Four centuries ago a comparatively young red dragon named Loerth killed a mage. The mage had a magic ring. When he captured another mage and demanded to know what the ring did, the mage informed him that it was a ring of polymorph self. The mage explained that it was programmed to turn the wearer into a squirrel. He went on to explain that the ring had one charge left, and that, if the dragon would spare him, he would reprogram the ring and recharge it free of charge. The dragon smiled and agreed. After the mage finished the spells, Loerth killed him. He then put on the ring, polymorphing into a huge, bearded human male of approximately middle age. The red had always been curious about his enemy.
He then entered a town called Daristown. No sooner did he enter than he got into a barfight. He was still a red dragon, after all, and his arrogance got the better of him. He killed the human that had insulted him, and discovered that HE was now in charge. He had murdered the corrupt ruler of the town. He then discovered something amazing. These humans gave him a castle and paid him gold without him having to DO anything!!! This amazed the dragon. Soon enough, he set out to "hoard" the rest of the towns on the southern part of the continent. He also changed the town's name to Loerth.
This proved more difficult than he thought. The years passed. He learned to stay in human form to conserve his ring's charges. Since everyone thought he was "King Loerth", he didn't want his secret known. He chose mages carefully and told them his secret. He periodically had them change his "appearance" and reappeared as his own "son". This went on for a long time as he conquered all but two towns. Kingsville and Locansville managed to defeat him every time. He had long since conquered the orcs and hobgoblins, using them as his army. He forced an uneasy alliance between the two races. He also makes a practice of entering towns he has conquered to recruit in the taverns. He also tries to recruit the local law to his army as well.
A century after he took over the castle he grew bored. He began a long and bloody battle with the other dragons, Metallic and Chromatic alike. Thus began the Great Dragonfire War. Before long, much of the center of the southern portion of this continent was destroyed. This did not overly concern the great red, however, since he had conquered the southeastern coastal area already. The dragons finally banded together against him. They hid their eggs in the Dwarven Mountains. They put a stasis spell on them and left Materna, a gold dragon, in charge. They put her under a sleep spell. They begged Otho, The Great God of the Forge, to implore his faithful dwarves to stand guard. He did. No one knows how long ago the battle was finally won, but everyone in Loerth now thinks that dragons are children's fairy tales.
He couldn't FIND the elves, and this infuriated him. They had some sort of power over magic that he wanted. It seemed to flow in their veins somehow. He couldn't understand it, and thus he feared it. As a magical creature, he feared they were more powerful than he was. He didn't know that the long lived race had built tunnels under the trees in their portion of the woods. They spent their days in the trees and their nights underground. (See the page on Loerth Elves for more on the magical ability)
The dwarves hiding in the mountain proved no threat, so he concentrated on the humans first. He had to conqueror those towns. His defeat by humans humiliated him.
Kingsville eventually fell. Right after that, there was a great battle for control of Locansville. (See "The Battle") Though the townspeople were victorious, many of their knights fell. Three months later a cleric was murdered, and a small party set out to find the killer. (See "A Grand Adventure) During this quest, a mage named Joran, much beloved by the townspeople, was also killed. The party members realized that they had been tricked out of town and rushed back to help. During THIS battle, the town was once more saved, but Loerth attacked again one year later, and the ravished town fell.
Loerth recruits the knights, or so he thinks. (see the page on Locansville knights to find the kit on them and their code of conduct and chain of command) The Captain, Sir Wilhelm, retired in protest. What Loerth doesn't realize is that Wilhelm has not retired and the knights are waiting to completely infiltrate the army so they can fight back from inside. The people of Locansville do not know this, and their respect for the knights plummets. Now, Loerth is poised on the brink of what he's always wanted. He has but to conquer the elves and dwarves to own this part of the continent. He will then cross the mountains to conquer the entire continent! That is, unless someone stops him.
Loerth's takeovers are usually violent and brutal. Almost everyone in the Western Portion of Loerth has lost someone in one of the attacks. This means that most of the inhabitants of this portion of Southern Loerth hates Loerth with a passion. On the other hand, those on the Eastern portion of the Southern continent are very loyal to Loerth. They will defend him with all they are worth.
The final thing that Loerth isn't aware of is why his ring has begun "malfunctioning". The mages in his employ have learned over the years that "retirement" means a pine box, so one of them decided to take a little revenge on his way out. When he realized that he was outliving his usefulness he added a little extra to the spell on the ring. When Loerth gets angry parts of his true form will show through (red eyes, growling voice, claws instead of hands) and if he gets angry enough he will revert completely. This mage hoped that someone would learn the secret that way. It took a few generations but the Alave siblings were finally able to make him angry enough. Too bad no one believes them
