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The Crimson Emperor
Planetoid
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2024
A small disclaimer!
Below, Dear Reader, you will find the basic concept for the Crimson Empire and the Crimson Emperor - the "generic" or "vanillia" setup for most of my stories. That doesn't mean that I won't play outside of this tiny story bubble - but rather I tend to use the informations below as a main reference, in case the details of the played world were either not discussed or were previously irrevelant... or just to add some flavour to otherwise generic stories. It is also quite possible that you saw this (or very similar) storyline on other forum - in that case, do not hesitate to say hi!
All questions or suggestions are warmly welcomed!
INTRODUCTION
The Empire... Was always there. And by "there" I mean "somewhere far away, on the outskirts of the known world, existing, yet actually almost unnoticeable". A typical peasant could live their whole life without seeing an Imperial soldier or meeting the Crimson merchant. It was known that the Empire was once a mighty state, it's armies marching from one edge of the world to another, crushing any opposition under their iron heels... Yet these days of glory have long passed. Right now the Empire - or should we say, the "empire"? - was a decadent state, reduced to just a handful of core provinces; the pathetic renmants of former power and nobility, wasting their lives on reliving the days of glory.
And yet... everyting changed over the course of last two centuries. A new dynasty of the Emperors arose, determined to restore the former glory of their state and bring back their former provinces under their rule. Soon, one by one, the independent kingdoms of East began to fall, as the great military campaign of the Crimson Empire has gained the momentum. The banners with Crimson Lily - the emblem of the new dynasty - stood proudly in annexed cities... while the original population was either subjugated, or outright enslaved.
Now there's a time, when the last remaining free nations of the Realm must decide, whether they wish to fight against the evils of the Empire to the very end... or accept it's iron rule, for the promise of safety.
THE IMPERIAL WAY OF LIFE
If one would like to describe the Imperial culture in just one word, then it would certainly be "decadent". The original, old Empire was built on conquest and following one, simple rule - "might makes right". The legacy of these days of glory is still vivid between the members of noble houses, even if today they are more commonly merchants and beaurocrats, rather than warriors and commanders. The Empire allows slavery - in fact, the vast portion of it's economy is based on it - and it is common amongst the members of the ruling houses to keep the whole courts of enslaved, bought or captured artisans, teachers, and of course - concubines. The current line of the Emperors is also pretty tolerants towards the dark arts of magic - especially if they can somehow support and/or "boost" the potential of traditional army. In fact, it is rumored that the Imperial diplomats have even made official pact with current ruler of the Infernal Realm, granting his support for the yearly tribute of mortal slaves.
That doesn't mean though, that the Empire is completely and utterly evil - rather it stands strongly in gray area of morality. The Emperor is still concerned about the well-being of his loyal subjects, and those nations or cities that decided to willingly submit to the Empire are usually treated fairly well. The Crimson Army keeps the potential invaders at bay, protecting the stability within the provinces and allowing the citizens to gain wealth. Of course, if you happen to be a citizen, and not the member of freshly-conquered nation...
THE CRIMSON EMPEROR
The Emperor is the key figure of the Imperial Goverment, being both a tyrannical ruler, and the ever-living symbol of his state's power. The Emperor's face is always hidden behind the heavily ornamented, ancient mask of gold, and no matter the actual gender, the ruler is always adressed as a male. It is an Imperial custom that upon ascending to the throne, the new Emperor drops his original name and destroys all items linked to former life; that way, he becomes one with the idea of the Empire. In the same manner, once the Emperor dies (or is killed), his body is burned in discretion and without much ceremony. Thanks to these precautions, in the eyes of common folk the Emperor is a virtually immortal, unchanging and irreplaceable figure. The Crimson Empire, being a functional meritocracy, does not have an established line of succession; it is not uncommon for an aging Emperor to encourage his most promising subjects and/or generals to fight against each other in proxy wars, using the vassal states of the Empire as pawns. Then the winner of these struggles earns the privilege of personally "disposing" of the old ruler, claiming the Golden Mask and starting the circle anew.
As the Emperor is (officially) the immortal, unchanging figure, the Imperial historians do not use the term "dynasty", yet one can easily trace the "lines of succession" of similar-minded rulers, dictating the course of Imperial expansion and internal reforms over decades, sometimes even centuries. Officially these pseudo-dynasties are called "moods" or "colors" -i.e. "it was during the time of the Purple Empire", or "for over a century, the Emperor was in the Mood of Long Peace". It is unknown if these cases represent a father-son succession, or rather passing the throne between similar-minded, but not blood-related individuals.
THE IMPERIAL ARMY
The Crimson Empire's military strategy is based on two core concepts - initial mobility and attrition warfare. The armies of the Empire always march fast, using eithet traditional ways or more creative, magic-involving ways to outmanouver the opponents. The cavalry's quality is also the source of pride to the Emperor, and they are often used to break through the enemy lines and wreak havoc on their supply routes, capture slaves etc. Combined with usual webway of deception, sabotage and simple misinformation the Imperial armies are often able to score strategical victories before the neighbours have even realize, that they're under attack.
If the initial attacks are unssucessful however, the Empire swiftly adapts to the situation, using it's vast resources and recruitment pools to obliterate the enemy's forces in long, bloody campaign, willing to sacrifice even three soldiers in exchange for eliminating a single foe. The Empire could afford these lossess, while most of it's neighbours are not. While capturing the province intact is always the preferred option, the Empire has no qualms about the bloody victory after a prolonged campaign.
Similary, the Imperial Army is divided into two major contingents. The Legions of Sword are formed by the elite units, best equipped, best trained and used extensively only in the initial part of the campaign. The Legion(s) of the Shield is an elegant word for meatshields - usually soldiers recruited from freshly-conquered provinces, sent - and indeed expected - to die in droves, only to weaken the enemy enough for the Swords.
Below, Dear Reader, you will find the basic concept for the Crimson Empire and the Crimson Emperor - the "generic" or "vanillia" setup for most of my stories. That doesn't mean that I won't play outside of this tiny story bubble - but rather I tend to use the informations below as a main reference, in case the details of the played world were either not discussed or were previously irrevelant... or just to add some flavour to otherwise generic stories. It is also quite possible that you saw this (or very similar) storyline on other forum - in that case, do not hesitate to say hi!
All questions or suggestions are warmly welcomed!
INTRODUCTION
The Empire... Was always there. And by "there" I mean "somewhere far away, on the outskirts of the known world, existing, yet actually almost unnoticeable". A typical peasant could live their whole life without seeing an Imperial soldier or meeting the Crimson merchant. It was known that the Empire was once a mighty state, it's armies marching from one edge of the world to another, crushing any opposition under their iron heels... Yet these days of glory have long passed. Right now the Empire - or should we say, the "empire"? - was a decadent state, reduced to just a handful of core provinces; the pathetic renmants of former power and nobility, wasting their lives on reliving the days of glory.
And yet... everyting changed over the course of last two centuries. A new dynasty of the Emperors arose, determined to restore the former glory of their state and bring back their former provinces under their rule. Soon, one by one, the independent kingdoms of East began to fall, as the great military campaign of the Crimson Empire has gained the momentum. The banners with Crimson Lily - the emblem of the new dynasty - stood proudly in annexed cities... while the original population was either subjugated, or outright enslaved.
Now there's a time, when the last remaining free nations of the Realm must decide, whether they wish to fight against the evils of the Empire to the very end... or accept it's iron rule, for the promise of safety.
THE IMPERIAL WAY OF LIFE
If one would like to describe the Imperial culture in just one word, then it would certainly be "decadent". The original, old Empire was built on conquest and following one, simple rule - "might makes right". The legacy of these days of glory is still vivid between the members of noble houses, even if today they are more commonly merchants and beaurocrats, rather than warriors and commanders. The Empire allows slavery - in fact, the vast portion of it's economy is based on it - and it is common amongst the members of the ruling houses to keep the whole courts of enslaved, bought or captured artisans, teachers, and of course - concubines. The current line of the Emperors is also pretty tolerants towards the dark arts of magic - especially if they can somehow support and/or "boost" the potential of traditional army. In fact, it is rumored that the Imperial diplomats have even made official pact with current ruler of the Infernal Realm, granting his support for the yearly tribute of mortal slaves.
That doesn't mean though, that the Empire is completely and utterly evil - rather it stands strongly in gray area of morality. The Emperor is still concerned about the well-being of his loyal subjects, and those nations or cities that decided to willingly submit to the Empire are usually treated fairly well. The Crimson Army keeps the potential invaders at bay, protecting the stability within the provinces and allowing the citizens to gain wealth. Of course, if you happen to be a citizen, and not the member of freshly-conquered nation...
THE CRIMSON EMPEROR
The Emperor is the key figure of the Imperial Goverment, being both a tyrannical ruler, and the ever-living symbol of his state's power. The Emperor's face is always hidden behind the heavily ornamented, ancient mask of gold, and no matter the actual gender, the ruler is always adressed as a male. It is an Imperial custom that upon ascending to the throne, the new Emperor drops his original name and destroys all items linked to former life; that way, he becomes one with the idea of the Empire. In the same manner, once the Emperor dies (or is killed), his body is burned in discretion and without much ceremony. Thanks to these precautions, in the eyes of common folk the Emperor is a virtually immortal, unchanging and irreplaceable figure. The Crimson Empire, being a functional meritocracy, does not have an established line of succession; it is not uncommon for an aging Emperor to encourage his most promising subjects and/or generals to fight against each other in proxy wars, using the vassal states of the Empire as pawns. Then the winner of these struggles earns the privilege of personally "disposing" of the old ruler, claiming the Golden Mask and starting the circle anew.
As the Emperor is (officially) the immortal, unchanging figure, the Imperial historians do not use the term "dynasty", yet one can easily trace the "lines of succession" of similar-minded rulers, dictating the course of Imperial expansion and internal reforms over decades, sometimes even centuries. Officially these pseudo-dynasties are called "moods" or "colors" -i.e. "it was during the time of the Purple Empire", or "for over a century, the Emperor was in the Mood of Long Peace". It is unknown if these cases represent a father-son succession, or rather passing the throne between similar-minded, but not blood-related individuals.
THE IMPERIAL ARMY
The Crimson Empire's military strategy is based on two core concepts - initial mobility and attrition warfare. The armies of the Empire always march fast, using eithet traditional ways or more creative, magic-involving ways to outmanouver the opponents. The cavalry's quality is also the source of pride to the Emperor, and they are often used to break through the enemy lines and wreak havoc on their supply routes, capture slaves etc. Combined with usual webway of deception, sabotage and simple misinformation the Imperial armies are often able to score strategical victories before the neighbours have even realize, that they're under attack.
If the initial attacks are unssucessful however, the Empire swiftly adapts to the situation, using it's vast resources and recruitment pools to obliterate the enemy's forces in long, bloody campaign, willing to sacrifice even three soldiers in exchange for eliminating a single foe. The Empire could afford these lossess, while most of it's neighbours are not. While capturing the province intact is always the preferred option, the Empire has no qualms about the bloody victory after a prolonged campaign.
Similary, the Imperial Army is divided into two major contingents. The Legions of Sword are formed by the elite units, best equipped, best trained and used extensively only in the initial part of the campaign. The Legion(s) of the Shield is an elegant word for meatshields - usually soldiers recruited from freshly-conquered provinces, sent - and indeed expected - to die in droves, only to weaken the enemy enough for the Swords.