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Out of the devastation wrought by the gods during the Dark Quintmillennium rose many powerful warlords. The bards sing of many heroes and warlords of the past, but by far the most famous of these was the half-elfin warlord, Ro.
He and his band of followers, the Fellowship of the Glass Sword, gathered under their leadership the banners of many powerful chieftains and warlords. They cleared the countryside of the misbegotten creatures spawned by the chaos of the Dark Quintmillennium. Ro's invincible armies destroyed all those that opposed him and within 50 years of the formation of the Fellowship of the Glass Sword. He had established an empire that stretched from the west coast of Fälgorna to the Spineridge Mountains.
The people of Ro's land loved him, for riches and prosperity beyond their wildest dreams came to them because of his conquests. The peoples of the lands he conquered feared his very name and as often as not surrendered, placing their lives at his mercy, rather than fighting only to face slavery at their defeat.
Ro soon realized that the empire forged in the blood of mighty warriors could only be ruled for a short time by one not anointed by the gods. This realization led Ro to the high priest of Omega, Zon the Righteous, who he asked to crown him as emperor of the known world. Whether through loyalty to his leader, coercion or other means, it is not know, but Zon the Righteous complied with Ro’s wishes and anointed him Emperor of the Known World in the year F.A. 2917.
Ro's heirs ruled after him for nearly 1,000 years, conquering new lands with each season that passed. At the peak of the dynasty's power the empire included virtually all of western Fälgorna, the island of Coltus, the island of Cylene, several provinces in the Spineridge Mountains and much of present day Pel.
As will happen when an empire, a kingdom or even a city-state becomes to content in its prosperity, the rulers and people of Roland became soft and decadent, ignoring the growing animosity of the subject kingdoms. A long line of ineffectual rulers wore the crown of Ro. Rebellion sparked in the subject kingdoms, but only small amounts of territory were lost.
In the reign of Martin I, a good emperor for his day but also a man of his time, an assassin contracted by one of the subject kingdoms killed the emperor. The death of the childless Martin I ignited a war of succession which threw the empire into a raging civil war. Various claimants to the thrown vied for power, and maybe one could have taken the crown had it not been for the unexpected assault on the capitol by an alien warrior-mage, Ceta-Tha the Terrible.
Ceta-Tha marched across the land killing all who opposed him. The crucified corpses of soldiers unfortunate enough to be taken alive littered the roads along which his army of men, conjured creatures, humanoids and giants passed. Within a month, Ceta-Tha and an elite strike force of 200 expert ogre warriors took the palace. Ceta-Tha's seizure of the crown marked the beginning of the Second Age.
No one escaped save for Martin's queen, Elowi, who bore his child still in the womb. The last to die in the assault, Ythbon the high priest of Omega, prophesied as he gasped for air with blood filled lungs the return to the thrown of the true heir of Roland.
A direct descendant of Martin I may be alive, but he has made no attempt regain the thrown from the usurper. A group ironically calling itself the Fellowship of the Glass Sword however causes constant trouble for the usurper Ceta-Tha. Their terrorists attacks on the house of Ceta-Tha and other royal demises have gone unpunished despite the efforts of the Nastasi, the secret police of Ceta-Tha. The group claims the leadership of the rightful heir to the thrown.
During Ceta-Tha's over 1,000 year reign (many believe him to be a lich or some other vile form of undead), Roland has become a fascist state. The state controls every facet a citizen's life. The Nastasi enforce the emperor's will through fear and coercion. Since his reign began many who have become to vocal in the disapproval of the crown have mysteriously disappeared.
The demihumans races have been outlawed. Demihumans in Roland are not allowed to own property, hold public office, membership in a guild or serve in the military. The crown requires demihumans to carry identifying papers at all times and wear a mark on their outer garments which identifies them as unclean. Demihumans may not frequent the streets of a city after dark and may not travel without permission. Demihumans who violate these strictures fill the emperor's death camps.
Ceta-Tha reconquered the subject kingdoms that had received some measure of autonomy under the weak emperor's in the last year's before the assassination of Martin I. The rulers of these provinces now rule at his whim. Ceta-Tha maintains these areas as buffers against the powerful eastern states allied against him. These buffer kingdoms include: Keto, Ravencraft, Coltus, Arken, Iré, Garin, Ether and Nyfor.
The Erie of Bloodlock and the City-state of Rush have been constant adversaries of the alien emperor of Roland. Despite his greatest efforts to the contrary, his armies have met with little success in their attempts to conquer these states.
The armies of Roland consist of 250,000 heavy foot, 50,000 light foot, 20,000 heavy cavalry, 40,000 medium cavalry and 40,000 light cavalry. The navy of Roland consists of 1,700 warships and 3,000 galleys. Royal marines number 25,000.
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