The Crimson Wizards are a group of Wizards that live in Karthal, one of the Free Cities. They were the leaders of House Chimera in the Seven Cities.
During the War of the Blood Moon, the Demons pushed into Ashan, and the Wizards were desperate for troops that could stop them. In 335 YSD, the Crimson Wizards of Al-Rubit injected demon blood into human slaves and criminals, creating the Goblins, Cyclopes, and Orcs. The Orc shock troops pushed the Demons back and turned the tide of the conflict, but the wizards of the Seven Cities decided to enslave their creations, using them for manual labor: serving as workers, servants, guards and playthings.
In 340-350 YSD, bolstered by their successs, the Crimson Wizards decided to experiment by combining humans with various animals by exposing them to the Dragon nexuses. The result were the Beastmen - Minotaurs, Harpies, Rakshasas and others. The Crimson Wizards hoped to replace their Orc slaves with their new creations, which were considered better because there was no demon blood in their veins, therefore they hoped would make them easier to control. These experiments gave the Crimson Wizards high status amongst their fellow wizards.
In 461 YSD, the wizard Belketh discovered a way to create servants from dead bodies, calling his new magic "necromancy". As many of the Wizards hoped to become less dependent on the Crimson Wizards and their slaves, they welcomed this new magic, but not without some reservations.
After more than a century of enslavement, the Orcs rose up under the legendary chieftain Kunyak. During the Orc rebellion from 467-470 YSD, the Orcs and most of their Beastmen cousins united to fight against their masters, excluding the Rakshasas who stayed with their masters. Though they fought fiercely, they were eventually crushed and forced to flee from the Seven Cities.
In 479 YSD, the alchemists of Al-Safir were inspired by ancient Shantiri art and created the golems, gargoyles, titans and other artificial constructs, to act as replacements for their lost slaves. The Wizards gladly accepted this alternative to the rebellious orcs or the unsettling undead puppets of the Necromancers.
In 751 YSD, growing jealous of the power resting in the hands of the Necromancers, the other wizards began to persecute them - seizing their properties, banishing them, or executing them publicly. The Necromancers retaliated, setting off a civil war that lasted until 770 YSD, when the Necromancers were forced to flee to the valleys of Heresh. The Wizards had to modify their borders and renamed their nation the Silver Cities, with the alchemists of Al-Safir as their new rulers.
As the constructs of the alchemists gained popularity and their beastmen servants were no longer wanted, the Crimson Wizards left the Silver Cities in 776 YSD, travelling to the coast of the Irisus Sea to found the city of Karthal.
At one point, the Crimson Wizards sent to the Dark Elves of Ygg-Chall one thousand Minotaurs as a diplomatic gesture, which angered the wizards of the Silver Cities. Impressed by the strength and loyalty of the mighty creatures, the Dark Elves chose to give the Minotaurs their freedom, rather than keeping them as slaves.
Today, the Crimson Wizards now rule Karthal, Seahaven and most of Agyn Peninsula, which is often nicknamed, "the Crimson Empire", although often in a mocking and derisive way.