In the Thirteenth Age, 13 Icons struggle for the fate of the Dragon Empire, which rules the area where the Campaign is set. But for all their power, the Icons are not gods and mortal men have the power to shape their own destinies... or be ground underfoot by their own bad decisions.
It is 3 years since the 6000 anniversary of the Coronation of the First Emperor; many people predicted something would happen, whether a great blessing or a curse, or possibly the Orc Lord pulling the trigger on invading the Empire. Instead... the Empire held grand games in every city and a literal two week long feast in which everyone glutted themselves like mad. In the Great Cities, each day featured some dish from one of the Ages. On the final day, celebrants could sample dishes 'from Ages yet to come', prophesied by the Priestess.
Some pundits pointed to the time problems of the Third Age and the weird way the Twelfth Age ended to argue that we were a fair amount past the year 6000, and that's why the only thing of grand import was a giant party.
Many now expect when the Orc Lord does launch his kunitori, that will mark the end of the Age. But it's been a quiet enough one... by Imperial standards, that few want to see it go.
But if there is anything that 6000 years of history has taught the people of the Empire, it is this -- nothing lasts forever, not darkness nor light. If you persevere, good times will come again. The star of hope never sets.
But that won't help you if you become a footnote in the saga of the age. So go for the glory!
And ignore the distant laughter of those who want to see the Empire burn. Will you be the Heroes to determine how the Thirteenth Age turns?
Sophia IV the Seeker (5648 - 5679): The Twelfth Age ended mysteriously; in her early reign, she was mostly interested in having fun, but she turned very serious, probing into deep mysteries. She abdicated in 5679 to devote herself to seeking the truth and vanished in the Dragon Wood in 5688.
Zoe III (5734 - 5758): The eighth of eight children, all her siblings died before her; she is suspected to have killed two of them, but it's generally considered unlikely she engineered the hobgoblin invasion which killed three of her brothers and Demetrius chose to invade Skyport and die of his own free will. And she hadn't even been born yet when Doricus died by falling down the stairs. She played her own children against each other and was generally capricious and hard to deal with. Few were saddened when her taster chose to hide detecting poison and let her eat poison food and die. He was hung, of course, but she was dead and all rejoiced.
Constantine X (5844 - 5872): He briefly re-opened contact with lands across the Iron Sea, then bankrupted himself; he spent his final years eating and eating until he finally died. Legend claims a final mint caused him to explode, but actually he just had a heart attack and multiple strokes at the same time and died swiftly.
Christopher VII (5903 - 5922): He defeated a major gnoll uprising in his early years. Upon the appearance of the Orc Lord in 5922, he challenged the Orc Lord to single combat and died. To the surprise of all, the Orc Lord did not immediately invade, though he did unleash powerful raids for three years.
The Dragon Empire dates back to the First Age, when the first Emperor overthrew the Wizard King, who had become the Lich King, and established an empire which has waxed and waned over the centuries. It centers around seven powerful cities in the current age; other Great Cities have come and gone. The powerful kingdoms of the Elves and Dwarves currently pay fealty to it; there have been times past where they ruled the Empire in fact, if not in name. Beyond the Empire is only barbarians and monsters, though beyond those, far away, other kingdoms exist and in some ages, the Empire had contact with them.
This version of the page was edited by John at 2020-06-02 01:11:37. View the most recent version.