The Dark Lords of Relanisia

In my story the Shadow War, Xeranad is the current dark lord, commanding an army of creatures called Stygians in the subjugation of the world of Relanisia. However, he is not the first dark lord in this world. In fact, he is the seventh.

In order from bottom left to right:

Earendel: the first dark lord, as well as the founder of the Drow (Dark Elf) race in the world of Relanisia, and was also responsible for the creation of the Orcs. He lead his armies against the Elves, seeing them as corrupted purists. He was ultimately defeated, but the scar he left upon the world, that of the Drow and Orcs, has not healed.

Sareth: The second dark lord, and the son of Earendel. After his father's defeat, he lost a lot because of the elves, and vowed vengeance against them. He took up the mantle of dark lord himself and gathered his armies of orcs and drow once more. He faired better than his father, annihilating the elven tribes of the south, but was ultimately defeated.

Marduk: The third dark lord, he is unrelated to the other two. When the elves were severely crippled by the destruction caused by Sareth, other races began to emerge, among them, humans. Some humans became servants of the most ancient of races, the Dragons, and were given the blood of the dragon in order to better protect them. Marduk was one of these, and he became power hungry and created an army of drakes in his attempts to take over Relanisia. He, too, fell, and because of his actions Dragons became feared and nearly driven into extinction in present day.

Top row, left to right:

Mastema: The fourth dark lord, and the first one from the eastern lands. He was also the first dark lord to promote the use of technological advances in order to best thrive in the world. He used his weapons such as bombs and guns (the first time they were ever introduced to the west) and subjugated a few races, but the emergence of a new power, the Titan race, ultimately ended his reign.

Voland: The fifth dark lord, and Mastema's son. Like his father, he used technology as an edge in his campaigns, but never forgot the traditions and arts of his land to the east: the art of ninjutsu. As he began to find new methods of killing his enemies, he began to fear his own mortality, and in this fear, ultimately ended his reign when his efforts to become immortal overshadowed his campaign against the free races, and he met an ignoble death.

Ryagar: The sixth dark lord, and a powerful necromancer. Forsaking the use of technology in his efforts to conquer Relanisia, he turned his mind toward forbidden magicks, and created an army of undead warriors loyal only to him. He, like Voland, searched for ways to become immortal, but ultimately failed, as his research through every book of spells and incantations came to naught. His armies suffered from lack of free will and ability to think, and were ultimately destroyed by the Three Legendary Heroes, and he lost his life for this folly.

Basically, each dark lord learned from the mistakes of his precursors, and Xeranad, the seventh dark lord, is the culmination of this process of trial and error... and he has more power at his disposal than any who came before, in every way.