The Brodkil Empire

The Brodkil Empire arose out of the efforts of several Brodkil warlords. It began before the Post-Apocalyptic calendar as a few scattered tribes allied together to destroy the, then fledgling, NGR. The tribes' warriors, all superior to the devastated human population, came crashing out of Russia, through Poland and right up to the border villages of the newly formed Republic. Many of the humans believed they would perish, taking their own lives to escape the horrors that the Brodkil would visit upon them.

While the Brodkil razed the border villages, destroying anything they came across that was even similar to a human (including elves, dwarves, and anything that stood against them), the newfound government was building up its resources. Many of cyber-knights, psychics, mages and English knights joined the army as they marched toward the Brodkil horde.

Upon reaching the borders, the Brodkil attacked in a frenzy. The humans were pushed back under the overwhelming tide of demons. After six months of falling back, fortifying, then falling back again, the humans finally managed to hold the Brodkil at bay, eventually repelling them back into what used to be Poland. The war had lasted ten years.

By this time, the Post-Apocalyptic calendar had been established and pre-Rifts technologies had been discovered, making the NGR more powerful, as well as those who would steal the technology. The Brodkil, being able to innately turn invisible at will, prowled about the military complexes, taking some of this new form of "magic" back to the warlords who ruled the tribe.

Many more years passed and the NGR made its stand. The Gargoyles were branded enemies, d-bees' rights were revoked, and the use of magic was outlawed. Unknown to the NGR, the Brodkil stood on their eastern border, biding their time and increasing their power with every bit of technology they stole. Soon, one warlord, Khaglor, was able to outfit his entire tribe (though small, five hundred Brodkil with Triax manufactured weapons still presented a significant threat). He had heard of the machinations that patrolled the land within the NGR borders, but he pushed them away, believing them to be as frail as the humans. He had not yet been in battle against one of the Triax-built power armors or robots.

Khaglor led his army of Brodkil to battle, ignoring the warnings of the other Brodkil leaders. The small army marched into the NGR, razing any villages to the ground and killing any human they came across. Thousands lay dead in a path of destruction from the southeastern border of the NGR to the ruins of the pre-Rifts city of Gera. At Gera, the war machine of the NGR caught up with Khaglor and his army. The battle was over in a matter of minutes, with the corpses of Brodkil, or what was left of them, littering a ground soaked with blood. The NGR had no casualties.

Learning from Khaglor's mistake, five Brodkil warlords banded together forming a loose alliance of small kingdoms that now make up the Brodkil Empire. For years, the remaining five warlords have stayed away from the NGR, taking only the occasional battle to them. It was when the Empire was formed that the Angel of Death approached the Brodkil Council, offering them great technology in exchange for military strength. The Brodkil, seeing their lost opportunity to wipe out the humans reforming, hastily agreed. Since that day, the Brodkil Empire's might has grown steadily and they wait for the day when they will be able to strike back at the NGR.

Population

Total Population: 525,000
Population Breakdown:

Brodkil: 75%
Simvan: 10%
Mindwerks Creations: 5% (all types, excluding modified Brodkil, which is given in the Brodkil statistic)
Monster Brodkil: 5%
C'ro Demon Mages: 2%
Gargoyles: 2%
Other: 1% (includes other Gene-Splicer creations, and d-bee and human slaves)

Few true cities exist in the Empire, and those that do are more reminiscent of war camps. Most are typically built on ruins of pre-Rifts cities and modified with mega-damage materials. Gladiatorial arenas and Mindwerks modification shops abound (most Mindwerks shops are run by Mindwerks technicians who are loyal even to death and are kept heavily guarded).

Gladiatorial arenas are used to solve disputes between citizens as well as for entertainment. Frequently, a slave is thrown in the arena with a second slave, (usually a friend to make things more interesting) under threat of a slow death by starvation if they don't. Both slaves are then forced to fight each other to the death, being given no weapons. These blood sports are incredibly popular among the Brodkil and C'ro Demon Mage populations, but are less appealing to the (arguably as bloodthirsty) Simvan.

Government

The Brodkil Empire is governed by the War Council, which consists of the five remaining warlords after Khaglor's untimely demise. There are often disputes among the Council members as to what to do about the NGR. Other times, when the Angel of Death and her allies are not present, there are arguments about whether the alliance with the Angel of Death is still beneficial. This particular subject has been most dominant in the last few years as the Empire's technology improved.

On one side you have Duplicitus Melangya, a female Brodkil of great mystical power. She is one of the few members of her species to have mastered the mystical arts, and one of even fewer members who keeps a level head, not advocating violence as much (though still to an extent) as the others. Duplicitus Melangya is a sixth level Ley Line Walker.

Aiding Duplicitus is Kr'elj, a C'ro Demon Mage. Though he is not a member of the council, he has aided the Empire numerous times in the past and his words are valued. Though he does not advocate violence now, he is merely biding his time. His advice is to wait, build up the forces, then strike, and strike hard, destroying the NGR once and for all. In addition to advocating patience, he is trying to convince the War Council not to sever the alliance with Mindwerks. He sees them as a powerful ally who will be their downfall should the Council choose betrayal.

Opposite Duplicitus and Kr'elj is the remainder of the Council, Grojlnir M'ktrag (a partial conversion cyborg with additional modifications by Mindwerks), Me'kraa Negltca (a Brodkil Warrior who does not believe in artificial augmentation), Dra'k Hephas (a Brodkil equivalent of a headhunter), and Lev'ariss Keldnor (a Brodkil Warrior modified with psynetics).