The Blood Empire

This is an article on the History of Feyworld
Years: c. 150 NC to c. 450 NC
Age: The Third Age of Man
Continent: Aurea
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The History of Dracia
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The Rise of the White Eagle in Dracia	The Domination of the Draci

Though Byrebanus unified the tribes of the Temesh river valley, he and his descendants were unable to tame the wild hill folk who lived in the foothills of the Antasian Mountains. For the most part, the Negruj had no interest in the lowlands, except for periodic cattle raids (and wife raids) into the valley.

During the reign of Cotyx the Fat, however, that abruptly changed. The Negruj began to raid the lowland villages of the Temesh river valley more forcefully and, as it soon became apparent, systematically. By the time King Cotyx figured out that the Negruj were organizing to test out his defenses, it was too late to respond. The Negruj had come under the domination of Zyrapys the Bloody, a sorceror and necromancer of unknown heritage who unified the Negruj and bands of ogres under his rule with the intent of carving a kingdom for himself along the Temesh river valley.

The lowland villages under King Cotyx were quickly overwhelmed. According to legend, Cotyx was captured by the Negruj trying to escape a battle wearing women's clothing. He was brought before Zyrapys in chains and, after being chained in a cesspit for a year, was castrated, disemboweled and, once he finally expired, was resurrected as Zyrapys' undead servant.

Zyrapys enslaved much of the lowlander population, executing anyone of noble blood he could find and transforming them into his undead minions(modern Dracian noble families are rife with stories about how they were able to avoid the slaughter, but most scholars assume at least some of these to be untrue). He established the Negruj as the ruling class of his newly-founded Kingdom, even granting territory to some of the more intelligent ogre chieftains who had remained loyal throughout his conquest. Zyrapys established his seat of power in the Citadel of Bone, near modern-day Ampuloca and, once his power over the upper Temesh river valley was secure, began sending his armies, now supported by legions of undead troops called the Mortivii, into the lower Temesh river valley to enslave the human populations all the way to Tanos Bay and northwest to the Brothers. Zarapys' dominion came to be known as the Blood Empire and brought terror to the people of central Aurea for nearly three centuries.

According to legend, Zarapys himself became undead at some point during this time, either through his own design or cursed by the gods for his numerous heresies. As the decades wore on, Zarapys came to rely more heavily on his undead servants and even the Negruj themselves started chaffing under his seemingly eternal rule. Despite numerous rebellions by various tribes, Zarapys clung to power, turning any who would revolt against him into mindless undead soldiers among the Mortivii.

In the end, none of these rebellions were successful in ending Zyrapys' reign. Three legendary heroes, Dobromir the Smith, Božena Flameweilder and Milivoj the Wily broke into the Citadel of Bone, fought through Zarapys' undead guardians and defeated the undead emperor. As news of Zarapys's defeat spread, the Blood Empire crumbled into open warfare.