Lunar Gods and Lunar Empire
Four hundred years ago, seven people came together and conducted a magic ritual to fight the oppressive Carmanian Empire. They resurrected the goddess Sedenya, who was slain in the Gods War. She came back as a baby, but quickly became a young girl, a young woman, then a hero and a demigod. For years she worked, danced and fought her way into the fabric of reality until her ascension to godhood. She became the Red Goddess and left the Lunar Empire behind her.
The Lunar Empire now stretches across Peloria and reaches as far as the Praxian Wastelands. Their success is partly owed to their religion, the Lunar Way. The motto of the Lunars is We Are All Us, that everyone is a unified part of the whole that is Sedenya. As a result, incompatible philosophies can be reconciled by the grace of the Red Goddess. The Lunar Way combines both mysticism and practical magic, beauty and cruelty, loving peace and savage violence. The Lunars have even harnessed the malevolent forces of Chaos, and have used demons like the Crimson Bat to great effect.
The Lunar Empire is the greatest civilisation in the world. The quality of life of even the lowest citizen is unmatched. The cult of Seven Mothers gives food and shelter to anyone who attends their ceremonies. Regular quests to fight the Ice Demons of Valind’s Wastes have shortened the once harsh winters. Pelorian women, once treated as little more than chattel, can join the Lunar Way and become totally free. The Red Emperor wants nothing more than to make life beautiful for his people.
The Lunar Empire is a monstrous tyranny. The Red Goddess is Chaotic, and those who worship her consort with monsters. Harsh punishments await those who break Lunar laws; people who fail to pay their taxes are dragged into hell by the Tax Demons. The Crimson Bat is an invincible demon that demands and receives a constant stream of human sacrifices, and the Lunars use it as a weapon. People in the Lunar Provinces suffer if they question their new rulers.
The Empire has a sworn enemy in the Orlanthi. The Storm God Orlanth and the other gods of air continue to rebel against Sedenya. So too do the Orlanthi rebel against the Lunars, even though their lands have been conquered and Whitewall, the last free city, is under siege with its king trapped inside. The conflict between the Lunars and the Orlanthi is fraught with philosophical and metaphysical significance. As heroes from both sides enter the fray, the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Source Material: Lore Of Glorantha