Chapter 5.2 – The Rise of the Imperium of Man
The Dream of a Mortal Empire
The elder races of Eldoria—elves, dwarves, orcs, and trolls—believed that the kingdoms of men would forever remain divided, fractured by greed, ambition, and war. Unlike the long-lived elves, whose wisdom spanned centuries, or the steadfast dwarves, whose lineage was carved into stone, men burned bright but faded fast. Their kingdoms rose and fell like the tide, their rulers slain before their legacies could take root.
But one man would defy this fate. One man would unite the scattered kingdoms of men under a single banner, forging a legacy so unbreakable that even the gods would take notice.
His name was Alric Vandarion, the First Emperor of Men.
And with his rise, the Imperium of Man was born.
The Origins of Alric Vandarion – From Exile to Conqueror
Before he was a king, before he was an emperor, Alric Vandarion was a man without a home.
Born the bastard son of a noble from the Kingdom of Vandraal, he was raised not in courts of gold, but in the blood-soaked fields of battle. When his father was slain in a civil war, his family was cast down, their name erased from the annals of history.
Yet Alric did not flee. He did not bow. He endured.
He fought as a mercenary, learning the ways of war from orc warbands and human sellswords alike. He studied under elven tacticians, mastering the art of strategy and patience. He wandered the lands of the dwarves, learning the value of endurance and the strength of unbreakable steel.
For two decades, he watched as petty kings waged petty wars, each claiming to be the true ruler of men.
And he swore that one day, he would claim not just a kingdom, but an empire.
The Conquest of the Human Kingdoms
At the age of thirty, Alric returned from exile with an army of hardened warriors at his back. He did not ask for a throne—he took it.
The Battle of the Crimson Fields The first kingdom to fall was Vandraal, the very empire that had cast him out. Alric's forces, outnumbered five to one, lured the enemy into the Crimson Fields, where he burned the land behind them, cutting off their retreat. King Edric IV, the last ruler of Vandraal, knelt before Alric and swore fealty before his execution.
With Vandraal under his rule, Alric marched on.
The Siege of Blackspire Keep The Blackspire Kingdom, known for its powerful mages and warlocks, sought to resist him with sorcery. But Alric had studied under the elves—he knew their tricks, their weaknesses. He devised anti-magic runes, gifted by dwarven runepriests, and his soldiers stormed the keep. The Magelords of Blackspire fell, their towers shattered. The Final War – The War of Iron and Fire The last remaining human kingdom, Drakenholm, was the most powerful of all. Their king, Rhaegar Drakenholt, wielded an army of dragon-riders, warriors mounted on wyverns and drakes. Alric, knowing he could not fight them in the open, turned to the dwarves. With dwarven ballistae and weapons forged from mithril and runestone, his armies shot the dragons from the sky. Rhaegar Drakenholt was slain in battle, and his kingdom fell in a single night.
With Drakenholm defeated, there was no one left to challenge Alric.
The human kingdoms were united. And thus, the Imperium of Man was born.
The Declaration of the Imperium
In the Year of the Golden Crown, Alric Vandarion stood atop the Throne of Eldoria, the first man to rule not a kingdom, but an empire.
He declared himself Emperor of the Imperium of Man, no longer a mere king, but the sovereign ruler of all mortal men.
The elder races took notice.
The elves watched from their enchanted forests, wary of this empire that had grown so swiftly. The dwarves reinforced their mountain holds, preparing for the day that men would march upon their halls. The orcs and trolls, once the greatest conquerors, saw in Alric a warlord unlike any before.
And yet, despite their fears, Alric did not seek war.
Instead, he did what no human ruler had ever done before.
He summoned the lords of elves, dwarves, orcs, and trolls to the first-ever Council of Eldoria, where he would offer them a choice:
Stand as allies, or be swept aside by the march of mankind.
The Strength of Mortals
For the first time in history, the elder races saw that men were not just survivors, not just warriors—but rulers.
They did not possess the immortality of elves, yet they built empires that outlasted lifetimes. They did not have the endurance of dwarves, yet they carved cities that reached the heavens. They did not wield the primal fury of orcs and trolls, yet they conquered the world through steel and strategy.
Alric Vandarion had proven one truth:
Men were not lesser beings. They were the future.
The Legacy of Alric Vandarion
The rise of the Imperium of Man marked the end of the First Age and the beginning of the Second Age.
Though the elder races still held their power, they knew that they could never again ignore the will of men.
And as Alric Vandarion sat upon his throne, gazing upon the vast empire he had forged, he spoke the words that would define the new age:
"The old world has ended. This is the age of mortals. And it shall be written in steel and blood."