Within the grand five armies of Takhisis, the Red Dragonarmy was the most numerous and by far the most powerful. The Red Dragonarmy led all the major offensives during the War of the Lance, becoming a vast instrument of death and oppression that Ariakas used to spearhead his advances throughout Ansalon. Whilst the army was first raised and brought together by Ariakas, he later handed over control to one of his Dragon Highlords. A host of Dragon Highmasters and one or two Fewmasters supported the reigning Highlord. The Red Wing was comprised of a number of red dragons, although the mightiest red wyrms tended to serve the Dark Queen directly, and did not work in the Red Wing. The army was made up of draconians, goblins, human mercenaries, hobgoblins, ogres, and hill giants. The soldiers in the employ of the Red Dragonarmy were the highest paid of all those in the Dragonarmies and the best equipped.
The Red Dragonarmy was founded by Ariakas, and was the first fully formed Dragonarmy that was created in 332 AC. As the fledgling army grew in size, and the other four armies were also created across the 332*340 AC period, it was soon determined that Ariakas would oversee all five armies, and that the Red Dragonarmy would require it's own Dragon Highlord. The warrior-woman Phair Caron was chosen as the original Dragon Highlord of the Red Dragonarmy, and she set about drilling her troops, including the newly introduced draconians, in 342 AC. The training of the Red Dragonarmy continued alongside the other armies until it was deemed as being ready for war in late 347 AC.
348 AC[]
In the early summer months of 348 AC, Ariakas order the Red Dragonarmy to sally forth into the lands of Nordmaar, along with the Green Wing, to conquer the territory in the name of the Dark Queen. Highlord Phair Caron led the red dragons in numerous assaults in Nordmaar, distinguishing herself in the battles over Valkinord and North Keep. Within several short weeks, the Red and Green Wings had conquered Nordmaar and it was occupied and placed under Dragonarmy rule. A portion of the Red Dragonarmy was used in occupying key sites throughout Nordmaar, whilst the majority of the army prepared for another offensive.
349 AC[]
Only a year earlier, Ariakas has assured the Silvanesti ruler, Lorac Caladon, that he would not invade the elven kingdom, however in 349 AC, he sent the Red Dragonarmy into Silvanesti anyway. Fresh from the victory at Nordmaar, Highlord Phair Caron led the Red Wing on a series of devastating raids through northern Silvanesti. Aided by Highmaster Topus of the Blue Wing, and several smaller units from the Blue Wing, the Red Dragonarmy pushed deeper into Silvanesti, until they were almost at the gates of the capital Silvanost. In a desperate bid to stop the invaders, Speaker Lorac used the power of a Dragon Orb, which ran wild, trapping Lorac and unleashing his nightmares onto the land. Highlord Phair Caron went mad and was cut down by her own troops, and the defeated Red Dragonarmy fled the elven kingdom, along with the other Dragonarmy forces.
350 AC[]
After the loss of their Highlord and the defeat during the Silvanesti Campaign in 349 AC, the Red Dragonarmy took time to regroup in Neraka for 350 AC. Ariakas chose the Dark Cleric Verminaard of Nidus as the new Highlord, and resupplied the Red Dragonarmy with further troops, weapons and a new mission. Verminaard was specifically given the mission of hunting down the Green Gemstone Man for the Dark Queen, as well as searching for true clerics and holy artifacts. The new Highlord rearmed his forces and bolstered his army with fresh recruits, before setting out on a new campaign.
351 AC[]
During the spring of 351 AC, the Red Wing launched westward into Throt and Lemish, both allies of the Dragonarmies, from where the Red Wing could begin it's invasion of Solamnia. The Red Wing attacked and conquered both Solanthus and Thelgaard, pushing the Solamnic defenders further back towards Caergoth. By summer of 351 AC, the Red Dragonarmy split in two, with Highmaster Kansaldi Fire-Eyes continuing the fighting against the Solamnic forces in the south of the Solamnia region.
Highlord Verminaard took the other part of his army and led them southwards across the New Sea and into Abanasinia. From here, the Highlord claimed Solace, Qué-Shu, Pax Tharkas, and a number of other lands in Abanasinia, as he continued his search for holy artifacts and the Green Gemstone Man. Verminaard setup his primary base within the walls of Pax Tharkas, and continued to send draconian patrols into the smaller towns and settlements to root out enemies and information pertaining to the Green Gemstone Man. Eight Red Dragons were assigned to Pax Tharkas, along with a few Blue Dragons who were used as scouts. However later in the year, a party of adventurers who would later come to be known as the Heroes of the Lance, infiltrated Pax Tharkas and confronted Verminaard. The Highlord fought fiercely against the heroes, however he eventually fell to their greater numbers and the Red Dragonarmy forces in the area were defeated.
During this time, Verminaard met with one of the Thanes of Thorbardin and worked out a deal to purchase iron ore and weapons. These commodities were smuggled out of Thorbardin through secret tunnels that were also used for the planned invasion of that kingdom. The Red Dragonarmy also attacked the valley where the Refugees of Pax Tharkas were camped. Using a cunning tactic, the Draconians leaped off the back of several Red Dragons, using their wings to slow their descent. Unfortunately, the former slaves had been informed by Tika of the coming attack, and had left two days before. Most of the army was positioned around the southern parts of Thorbardin, waiting to enter the Dwarven kingdom. When the force within Thorbardin was defeated during the Battle of the Temple of the Stars, and they retreated back through their secret tunnels to Pax Tharkas.
352 AC[]
Following the death of Verminaard, Ariakas assumed direct command of the Red Dragonarmy and recalled them back to Neraka. The Red Wing fought in several battles against the Whitestone forces, however by springtime they were entirely based in the dark city. Highlord Ariakas also recalled the other four armies back to Neraka at the same time, to witness the return of their Dark Queen onto the mortal plane. However during the final ceremony within the Temple of Neraka, Ariakas was struck down and killed by Tanis Half-Elven, one of the Heroes of the Lance. The Whitestone forces also besieged the Dragonarmies around Neraka, and it was a broken Red Dragonarmy that escaped the area. The defeated Red Dragonarmy limped away from Neraka, and under the new leadership of Highlord Rugoheras, who had established himself as leader following the death of Ariakas, they settled along the northern coastline of Estwilde. Rugoheras attempted to bring back Takhisis, and due to the intervention of adventurers, met with similar results as his predecessor. The leaderless army fell into bouts of internal fighting as numerous struggled vied for the role of Dragon Highlord.
353-357 AC[]
After years of fighting and being chased by the Whitestone forces, the warrior Karalas rose to prominence as the new Dragon Highlord and pulled the Red Dragonarmy together as a united force once more. In 357 AC, the Red Dragonarmy marched into Kern, where Highlord Karalas setup his base and a tenuous alliance with the ogres. However it was only a short time before the alliance crumbled and the Red Dragonarmy was destroyed through internal fighting, marauding Ogres, and attacks by the Whitestone forces.
Red Wing Armies[]
1st Red Flight (351 AC)[]
Flight Marshal: Tethys 9th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
10th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
11th Red Dragonarmy
- Goblin Infantry
12th Red Dragonarmy
- Goblin Infantry
1st Red Dragonwing
- 3 Red Dragons
2nd Red Flight (351 AC)[]
Flight Marshal: Hajj 13th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
14th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
15th Red Dragonarmy
- Goblin Infantry
2nd Red Dragonwing
- 3 Red Dragons
3rd Red Flight (349 AC)[]
Flight Marshal: Chomax 16th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
17th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
22nd Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Infantry
23rd Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Infantry
1st Red Dragonwing
- 2 Red Dragons
4th Red Flight (349 AC)[]
Flight Marshal: Gierhaard 18th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
19th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
24th Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Infantry
25th Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Infantry
2nd Red Dragonwing
- 2 Red Dragons
5th Red Flight (349 AC)[]
Flight Marshal: Solon 20th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
32nd Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Calvary
26th Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Infantry
27th Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Infantry
3rd Red Dragonwing
- 3 Red Dragons
6th Red Flight (349 AC)[]
Flight Marshal: Weimir 21st Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
33rd Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Calvary
28th Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Infantry
29th Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Infantry
4th Red Dragonwing
- 2 Red Dragons
7th Red Flight (349 AC)[]
Flight Marshal: Awkright 16th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
34th Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Calvary
30th Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Infantry
31st Red Dragonarmy
- Mercenary Infantry
5 Red Dragonwing
- 2 Red Dragons
5th Red Flight (352 AC)[]
Flight Marshal: Engelheim 22nd Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
23rd Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
24th Red Dragonarmy
- Goblin Infantry
6th Red Dragonwing
- 12 Red Dragons
6th Red Flight (352 AC)[]
Flight Marshal: Frewer 25th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
26th Red Dragonarmy
- Draconian Army
27th Red Dragonarmy
- Goblin Infantry
7th Red Dragonwing
- 13 Red Dragons
Sanction Reserve (352 AC)[]
Commander: Otis Kline 1st Reserves
- Mercenary Infantry
2nd Reserves
- Goblin Infantry
3rd Reserves
- Ogre Infantry
8th Red Dragonwing
- 13 Red Dragons
1st Ogre Auxiliary (351 AC)[]
Chieftain: Emir Spineripper 3rd Ogres 'Crimson Ogres'
- Ogre Infantry
4th Ogres 'Spineripper's Brutes'
- Ogre Infantry
1st Giants
- 30 Hill Giants
References[]
- Before the Mask
- Dalamar the Dark (Novel)
- Dragons of Autumn Twilight
- Dragons of Winter Night
- Dragons of Spring Dawning
- Dragons of the Dwarven Depths (PB) p. 9-10, 22, 105-114, 194, 269-279, 309, 345-349, 387, 453, 560, 564-574
- Emperor of Ansalon (Novel)
- Tales of the Lance: World Book of Ansalon
- War of the Lance (Sourcebook), p. 212-231