity, Meya declined their offer, having the demon cultists killed. After that, she was contacted by a group of necromancers, who claimed to have found a way to help her achieve what she wanted in exchange for monetary support. After just having turned herself into an enemy of all demon cults, Meya accepted and joined the cult, funding all of its researches and also studying the arts of necromancy herself. In time, Meya became the leader of the cult and made it focus on finding a way to reach immortality. Age began to leave its marks and Meya forcefully fastened the research efforts of the cult. However, as the cult became more and more powerful due to the countess' funding, the Undead decided to put an end to their actions. One day, Meya woke up and was surrounded by her necromancers - who were now undead. There was also a skeleton with a bow made of bones that appeared to be part of his body. Meya heard a noise that could have been a laugh coming from the skeletons' mouth as one of her former acolytes cut her throat. Yet, this was not her end. She was brought back from the dead to serve the cause of the Undead and granted the eternal life she had been looking for. Meya would continue leading her necromantic cult, but now in the service of Aridon. She would lure young, beautiful men and women into her service, turning them undead, and make them infiltrate necromancer cults to both keep an eye on them and influence them. They would use her looks to seduce the leaders whatever way Meya wished. Over the years, Meya became the one who was, either directly or indirectly, manipulating all existing necromancer cults. |
| Mistress Quiraness Quiraness was one of the few members of the Sisterhood who were not born as child of its members. Instead, her mother was a noble and she was her firstborn, destined to take over the lands of her mother after her death. However, when her family lost the favor of the Sisterhood, they were captured by the Sisterhood and all but Quiraness were sacrified to their goddess. Quiraness was instead given the chance to join the Sisterhood - and she took the chance. Given her status as a "lowborn" - a priestess born outside the Sisterhood who were considered "unclean" by some - and her family record, she had to fight for every bit of acknowledgement and appreciation, much more than most others did. One day, however, she had finally managed to become a high priestess, which made many "forget" that she was "lowborn". The mistress of the Sisterhood saw this as a sign of the goddess, allowing more lowborn to join the Sisterhood who became fierce, loyal followers of Quiraness. As the decades passed, Quiraness increased her power and influence within the Sisterhood. Her desire for power and her ambition drove her, made her want to become the new leader of her people. When the mistress was assassinated, Quiraness had managed to gain enough influence to take her place. Now, as she spent decades as the mistress of the Sisterhood and leader of the Dark Elves, she enjoys all the power she could ever have wished for - however, her loyalty towards the goddess remains questionable. She knows that if the prophecy was fulfilled and the goddess would return to the Sisterhood, then she would lose the power, the wealth, the independence and the full control over her people she had been fighting for so long. |
| Mordin Hammerfall Mordin Hammerfall was the younger brother of Zarin Hammerfall, high king of all Dwarves, and his most trusted kin. While he lived in the shadow of his brother, Mordin was the only one who really knew how heavy the crown really laid on Zarin's head and did his part by cheering his brother up whenever the latter was lost in thoughts. His brother was a good king to his people and had the skills he needed for such a position but Mordin made sure that the responsibilites wouldn't wear his brother down. Until his death. While helping the Elves to uncover lost artifacts, a rather easy task with no apparent dangers, Mordin and his soldiers were surprised and defeated by Orc raiders of the Deathbreeze Clan. Mordin was slain by the leader of the attack. His corpse would later be found by none other than his brother Zarin who mourned the death of his beloved brother for many days before he and his men took the corpse back to their home in the Golden Tunnels. Mordin was buried next to his ancestors – and Zarin vowed that he would one day find the greenskin who had killed his brother and bring the creature to justice so that his brother might find peace in death. However Mordin's spirit was not ready to pass on. His brother needed him, his people needed him! And so the restless spirit screamed for a second chance, but his kin could not hear him. Only in their dreams they were haunted by Mordin without him knowing that his hopeless despair caused nightmares. Unbeknownst to the Dwarves, Mordin's corpse disappeared from the sealed crypts one day. Another had heard his screams. Another would give him the second chance he wanted. |
| Queen Keera In life, Keera was the queen of the Elves, mother of the current queen, Renova, and lover of the King of Rengar. The Elves had often been attacked by the Demons and had been unable to organize a real defense due to their lacking military. Instead, Keera asked the man she loved, the King of Rengar, to help her people - in fact, she wanted to use his love to make him send his men. She felt guilty for abusing his love - and for making him cheat on his wife - for her own goals, but she saw no other way to protect her people. In exchange for his help, she would never leave his side again. He accepted and sent a regiment of his soldiers to defend the Elves. Her lover had kept his end of the bargain and so would Keera. She never left his side again, leading her people from afar, and told her lover that she would soon name her daughter queen, so that they could spend the rest of their lives together. When the King of Rengar had decided to send his most loyal servant, Rahandir Drakeskull, to his death, she knew of his plans and tried to persuade him otherwise, telling him that Rahandir, a good friend and ally of her people, wouldn't try to betray him at all and that he would lose his most powerful ally - yet he didn't listen to her. And Keera didn't stop him, despite disagreeing over it. However, neither of them could know that Rahandir would bring himself back to life after the betrayal killed him - as neither could know that he would take revenge by killing them both while they were enjoying themselves. While the death of the King of Rengar was slow and painful, her own was quick and rather painless in comparison. She would later be buried next to her ancestors, in the Elven Kingdom. Centuries later, during an attack of the Demons, her crypt was raided and her remains were nowhere to be found. However, her daughter, Queen Renova, never sent anyone to search for her due to the demonic threat. |
| Rahandir Drakeskull Rahandir's history might have been centuries ago, but it remains legendary in the Kingdoms. There's not a soul who has never heard of the Dragon Slayer and Demon Hunter, a master of cold magic whose powers rivaled even the mighty dreadlords. Rahandir spent his life leading the armies of the Kingdom of Rengar against the demonic legions - and also any dragons that crossed his path. It is said that he himself had slain the great mother of the red dragons in single combat. For this deed, the High King of the Dwarves back then proclaimed him the "eternal friend of dwarvenkind". Rahandir also had many friends among the Elves, most famously the Woodhunters, the great-grandparents of Salana Woodhunter, who had traveled at his side for many years. Rahandir also was a close friend of the king of Rengar for a long time. However, that changed. No one knows that Rahandir and his men were betrayed by their mad king who sent them to their deaths. No one knows that Rahandir came back as a lich and killed the king before he joined Aridon out of free will. Rahandir is still as intelligent and sarcastic as he used to be in his living days but he became... cold. Still, he remains a powerful spellcaster, ready to hunt his old enemies again. |
| Saphira Whisperwind Saphira used to be a loyal servant of the Elven Kingdom. She had trained with Salana Woodhunter, who is now the best diplomat of her people and the right hand of the Queen. Saphira was outmatched by Salana as a diplomat, but she was the better ranger of the two. However, when she was sent on a mission to acquire an artifact for the Queen, the Scepter of Life, she and her allies were defeated by the Deathbreeze Clan who wanted the artifact for themselves. Saphira managed to escape, but was caught by Rahandir Drakeskull instead. He killed her easily and took her body with him to Aridon who wished to reanimate her for his cause. Now, being an Undead, Saphira has only two things in her mind: Serving her master and taking revenge on the Orcs who had killed her and the queen who had abandoned her and sent her to death only for her own prestige. |
| Sister Pentiss Like many other members of the Sisterhood, Pentiss was born as the daughter of one of its priestesses. She was raised along with all the others who were destined to become priestesses of the Sisterhood. Like her sisters, Pentiss was taught that loyalty towards the Sisterhood and the Goddess was all that mattered - and that males were... disposable. All that mattered was the Sisterhood and the will of their goddess. Pentiss rose quickly through the ranks of the Sisterhood and became one of its high priestesses shortly after Quiraness was appointed mistress. While she was a loyal servant of the Sisterhood, Pentiss couldn't ignore that Quiraness seemed only to care about her own power rather than follow the wishes of the goddess as she was supposed to. While Pentiss took pride in her position, she considered herself a humble servant of the will of the goddess and was waiting for the prophecy to unfold while secretly gathering supporters. Unlike Quiraness, Pentiss understood that the prophecy also foretold a war when the time had come. |
| Tremalon No record can be found of the race of the Rasi prior to their creation as unliving creatures under the rule of the master of all Undead. The reason for this being that they were created by their master to serve to record all history and knowledge that they could find – in death. Tremalon is the oldest "living" Ras, having witnessed the "birth" of his race and wandered many places all over the continent and the entire world in service to Aridon. Having witnessed firsthand what knowledge can do to the living, Tremalon came to the conclusion that the knowledge he and his Rasi brethren gathered the name of their master had to be kept hidden from mortal and immortal eyes alike. Otherwise it would endanger others as well as themselves. Knowledge was power indeed and had to be kept safe just as well. There is much knowledge within the hidden libraries that Tremalon administers in the name of the Watcher of Arkain, but only little that ever leaves the well-guarded walls. |
| The Bonelords The Three Bonelords, Rogthil, Sha'thar and Kasresh, are said to have served Aridon for as long as Krom has. When their master Aridon had fought against his powerful enemies, they were slain in combat while Krom and Aridon barely managed to survive. Instead of leaving their remains behind, Aridon had them carried into the vaults of the Dead Mountain, sealing their dead remains away until he would have need of them again. While being three different entities, the three barely split, one never far from the other. They are capable of raising gigantic armies within mere seconds, relying heavily on their Bone Army, an endless stream of skeletons. |
| Ebira Ebira, the right hand of Kersidar, the leader of the Souleater Legion, is said to be a masterful temptress, outmatching all other succubi in that area. She seduced and corrupted the hearts of the mortal races, turning them into willing slaves - she also did this with Demons from other legions, making the Souleater Legion more powerful and making herself many enemies. The succubus Lisara of the Blooddrinker Legion tried to oppose Ebira - which resulted in Lisara being banned from the Legion by Ornasion and imprisoned by Ebira's lackeys many centuries before the events of the Voidwar. The manipulations of Ebira made Lisara a traitor in the eyes of the entire Blooddrinker Legion. While this might make mortals think less of her, it was nothing unusual for the Demons - in fact, it was considered too merciful by some who wanted the "traitor" to spend thousands of years in agony. The words that would doom the attempt of the Imperials to wipe out the Demons entirely many centuries afterwards, were hers. Ebira turned one of the Empire's most loyal generals into a traitor and his betrayal forced the Humans to retreat when they might actually have destroyed the demonic threat once and for all. However, despite her service for Kersidar, there is little doubt that she has her own plans that most likely exceed the powerful Souleater Legion. |
| Erganoth The leader of the Darkblade Legion, Erganoth, is the nightmare of his political enemies. While some Demons hire assassins to get rid of their enemies - allowing some of those enemies to offer the assassins a better deal - Erganoth himself was the only assassin he ever needed. His rise to power in the Darkblade Legion was rapid, not only by Demon standards, but also by mortal standards. Only within a few weeks, when the Demons had just launched the new invasion against the Humans, he rose from an ordinary dreadlord to the leader of his legion, while never having shown any interest in being a leader at any time before. Being quite young by dreadlord standards, Erganoth still has to deal with several struggles within his legion. He found that the most efficient way to get rid of his most dangerous rivals, was to send them to the frontlines with the Blooddrinker and Souleater Legions, providing defensive reinforcements capable of defending conquered areas while the other legions were killing their enemies - and, on some occasions, each other. According to rumors, Ornasion wanted Erganoth to use his abilities as an assassin to dispose of the leadership of the Humans. However, despite sending troops to support Ornasion, Erganoth has never shown any personal interest in the entire invasion. Some believe that he has no faith in its success, others that he is too busy with his enemies within the Darkblade Legion itself and some think he simply doesn't care about the entire war at all. |
| Kersidar Kersidar combines all the attributes that one would expect when dealing with a dreadlord. Cunning cruelty, cruel brilliance, brilliant intrigues, intrigant rise to power. He had mastered the art of politics and intrigues to become the leader of the Souleater Legion - even if some would claim that without his ally and right hand, the succubus Ebira, he wouldn't have gotten so far. When Ornasion the Destroyer, leader of the Blooddrinker Legion, appointed himself the one in charge of the invasion against the mortals, many expected Kersidar to oppose the brutal dreadlord, taking this position for himself instead. He surprised all of them by being the first to pledge his loyalty to Ornasion, even becoming his second-in-command. Within the Souleater Legion they expect Kersidar to outsmart Ornasion like so many before him, to take his position without having to fight the physically much more powerful dreadlord. |
| Largoth The Dreadlord Largoth is one of the few Demons who doesn't belong to the Legions anymore. He abandoned the Demons a long time ago and for the other Demons, he's nothing but a traitorous renegade who has to be killed on sight. He joined Aridon for unknown reasons – the most likely was that Aridon had the power to hold the Demons back. In exchange for Aridon's mercy, the Dreadlord used his powers to support the Undead's cause - even though Aridon doesn't allow him to use all of them. They've been working together for a long time to fight the Demons because if the Demons win, both Largoth and Aridon would be high-ranking on their target list. |
| Lisara Before her banishment, Lisara was a high-ranking leader of the Blooddrinker Legion, the most brutish of the Demon Legions. Being physically weaker than most other succubi and other Demons, Lisara had to trick and outsmart her enemies within her legion to make a name for herself. One of these enemies was the brutish dreadlord Ornasion the Destroyer, also called "Pit Dreadlord" by others of his kind due to his apparent simple-minded behaviour. However, Lisara learned first-hand that he wasn't as foolish as he made others think. Lisara, who had tried to trick him into fighting against her enemies to weaken him and to strengthen her, was fooled by him. He made her believe that he'd do as she said but instead let her enemies kill several of her most competent underlings, severely weakening her. Instead of killing her for her attempt to trick him, Ornasion offered Lisara a chance to work for him instead. Being impressed by the dreadlord whom she had considered nothing but a brute in the past, she accepted. Even before Ornasion became the leader of the Blooddrinker Legion, the two got closer and had feelings for each other that were... unusual for Demons. They became lovers. When Ornasion became the leader of the Blooddrinker Legion, Lisara became his second-in-command and supported him in all his deeds. However, when Lisara opposed the demoness Ebira of the Souleater Legion, Ebira's machinations managed to turn her into a traitor in the eyes of many. It took a long time, but finally even Ornasion began to doubt her loyalty and allowed Ebira to imprison Lisara - under the condition that she would be left alive and otherwise unharmed. Regardless, Lisara felt betrayed and alone, as she was imprisoned for centuries. Hatred filled her and she only longed for one thing: Revenge. |
| Lord Margazar While not as powerful as the dreadlords, the more powerful eredar are often seen being the leaders of smaller groups of lesser Demons. Margazar was one of these eredar: A lieutenant of the Souleater Legion who often led groups of marauders into the lands of the mortals, pillaging and enslaving the villages and retreating before the armies of the mortals could react. Margazar was never provided a real force, so he was unable to use any other tactics, much to his displeasure. He considered himself an honorable warrior, he wanted to find and fight the strongest of every village, defeat them and leave them alive, so that his opponent would train and be a worthy enemy the next time they met - which Margazar always made sure that they would. And he always won. He was not cruel, he simply relished challenging fights. If his opponent had become powerful enough to almost beat him, Margazar would even let them live without being enslaved, salutating their progress as a warrior. He was also a Demon who stood true to his word, never breaking a promise that was given. Margazar earned a reputation among the Demons and after a while, his marauder group increased in number with voluntary Demons. However, his success began to become an annoyance in the eyes of the higher-ranking dreadlords and so they sent him to attack a strongly defended castle of the Dwarves - without providing him enough troops for it, never sending the promised reinforcements. Though he fought valiantly, Margazar was overwhelmed by the Dwarves and he and his group were defeated. However, Margazar returned home, being the only survivor of his group. Due to his failure and the machinations of his enemies, he had lost his reputation, but was still accepted as a leader for small groups of Demons. |
| Maronogin Very little is known about Maronogin, the former leader of the Souleater Legion, apart from the fact that he is one of the oldest living Demons (maybe even the oldest of his kind), but many give him credit for the current power of the Souleater Legion as it were his intrigues, wars and conquests that made it as powerful as it is now. However, despite his immense power, he began to withdraw from all political and other affairs and instead spent his time alone in his private chambers. His absence created a power vacuum in the Souleater Legion which threw it into conflict with itself. In the end, the dreadlord Kersidar tried to usurp Maronogin's position with his intrigues and manipulations. Rather than opposing the upstart or simply crushing him with his enormous power, Maronogin and his most trusted soldiers left the lands of the Demons and were never seen again and were presumed dead as centuries passed without any sign of them. Some Demons who still remember Maronogin like Kersider believe that he fell at the hands of Aridon the Watcher and therefore no longer was any threat. |
| Ornasion the Destroyer Unlike other dreadlords, Ornasion had always prefered brute force over manipulations or mind games. This made others of his kind consider him a savage brute, not worth much more than some pitlord. He was considered simple-minded, no threat to the far more intelligent and cunning dreadlords. However, it was this apparent "simple-mind" that spared him from the political games between other Demons, allowing him to focus on what he did best: Warfare. He became a great tactician and led the Blooddrinker Legion into many successful battles against their enemies. Ornasion turned out to be the greatest general of the Blooddrinker Legion, yet the other dreadlords never considered him a threat due to him being interested in nothing but war, even going as far as calling him a "Pit Dreadlord" in reference to the brutish Pitlords. It was the last time a dreadlord would underestimate any other dreadlord. One day, still centuries before the Void War, Ornasion made his move. He challenged all higher-ranking dreadlords of the Blooddrinker Legion at once - and tore them apart. While actually being the brute they always considered him to be, he was no fool and was driven by the same ambition as others of his kind were. Ornasion used his brute force to make the Blooddrinker Legion the most numerous by absorbing several smaller Legions. In doing so and due to his tactical abilities, he had secured the place of his Legion as the one leading the charge against the Humans and other races of Arkain, planning to destroy all his enemies - be it by crushing their lands or by corrupting their minds. |
| Urshan Urshan is a low-ranking lieutenant of the Darkblade Legion, which is about as far as his kind can get in the ranks of Demon society. Being quite cunning for his kind, Urshan managed to keep forces under his command more effective than many other military leaders of the Darkblade Legion. However, he made the mistake that he was a loyal servant of a dreadlord who was a bitter rival of Erganoth, the new leader of the Darkblade Legion. Therefore, after his masters' death, he was considered "disposable" and therefore was sent with Ornasion and Kersidar when they began the invasion - Erganoth wanted him gone for good, just like the rest of the Demons who once served his rival. |
| Vermon No mortal, be they slave or not, has ever seen Vermon, Master of Spies, Count of the Mindslayer Legion. Only Demons are allowed to see him, the few mortals whom he deems worthy being in his presence, are blinded. Considering the fact that it is the Mindslayer Legion that has enslaved more mortals than any other Legion, this is considered quite ironic by the rest of the Legions. Over the millenia of existence of the demonic race, the other Legions started to think that the name "Vermon" was some kind of nickname, given to whomever usurps the place of the leader of the Mindslayer Legion. Only few outside the Mindslayer Legion believe that Vermon actually managed to stay alive longer than any other known Dreadlord, having mastered immortality even more than the other high-ranking dreadlords. The members of the Mindslayer Legion refuse to talk with anyone outside their Legion about their leader in a way that could suggest anything. They call him Master of Spies for him being the leader of the Mindslayer Legion, the Legion that doesn't send any forces to the battlefields but instead destroys their enemies from within, using infiltration, seduction, bribery and murder to achieve its goals. Why he calls himself "Count" of his Legion while other leaders refer to themselves as "Lord", "Lady" or "Master" is a mystery known to no one but himself and his close allies. Due to the nature of his Legion, it is not known how much - or if even at all - he supports the invasion of the Demons. |
