The Empire

On the outskirts of Northwind Keep, outside the Iron Dragonwing Palace. Olivia stood before the grand gates, looking quite elated, like a child waiting to be praised. "Cassius, I've persuaded the clan elders. They've agreed to send people to grant us—" "My apologies, my lady, but His Majesty is not granting audiences at this time." Ekmon, the tiefling guard captain, leveled his spear and barred the familiar lady's path. Having witnessed one of the red dragon's deep slumbers before, Ekmon knew all too well how perilous things were inside. Just His Majesty's morning temper alone was enough to bring catastrophic ruin upon mere mortals. "But..." Olivia's brow instantly furrowed, a flicker of disappointment crossing her features that she could not entirely hide. She had spent countless words arguing just to convince the silver dragon elders to aid this former enemy. Only when the still-convalescing Grand Elder Oszedro had personally spoken did they finally accept her plea and agree to dispatch forces in support of the Cinder Empire. "So long as it means defeating the demons, I am willing to ally with an evil dragon." Those had been his exact words. To an ancient silver dragon who revered order, creatures of pure chaos like the demons of the Abyss would forever be an enemy. As Olivia stood lost in thought, a familiar voice drifted from behind her. "Lady Olivia, His Majesty has already entered his slumber." Olivia turned around to behold the massive figure, surprised. "Lord Trump?" The ogre archmage bowed slightly and said with polished courtesy, "His Majesty left instructions with me in advance, however. He extends his gratitude for all that you have done for the Empire." Trump raised his staff, and a teleportation portal leading to the Imperial Council Hall materialized before Olivia. "His Majesty feels that your contributions are already more than sufficient, and he wishes for you to join the Imperial Senate to discuss the details of our cooperation with the ministers. "Furthermore... His Majesty has already reviewed your latest proposal and approved it, though a few adjustments will be required regarding its implementation." "Thank you." A smile lit up Olivia's face. The Imperial Senate was the true heart of power, vested with the authority to draft policies and statutes. Entering the Senate meant truly joining the upper echelon of the Cinder Empire. Olivia believed that through her persistence, she could steer this realm toward a brighter future—and nudge Cassius toward order and goodness. In truth, however, this was both Cassius's repayment to Olivia and an attempt to counterbalance the evil-aligned factions dominating the Empire's top tier. "Lady Olivia, please follow me." Trump inclined his head slightly, offering an impeccably executed gesture of invitation—though seeing such courtly etiquette on an ogre seemed rather absurd. "Alright." Before stepping into the portal, Olivia turned back to gaze at the familiar palace. After a moment's hesitation, she asked softly, "Will His Majesty Cassius... slumber for a very long time?" Her concern was by no means baseless. To mortal beings, a dragon's slumber could span an entire lifetime. And for a dragon as peculiar as Cassius, not even the silver dragons had any idea how long he might sleep. Ten years? Thirty years? Fifty years? She did not know why she cared so much about the slumber of a former enemy, but to a silver dragon, it was undeniably an important matter. Trump replied in a deep, steady tone, "Please do not worry, Lady Olivia. His Majesty stated that he will awaken in one year's time." "So soon?" Olivia breathed a sigh of relief, the tension on her face finally melting away. Everything seemed to be proceeding just as she had hoped. The silver dragons were about to enter the Empire's decision-making core, doing their utmost to bring order and goodness to this realm. She looked toward the palace once more, tucking a strand of silver hair behind her ear. For some reason, an inkling of anticipation gleamed in her grayish-blue eyes. "Sweet dreams, Cassius," Olivia murmured under her breath, then stepped through the portal toward the Imperial Council Hall. * * * Cold winds swept across the Great Anzetta Waste as the northern snows gradually melted away. Several months flew by in a blur, bringing them near the month of March. In truth, during the initial period following the Starfallen's departure, the Empire had lost a considerable amount of its developmental vigor. Deprived of those tireless, maniacal beings, many factories faced severe labor shortages, an array of manufactured goods stagnated in warehouses, and technological progress noticeably slowed. Soon enough, however, the Chief Minister introduced a flurry of policies—the Imperial Security Act, economic stimulus strategies, foreign trade regulations—to raise wages for workers, expand export channels, and seek broader markets for the realm. After all, the Cinder Empire remained a burgeoning state. The players' departure caused only limited disruption, and with the war still raging in the south, orders for armaments poured in without end. Though growth had slowed somewhat compared to before without the players' aid, the industrial scale continued to expand steadily, and the Empire's subjects grew visibly more prosperous. More and more Anzettans flocked from the countryside to the cities in pursuit of the so-called "Imperial Dream," aspiring to become the wealthy figures and dragonblood nobles depicted in official propaganda. For the vast majority of the Empire's laborers, the Starfallen's departure had actually improved their lot—at the very least, employers could no longer drive wages down to absurd lows at will. On the front of external expansion, the Cinder Empire had likewise made substantial gains. The Southern Continent Expeditionary Force led by Count Jesai Swan had established a rock-solid foothold in the Katepa Region, raising impregnable fortresses that brought the territory firmly under Imperial control. Furthermore, the City of Tahan had become a major hub for the Empire's Southern Continent Conglomerate. Caravans continuously stationed themselves there to conduct trade, fostering flourishing prosperity within the city walls. They had even pushed their reach toward Thrace to the south, constructing fortresses along the border with the Kingdom of Thrace and routinely dispatching scouts on reconnaissance missions. Yet Thrace was so bogged down by the conflict to its south that it could only swallow its fury in silence, daring not utter a word of protest against the Empire's probing. Meanwhile, the Empire's conquests in the Elemental Plane of Fire proceeded with equal success. The Imperial Fire Plane Legion under Count Serkan's command had secured control over Pig Iron and Black Iron, two former efreeti cities, placing tens of thousands of elemental fire creatures under Imperial rule: salamanders, fire dwarves, magma dragons, and even efreet were now subjects of the Empire. Beyond that, he had established indirect colonial control over the Brass Fortress. Though ostensibly still the domain of the fire dwarves, the Brass Fortress had in reality become an Imperial outpost in the Elemental Plane of Fire. The industrious fire dwarves mostly worked for dragonblood nobles and merchant magnates hailing from the Empire, all under the guise of "free employment." As the war between the Genie Empire and the Holy Flame Legion grew fiercer by the day, the Empire seized the opportunity to sell arms to both sides, raking in staggering fortunes. They had even seized an efreeti city captured and subsequently abandoned by the Holy Flame Legion, rechristening it "New Northwind Keep"—Count Serkan being a Northwind native through and through. Down in the Underdark, the Cinder Empire's campaigns struck terror into native subterranean peoples: drow elves, duergar, marsh bearfolk, and deep gnomes alike. Black Wing, a city held by shadow dragonborn drow, had been mercilessly razed by Count Hart and his legion of skeletons, slaughtering every half-shadow dragonborn drow within its walls. The Empire's skeletal behir army swept across the depths like a deluge, making the Underdark tremble. Coupled with past tales of the World-Burning Dragon, the destruction of Dragonshadow City, and the demise of Mortifier, the Cinder Empire naturally became an entity that subterranean dwellers knew never to provoke. Another Imperial noble, Count Zaiko, struck lenient treaties with the duergar who had willingly submitted, offering them generous terms and spreading word of this benevolence across the Underdark. The Upper Underdark lay close to the surface to begin with, maintaining extensive contact with surface races through trade, raids, and conquest. Before long, surrounding city-states declared nominal fealty to the Empire one after another, including the deep gnomes of Sekorock City, the duergar of Hoanso, and the ratfolk of the subterranean realms... Even the drow of Menzoleia City sent envoys, seeking a temporary peace with the Empire. Ruthless and ambitious though they were, even these drow had no desire to recklessly cross an empire that commanded an undead legion and a red dragon. Thus, through a mixture of force and benevolence, the Empire's Underdark expeditionary force laid claim to a vast expanse of territory, rising as a rapidly expanding new power throughout the Upper Underdark. Little by little, the fame of the Cinder Empire spread far beyond the Feanso Continent, echoing across not just the Material Plane, but throughout the entire world of Elezerg. Yet in the eyes of inhabitants from different lands, the Cinder Empire held vastly different impressions. To some, it was a realm of guns and cannons; to others, a desolate outpost lashed by northern gales; to others still, an empire crawling with monsters, or the homeland of detestable Primes... Yet on one point, they all agreed—it was an empire ruled by a mighty dragon.