The Empire of Bracaduun are the main antagonists in the video game Heroes Chronicles: Warlords of the Wasteland. They were the oppressive rulers of Antagarich long before the events of Heroes of Might and Magic III.
History[]
Long ago, most of Antagarich was ruled by the Wizard-Kings of Bracaduun, an empire that consisted of wizards and knights. The Wizard-Kings were a group of powerful wizards who imposed their domination on the continent through their knowledge of the mystical arts. They oppressed the Barbarians and Mudlanders, enslaving them and repressing the practice of their cultures. A legendary Barbarian warrior named Jarg formed an army to oppose the Wizard-Kings, conquering their land and ruling over the Barbarians as their king.
After Jarg died, his sons fought each other for the throne, allowing the Wizard-Kings to rise to power once more and dominate the Barbarians for centuries to come. The Wizards suppressed the Barbarians' history and the legend of Jarg, but the story was kept alive by the bards, one of whom passed it on to Tarnum before dying from an arrow wound presumably by the Wizards. Inspired by Jarg's heroic deeds, Tarnum threw off the shackles of the Wizards and took up arms against them, uniting the other Barbarians as well.
Tarnum's first act of rebellion against Bracaduun was killing Rabak, a clan leader whose only loyalty was to the Wizard-Kings. The Wizard-Kings became aware of the threat he posed and sent armies to capture him. When Tarnum defeated them, a Wizard-King named Kurl captured the last four bards and threatened to execute them in three months unless Tarnum disbanded his forces and surrendered. Two weeks later, Kurl killed the eldest of the bards and publicly blamed Tarnum for the death. Nevertheless, Tarnum defeated Kurl and rescued the other three bards.
Over the next months, Tarnum conquered most of Bracaduun, pushing the Wizard-Kings back to the ocean. As the war continued, the cruelty of the Wizard-Kings and the losses they inflicted on Tarnum led him to grow as ruthless as them and bring about senseless violence. The Wizard-Kings proposed a peace between Bracaduun and the Barbarian nation, which Tarnum refused. The conflict ended with Tarnum's capture of Castle Steelhorn, the capital of Bracaduun, finally shattering the power of the Wizard-Kings and destroying their empire.
After the fall of Bracaduun, Gavin Magnus, one of the defenders of Steelhorn, gathered the surviving wizards and relocated to the snowy mountains of southern Antagarich, where he founded the kingdom of Bracada. Rion Gryphonheart, a young knight who served Bracaduun, led the remaining knights into the center of Antagarich and founded the kingdom of Erathia, before eventually challenging the rule of Tarnum and slaying him in battle.