Lands of Tyranny
Day 19 of The Overlord, Year 416
Latest Events
The peninsula of the Blackened Dome was one of these corners of the Continent that has been so far ignored by the Empire in its conquest. Poor of resources and outside of any major trade route, it was indeed just the 'periphery' of the known world. Its territory was divided between the Free Cities, a group of city states in eternal rivalry between each other until not long ago, when finally the attention of the Overlord moved onto the region. An Army was tasked with subduing the Free Cities to the will of the Emperor, and its success was smooth and fast as the city-states failed to put their differences aside and unite into a single force.
Only the armies of Kressmor and Meridia proved a worthy enemy, but Kressmor was defeated and set under siege, while for Meridia the Emperor had another plan, the city was given an ultimatum, like many before: unconditional surrender, or face the wrath of the Overlord. The city counsel and its own people were proud and thought they could face the army of the invaders, possibly this time uniting with the force defending Kressmor, though many wiser were hurrying to voice their concerns over not surrendering quickly enough, and indeed, the surrender did not come swiftly enough. The Overlord proclaimed one of its Edicts, which made the clouds over Meridia start whirling and engulfing it and its walls, becoming hotter and hotter until they set ablaze everything in the city, sparing no one and even partly melting some of its walls
At dawn, after hours of this seemingly endless storm of sand and fire, only very few buildings were standing, while over the night, some desperate or crazy people ventured into the still burning ruins, only to hastily turn on their backs and flee, bringing with them tales of charred, obviously dead bodies still walking and running about to chase the living. Today the city stands as a charred, silent, deserted ruin littered with dried up corpses and skeletons that surface from the sands all over the place. While forbidden to spread tales of the unnatural, the tales of the walking, rotting corpses that littered the town still remain very common between the people of the Dome.
More than twelve years have passed since the destruction of Meridia in a single cataclysmic Edict called down by the will of the Emperor (count roughly May2021+4 month per RL month +3 months per wipe). In the aftermath of the destruction of the city, the surrounding landscape was altered almost beyond recognition, with verdant fields and rivers having withered into dust, becoming an arid desert region. The aftermath of the refugee crisis and food shortage that followed the cataclysmic conflict and event that culminated it are still felt to this day. Even so, the region is slowly moving on and adapting to its new condition, even as life has begun to return to the ruins of the past, albeit its protagonists speaking different languages and carrying a different culture: settlers, who, independently from the reasons they arrived in the region, are effectively taking over the lands and homes of its previous Domite inhabitants. Despite the constant threat of aggressive Ogroid and Beastkin tribes, the majority of the most troublesome groups have been pacified, with the creatures forced to further retreat into burrows, caves, or very remote areas. The groups of Elven terrorists that once plagued the region have been reduced to a less significant threat.
Then about ten years after the end of the occupation and subjugation of the Dome was completed, the Empire was rocked to its core by news once thought to be impossible: the death of the Emperor, and later an even more impossible news: his subsequent resurrection, only months later.
Recently, a series of new laws have come into effect that are particularly relevant to the nobility and their control of the lands, especially in the still-restive Black Dome region. Rumors are already spreading that some nobles have begun to recruit small groups of mercenaries for personal protection and law enforcement
Perhaps surprisingly, the Imperial Army has still not returned to its previous numbers in the Dome. Some speculate the Legion is still occupied with maintaining the peace in the Imperial Heartland, while others believe that the Legion has been ordered to only hold the major mountain passes in and out of the Black Dome, the city of Kressmor, and a series of small forts along the coast and the main rivers, such as the Tredimont, the wide sailable river just south of Meridia. Rumors have spread that the local garrisons have even been ordered not to take part in any possible squabbles among the nobility, and only to monitor the situation.
In seedy taverns and remote settlements, rumors have begun to circulate that a group of partisans comprised of former members of the Kressmor Guard, surviving veterans of Meridia's armies, and even non-Human rebel cells have been gathering at an abandoned fortress once known as the Two Sisters, and more recently called the "White Home" by Meridians. The fortress is said to be situated deep in the almost impregnable mountains, far from the eyes of Imperial agents and loyalists. Little is known about the goals, numbers, or resources of this disparate group of anti-Imperials, but their very existence suggests that someone or some group has been providing material aid and support, and will need to keep doing so to allow them to persist. All of these recent events contribute to an uneasy atmosphere and rising tensions between the local Domites and the colonists and settlers immigrating from all over the Empire.
Author: Rashan