The Rise of the Empire

In the year 0 AE a powerful gold dragon united the races of Erathia under one Hegemony through conquest. Formerly around a dozen distinctive kingdoms made up the continent of Erathis with each its own monarchy, military and deities. The great gold dragon, Tarnaxys, justified his invasion by declaring he was uniting the races who served the gods in the dawn war.

Tarnaxys proved a fearsome ruler, backed by almost one hundred thousand elite dragon born warriors, and installed a powerful and stable government. Each former kingdom was recognised as a province and its former king its governor. Strangely, Tarnaxys's great conquest brought peace and for the first century of his rule the people of Erathia came to respect and honour his rule.

Amongst his first edicts were purges against goblinoid hordes, bandits, dark sorcerers, tyrannical monsters and corrupt nobility which left many ancient civilisations destroyed under the united wrath of the empire. He also founded the Church of the Twelve Aspects which brought the gods from every corner of his domain to equal standing.

The Golden Pact
However as the Gold dragon aged he become more and more weary of the world, distrusting his advisors and violently attacking his subjects who displeased him.

In an event known as the Golden Pact the dragon secretly retired. He came before his advisors and informed them that in a time of great danger he would return to rule his empire. Tarnaxys's legacy was a stable empire which united the races of Erathia. His Grand Vizier Tysis succeeded him and the Tysis continued his former masters work. He too also become loved, and when he grew older he installed his own son Varnax to the throne, hence creating a precedent for each Imperial Dynasty to come.

He took with him his most trusted servants and companions, with a number of other dragons in their number, and headed east breaking through the wall at Realmsend and across the Outplains. So no one would try to follow, his entourage left behind a giant wall of fire that burned in their wake and continued to do so for hundreds of years. When it finally died down, it left behind a patch of pitch black earth scourged by monsters and aberrations, perhaps changed by the magic. Of all the explorers and adventurers who have endeavoured to cross into the scorched lands in search of Taranxys have never been seen again.