The True Empire of Kaegor (Old Empire)
What is now known as the True Empire—though more commonly called the Old Empire—was once no more than the easternmost satrapy of the great Empire of Kaegor. In those days, it stood as a distant but loyal frontier province, governed in the name of the Kaegorian Emperors. That loyalty was tested when Kaegor XIII, regarded by his followers as the last rightful emperor, was overthrown by Innocence. In the chaos that followed, the eastern satrapy refused to recognise the authority of the newly declared Divine Emperor, instead proclaiming its continued allegiance to the fallen Kaegorian line.
In the generations since, the Kaegorian Empire has endured in the east under the rule of Emperor Kaegor XIX, a successor who maintains the ancient claim with unwavering conviction. To them, the western realms—those that accepted Innocence and his Divine Empire—are nothing less than traitors who abandoned the rightful order. Officially, relations are cold and marked by deep contempt. Yet in practice, necessity has tempered ideology. Trade routes remain open, envoys are received, and cooperation occurs when it serves mutual interests, even if both sides would deny it.
Cut off from its former heartlands and consumed by bitterness, the Old Empire has taken a darker path. Where once it upheld the traditions of Kaegor, it now draws strength from harsher, more unforgiving powers. The Kaegorian Army venerates Hextor, god of war, discord, and ruthless conquest, embracing a creed that values strength, discipline, and domination above all else. Under his influence, the army has become a brutal instrument, forged not only for victory but for absolute control. Beyond the battlefield, the empire’s merchants and financiers devote themselves to Zahak, a demigod embodying commerce, ambition, and unrestrained greed. Trade flourishes under their guidance, but without compassion or restraint; profit is pursued at any cost, and those unable to compete are quickly crushed or consumed by debt.
For the lower classes, life is harsher still. The poor, the weak, and the indebted are bound into systems of labour and servitude overseen by the clergy of Bralm, the slaver goddess of industry and insects. Under her watchful doctrine, society is regimented and efficient, every individual reduced to a function within a greater whole. Freedom is a luxury few can afford, and mercy rarer still. Thus the Old Empire endures,disciplined, bitter, and unyielding. It clings to the past even as it reshapes itself into something harsher and more dangerous, a state driven as much by resentment as by ambition, waiting for the day it might reclaim what it believes was stolen from it.
The History of the Old Empire
East Warlderia was spared much of the devastation that marked the early Wars of Wars of Kaegor the Great. For a time, its lands remained distant from the great struggles that reshaped the west. It was only after the Peace of Melthurien that human expansion turned eastward, as restless and rebellious forces sought new territories beyond the reach of old powers. The turning point came with the daring campaign of the human general Pamarian. Rather than advancing by land as all human armies had done before, he chose a bold and unprecedented course. He led a fleet across the sea, landing on the peninsula that would one day be crowned by the grim fortress of Tervingard. It was a calculated gamble. The Elves were masters of the sea, and the Dwarves of the Eastern Mountains would have crushed any overland advance. To sail was to defy expectation itself—and that defiance became his greatest weapon.
Pamarian’s fleet, a ragged collection of barges, galleys, and cogs, succeeded precisely because it was so improbable. The Elves had not imagined such a move, and so they were unprepared. From his landing, Pamarian marched north with only a modest force, gathering followers as he went—settlers, opportunists, and warriors drawn by the promise of conquest. His early battles were swift and opportunistic, striking at scattered and unready enemies. His most decisive blow fell upon the Elves of Gleaming Tovaj, a shining coastal stronghold that would later become known as True Kaegoria. Catching them unawares, he descended upon their harbours and burned their fleet at anchor, dealing a crippling blow to their naval dominance. Though the Elves retaliated with devastating magic, raining fire upon his forces and forcing a temporary retreat, their mastery of the Indersta Sea was broken.
Reinforcements soon followed. More men arrived by sea, swelling Pamarian’s ranks and securing his foothold. What followed was a brutal and unrelenting campaign. The war he waged was neither noble nor restrained. The Forest of Bowden was set ablaze, its ancient growth reduced to ash, while the Glens of Serenity were hacked down and burned in a systematic destruction of the Elven domains. In little more than a dozen years, he forced the Elves back—south into Gleaming Tovaj and north toward Lamure—while also repelling a determined Dwarven assault at Polymera. In response to this devastation, the Fey sage-wizard Mav Id’Erian unleashed an act of terrible power. Calling down what became known as a “tear from heaven,” he brought ruin upon the invading forces. The celestial strike fell near the ruins of Bowden, shattering the earth itself. A choking cloud spread across the land, turning day into dusk and killing thousands of men where they stood.
Yet even this did not end the invasion. Whether through resilience or sheer ruthlessness, Pamarian rallied what remained of his army. Undeterred by the devastation, he pressed onward, gathering strength for one final, decisive strike—his sights set upon the radiant and ancient Elven city itself.
“It was not merely that they sacked and looted but that they did and could not appreciate that which they destroyed. Like a vulture feeding on the corpse of a gifted poet, their sacrilege was beyond their comprehension.” The Ghost of Tovaj
The sack of Tovaj marked the end of the war in the south-east. What victory remained was hollow. The land itself had been broken, its air fouled, its fields withering, and its rivers tainted. Both Man and Elf were left exhausted, their strength spent and their will to continue dulled by sickness and loss. There was no final triumph, only a grim silence as the fighting faded, not through peace, but through sheer inability to go on. In the aftermath, Pamarian turned his back on the ruined south. He marched north with what remained of his forces and established a stronghold at Udrakadesh. There, at the height of his power yet worn by years of relentless war, he died on his fortieth birthday. His passing marked the end of an era defined by ambition, brutality, and unyielding conquest.
Not long after, Kaegor himself arrived by land at the shattered remains of Tovaj, having secured the territories south of the Dwarven Mountains. Recognising the strategic importance of the region, he ordered the construction of the fortress of Tervingard to command the Straits of Hope. With this, he ensured control of the vital sea passage before returning to his new capital, never again to set foot in the lands that had cost so much to claim. For more than a decade, the region lay abandoned. The poisoned earth yielded nothing, and few dared remain among the ash and lingering death. Only when the strong eastern winds had slowly driven away the worst of the corruption did life begin to return. The land, though scarred, became habitable once more.
It was then that men came again—not as conquerors, but as settlers. They rebuilt upon the ruins of the past, raising the city of Pamarian atop the broken remains of Tovaj. From there, they spread outward, reclaiming the surrounding lands and establishing new communities where once there had been only ruin. For a time, stability returned. The east prospered in its own way, distant from the struggles that plagued the heartlands. This fragile order endured until the great collapse of the Kaegorian Empire. As the west descended into deprivation and disorder, its crises rippled outward, forcing the eastern territories to fracture into competing successor states. Only a handful remained steadfast in their loyalty—those who would, in time, become known as the True Empire, clinging to the legacy of Kaegor long after it had faded elsewhere.
