Crimson Empire

The **Crimson Empire**, formerly the **Crimson Dukedom** is a warring nation founded by Richard Archeron. A proxy empire used to supply the Archeron war machine and establish a true foothold in Faelor.

It is an empire that enveloped all of the Bloodstained Lands, Sequoia Kingdom, Iron Triangle Empire, and the Ancestral Barbarian Plains. They would later be the sole superpower in all of western Faelor, surpassing even the three millenia of the Iron Triangle.

After the Reaper War, they are the only remaining empire that stood in Faelor. Most of its inhabitants were placed in the Forest Plane near Emerald City,

## Overview

### **Crimson Duke**

Richard was also the ruler of a powerful Dukedom, a chosen of three goddesses, the one who repelled the planar invasion a few years ago, and many other things. There was almost nobody on the entire plane who didn’t know the name of Richard Archeron.

Tiramisu, Waterflower, Phaser, and Gangdor weren’t the only powerhouses to be afraid of; the Crimson Duke himself was the strongest of them all. The weakest of his troops was level 10. With the difference in mounts and equipment only furthering that gap, even a humanoid could kill five or six footsoldiers just rushing in blindly.

### **War Effort**

Before the reaper war, there was no shortage of battles in the Crimson Dukedom, but Richard was guaranteed to triumph in every one while the most dangerous missions were undertaken almost solely by the drones. They got to chase down routed troops and clean up the battlefield while travelling in luxury that even many merchants could not afford. Their equipment reduced the chance of injury or death, while the pay was amongst the best in Faelor. There was no better country for a soldier to serve than the Crimson Dukedom.

Even someone like Raymond felt as though he couldn’t breathe as he started thinking deeply about Richard’s actions so far. Rare minerals were being drained from Faelor constantly, the astral chrysalis ferrying 3,000 tonnes of resources to Norland on a weekly basis, but equipment and resources from Norland were also being poured into this plane as well. It was almost an equal exchange, but as the middleman Richard’s lands had grown prosperous everywhere; many would even say he was conjuring his wealth out of thin air.

However, Richard was actually looking at the long term. Instead of burning through Faelor, he was building sustainable trade that would last centuries or even millennia. Even just ten years of development had turned the Crimson Dukedom into a centre of power in the west of Faelor, with countless people flocking to the country in the hopes of fulfilling their dreams of wealth and luxury. Many of them even succeeded, only lighting the fire of hope in those watching on.

## Timeline

### **3 Years**

After 3 years of development, it was now a major power in Faelor, and despite its nominal attachment to the Sequoia Kingdom, many privately called it the Crimson Kingdom. It seemed like a simple change, but this was the demarcation between any noble’s land and a territory that was truly to be feared for its might.

And feared it was. The Crimson Dukedom was no weaker than a proper empire, with a population of more than five million, an enormous number of slaves, and a standing army of 100,000 soldiers backed by a slave force of 50,000. The slave army was special in that three years of service there with a certain level of military achievements qualified these slaves to become regular citizens of the country; this made them fight tooth and nail in every battle. 6;9

### **12 Years**

With a decade of development behind it, the Crimson Dukedom had a population of more than ten million; with most of these residents having moved in from the outside, the number of strong, young men was quite large. The entire Dukedom could easily mobilise an army of more than 500,000 strong. 7;78

### **13 Years**

Runai’s divine kingdom had finally collapsed a month before Richard’s return, the burning landmass falling into the depths of darkness like a meteor streaking through the sky. Her fall had shaken all of Faelor, drastically changing the attitudes of the pantheon to the three goddesses and, by extension, Richard. Some had grown friendly, but even former enemies now just remained neutral.

Many of the human countries have sworn fealty to the empire, while the bigger ones are requesting alliances. Considering the treaties, they’re vassals too, in all but name. Almost a third of Faelor’s map was now covered in dark red, areas including the Iron Triangle Empire that the Crimson Dukedom directly controlled. All along the perimeter were swathes of lighter red, indicating independent countries that were allies or had sworn fealty. Most of the blank areas were barren lands unsuitable for life, while some belonged to countries south of the Crimson Dukedom’s southern allies that Richard hadn’t yet conquered.

On the other hand, Gangdor’s forces had finally occupied the eastern coast, wiping out the last of the armies the coastal alliance had cobbled together. He now controlled over a dozen dukedoms and one kingdom that had been resisting strongly, the royal lines all eliminated. He was now probing Walvis Bay, trying to look across the Stormfront Ocean that had no recorded crossing till date.

The Stormfront Ocean was said to be an endless expanse forbidden even to the deities, with even divine avatars not daring to pass through. However, Gangdor was just the type of person that such a description roused into action.

### **Aftermath of the Reaper War**

Back in Faelor, things were finally starting to stabilise. Salwyn had taken up the position of Prime Minister of the Crimson Empire and was managing the plane in Richard’s stead. The former emperor was even given access to Goldflow Valley and the Forest Plane, taking care of internal affairs there as well. While he shuttled between his three dominions, his permanent residence was to be in Faelor where he would dedicate the rest of his life to returning the plane to its original splendour.

Richard’s destruction of the reapers had garnered Salwyn’s undying loyalty. He had wanted to be transformed by the broodmother and become a special unit so he could live longer, but had to give up on the idea when he was told that he would slowly lose his independence and creativity in such a relationship. Thankfully, the Forest Plane gave Richard a constant supply of fruits of life while his proximity to the Eternal Dragon ensured he never truly lacked blessings of time for his inner circle. Time would not be a problem for at least a few decades, if not centuries.

Salwyn truly was a genius administrator, comparable to when Raymond had managed things in Faelor. Richard only needed to tell him what he wanted done, and things would be settled quickly. Although Faelor was a secondary plane, its potential and resources were high enough for it to advance.

Had Richard not landed here by accident, the Iron Triangle Empire would have reached a new peak under Salwyn’s rule. Of course, it would then have been destroyed by the invasion of the reapers. Fate tended to work in strange ways, often taking away some things and compensating for them later in one’s life.

## Background

At this point, Richard’s position in Faelor had been stabilised completely. He was now almost a tyrant of his own region, someone with astonishing military strength that could stand toe to toe with the best. Armies of tens of thousands had already fell against his elite troops of a few hundred to a thousand. It only took minutes to end wars and rebellions with just the onslaught of the rune knights.

Those perceptive enough realised that the entirety of the Sequoia Kingdom had now become his backyard. He had annihilated multiple potential opponents over a series of wars, and more importantly crushed the audacity of the Kingdom’s nobles until they couldn’t even think of antagonising him. For the next decade at least, his authority would not be contested with any seriousness.

On the other hand, he also had absolute control of the Kingdom’s economy. Almost all of the minerals flowing in now came through the Bloodstained Highway, and he was the single most valued person to the dwarves, particularly the Fireforges. The slaves that the Kingdom relied on also came from what was now the Crimson Dukedom, and the trade required a hefty tax. The only thing the royal family had was food and wine, but in a world where one farmer could feed ten mouths at minimum this was worth very little.

There was an intangible benefit as well. Because Richard seemed to have given up personal profits for the greater good, he was now someone with a reputation for benevolence and selflessness. It greatly endeared him to the commoners and soldiers of the land. 5;11

### **Unrivalled**

In Faelor, the name of the Crimson Dukedom had travelled far and wide. The more noticeable of Richard’s followers like Gangdor and Tiramisu had their reputations grow in tandem. Everyone knew that the Crimson Dukedom had a large group of saints gathered within, so strong that even sub-legendary warriors would return in low spirits if faced with them.

Calls to topple the Dukedom rose up throughout the Iron Triangle Empire, but they were quickly quashed. Everyone now believed Salwyn’s assessment of Richard: it would be near impossible to win a battle against him without at least three times the manpower. However, it was far too late to do that; considering Richard’s current army size, they would need an army of 200,000 elite troops. 5;33

The famous general Andrieka had appeared once again, the mysterious black-clothed advisor stood next to him. Broodmother creations. Andrieka’s strategy at the ancestral plains was different from what he had used in the holy war. The troop formations this time showed more patience and fortitude, with no mistakes made even if the battles dragged on for days.

## Uprising

Having quelled all the rebellions, Richard gathered the assembly of lords for another meeting where he formally announced the establishment of the Crimson Dukedom under his rule. However, he did not break away from the Sequoia Kingdom and instead drafted a similar treaty to what existed with the Direwolf Duke.

Nobody could bring themselves to express joy over this development. Richard was not showing allegiance with his actions but instead demonstrating that he planned to continue interfering with the Kingdom’s affairs. It was clear that he had no plans to let the royal family go.

Another matter he mentioned was the addition of the lands he was taking over as a frontier knight. With the Bloodstained Lands already acquired, he now added the Land of Turmoil, Ashen Plateau, and the ancestral plains of the barbarians to his basket. These treacherous areas had left humans helpless for many years, but with the glorious feat of unifying the Bloodstained Lands in only a few years, nobody doubted his ability to accomplish this.

A map of the Crimson Dukedom was hung up in Sequoia City. It enveloped all of the Bloodstained Lands, the fief he had received from Bevry, and small plots of land that had been snatched from the Iron Triangle Empire and Sequoia Kingdom.

Lastly, he announced the conclusion of the holy war. Outside of the northeastern regions of the Kingdom, the three goddesses would completely replace the Church of Valour. The parishes belonging to the God of Valour would now fall under their control, also transferring the tax paid by the citizens of these parishes to their churches. Conversions would not be forced on the commoners, but a few nobles related to the Church of Valour noticed the emphasis on the word commoners*. Book 5, Chapter 11*

## History

When his absence had first been confirmed, the Empire had sent Salwyn himself with a small army to probe the Dukedom’s borders. It was said that Rislant’s most skilled aide had been a party to this excursion, but Andrieka had appeared once more and forced a decisive battle at an awkward time and place. 10,000 Empire soldiers had been faced with 8,000 of the Dukedom but were beaten back and could only escape with 3,000 left alive.

Legends of the battle were still being sung by bards. Both armies had constantly charged, flanked, and ambushed each other, but in the end Andrieka rose to fame as another terrifying general in all of Faelor. Salwyn had delivered a secret report to the Emperor that concluded thus: Andrika was an outstanding general, second only to Richard himself.

Even in the Crimson Dukedom, few knew about Andrieka’s true identity. “He” was both nowhere and everywhere at the same time; any elite shadowspear knight could wear that specific suit of armour and become Andrieka on the battlefield. All commands came from a combination of Raymond and the cloned brain.

Many more had been captured from the Iron Triangle Empire than killed. The Crimson Dukedom at this point was famous for its restraint from unnecessary murder; captives were rarely mistreated, and the injured could even be healed thanks to the sheer excess of clerics. The lightly wounded were cured completely, while the seriously wounded would survive.

This made Richard even more endearing to the commoners, but to high society this policy was a headache. The Crimson Dukedom always ransomed off their captives, and if one didn’t meet that ransom price then one’s own citizens would be inclined to revolt. However, this meant there was a huge inflow of cash to the Dukedom that put severe financial stress on the losers. Even worse, the soldiers fighting in these wars would act more reserved, knowing that they would only lose their life if they were far too aggressive on the battlefield.

### **Show of Force**

Andrieka’s spider banner was placed atop the Iron Triangle Empire on his war map, with Gangdor being assigned to the rest of the human kingdoms. Both were terrifying generals in their own right; one for ‘his’ unpredictable deployment of troops, and the other for his sheer might and upfront leadership.

However, the true terror was the volcano and world tree insignia of Richard himself, what was now known as the apocalypse tree.

Before he left Faelor for the Battlefield of Despair, Richard had once said, “Let even those we step over live better lives. That is what gives us more warriors and believers.”

## References

1. ↑ Book 6, Chapter 12
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Book 7, Chapter 93
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Book 8, Chapter 34
4. ↑ Book 8, Chapter 35
5. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 82
6. ↑ Boom 5, Chapter 52
7. ↑ Book 6, Chapter 27