Hundreds of years after the Phoenix Prince set out to unite the Vermilion Lands, and hundreds of years after his successors raised up their new capital, the City of Victory, the unthinkable happened. The City of Victory burned. A rebel army ransacked the imperial palace, an invading army hot on their heels. The Empire’s defenders … Read more
This is a mini-prologue of sorts, a tidied-up version of a scene I originally wrote (and posted) years ago. Enjoy! *** The Vermilion Empire has endured for hundreds of years. But now, its neighbours grow restive, its servants corrupt. The emperor lies dying. He has no heir. There is one man, Governor Kho, acceptable to … Read more
From an early stage, the Vermilion Empire benefited from its access to pegasi — a rare and precious resource. The Phoenix Prince relied heavily on pegasus riders as scouts and couriers; with their help, Vermilion columns could march separately, then coordinate and converge on their startled foes. Afterward, what the Vermilion soldiers won, the imperial … Read more
The Vermilions set their mark on their new conquests, and their conquests shaped them in turn. In the wake of the Vermilion soldiers came officials; and in the wake of the officials came migrants, eager for a better life than what their remote, windblown homeland could provide. At the same time, it soon became clear, … Read more
Once, the Vermilion Lands were known for nothing save the cinnabar that gave their name. Located in the remote west, divided between a patchwork of petty princes, and in thrall to the horse nomads of the interior, only a fool could imagine them as anything but a backwater. Until, in one Vermilion city along the … Read more