Vorokhoi Cults

Legends of the Black Emperor, the Lord in Iron 

Fermas Vorokhoi, known today as the Black Emperor and the Lord in Iron, was a necromancer, warlord, and servitor of dark gods. He terrorized the Keller Lands for two centuries, from his first appearance in roughly -450KY to his ultimate downfall in -212KY.

At the beginning of his life, Fermas Vorokhoi was king of a small domain in the region now called “Pine March”, as well as a mage of some skill. He and his people were ethnic Sevastin, in constant competition with the Keller and Pershamon kingdoms beyond the mountains. The Sevastin were once widespread, but time and demographics forced them into an increasingly untenable position between the Keller and Pershamon. Seeking some means to power, King Fermas began consorting with the evil deities called the Mayravanha. It is rumored that he learned of their existence through contact with the Pershamon. Pershamon traders had long crossed the mountains, and indeed he had sought their assistance against the encroachment of the Keller. The Mayravanha offered King Fermas the power he needed, at a terrible price. In a single night, the legend says that he murdered all of his wives, children, and families in a sacrificial slaughter. In exchange, he became a conduit for unholy beings, gaining power over life and death. With personal immortality and the ability to slay and raise the dead at a whim, he proceeded to create an army of undead warriors. King Fermas was now personally unstoppable, and his small army quickly grew in size.

Fermas’ legions surged out from his homelands, making short work of neighboring kingdoms - indeed, any living soldier who fell in battle was liable to join Vorokhoi’s undead armies. Seeing the way the winds of war were blowing, numerous allies flocked to his banner, seeking power and the freedom to revel in madness and slaughter - Orcish war bands, deserters from human armies, barbarians who sought to back the strong horse, and motley other forces. King Fermas took on the title Emperor, becoming the first emperor in the Keller Lands.

Consolidating his gains in the -440’s, he ruled the lands now known as Pine March, Mismallon, Tempelhoff, and Halleck as a single unified nation, referred to as the Dark Empire. In addition to this territory, his armies controlled the coastline south of the Keller River. The Dark Empire was held at these borders at great effort by Gemric, Sarradastros, the Hyspedean Compact, and the Alikai Domains. Sannathkhai sat safe in its mountainous region, able to keep Fermas Vorokhoi out through extensive mystical defenses. It is known that he made frequent forays into Pershamon lands across the Farspar Mountains, but was rarely able to hold onto his gains. Emperor Fermas personally lived for two centuries, dominating the central Keller Lands through supernatural power, military might, and simple terror.

The Dark Empire was finally defeated by a coalition of the armies of the Pershamon, the Gemiri, the Alastin, the Noladen, and and the Alikai, a grand but unstable alliance of every major state that had managed to remain free of Emperor Fermas’ rule. After a long and devastating series of battles, the Black Emperor’s citadel in the mountains of northern Pine March was razed in -212KY. His palace was burned, and all visible traces of his empire were destroyed by the victors. Details of his rule were stricken from most historical records, and the era became a dimly remembered nightmare, rarely thought of and never spoken of openly. Even the specific location of his mountaintop citadel is lost to memory.

But the story of Fermas Vorokhoi didn’t end there. Darkness as a path to power has always held an attraction for the foolish, the impatient, the bitter, and the mad.