The end came.

Long ago, the kingdom of Tarnil was founded by the great hero Teash Arn after he destroyed the monstrous tyrant of Grogmor Dell. He brought low the Sundering Cliffs to give ships a safe harbor, he enriched the great plains to give the people food, and he raised a fortress to provide safety from the great beasts of the Wildwood and Beacon.

Tarnil flourished, its kings and queens given the greatest protective Skill the world had known, the [Shield of Tarnil]. With it, Tarnil provided a center of civilization for the settlement of the northeast part of Orn, protecting the citizens as the wilderness was reclaimed. Trade and adventurers and hopeful explorers alike flowed through Tarnil in those glory days, and it was a golden age.

Success breeds envy, though, and as new nations flourished they cast their eyes on the land that had acted as their gateway. Greed followed, then war, as forces from eight kingdoms converged on the great fortress of Beacon, guardian of the light spring, in the heart of the plains.

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For the first time, the final weapon of the Adamant Fortress was unleashed, ending the futures of four of the eight kingdoms...and that of most of Tarnil itself. Even the rulers of Tarnil feared what they had wrought, and scattered the pieces of the Fortress so that the final weapon could not be used again, save for the greatest need.

It was a smaller, humbler Tarnil that lived on, less involved in the affairs of the continent but less of a target for those who might covet its wealth and power. Yet, it was that slowly growing isolation that made it a target for the next great tragedy.

The mage-kings came to Tarnil, crushing any resistance and taking the cities in a show of overwhelming power. Yet Tarnil refused to die, its life clinging on in stubborn natives and one young Queen. They began to fight back, empowered by an unlikely ally, but ultimately were once more forced to—