The Story of Thestra (VG)
From the Art Book that accompanies the Limited Edition:
A millennium ago, a mighty cataclysm nearly destroyed the world of Telon. It wiped out entire civilizations, and vast swaths of land choked on black ash or sank beneath the ocean. Thestra suffered horribly in the disaster; the eastern half of the continent disappeared beneath the sea, taking with it the high elf capital of Leth Verael. Violent earthquakes nearly destroyed the fledgling human civilization in the west. When the upheaval ceased, the wretched survivors clung to life in the ruins.
For 500 years, human kingdoms on Thestra fought petty squabbles with their rivals, until a young warlord named Loric Targonor discovered a cache of lore and weaponry that predated the cataclysm. Within a score of years, Loric parlayed his discovery to unite the feuding human factions under a single banner. He raised a mighty fortress-city that bore his name and sent envoys throughout Thestra. Embassies established trade routes to the dwarves, the halflings, and the lordly high elves, who had relocated to the forest city of Leth Nurae.
But despite these races' united front, all was not safe on Thestra. A fell army led by a great giant smashed the dwarven capital, and the halflings fled to refuge in human lands. Then, all the free races were threatened by a black-sailed invasion fleet of orcs and goblins from the Kojani Archipelago. The marauding army swept across Thestra with astonishing speed. The allies only defeated it through great sacrifice and the unexpected aid of the feral vulmane.
The people of Thestra barely had time to mourn their fallen before being attacked anew. An undead army invaded and conquered the western half of Thestra, beating back the exhausted alliance of free races with ease. The former human capital, Old Targonor, now lies broken, patrolled by wraiths and the reanimated remains of its former defenders.
The races of Thestra have regrouped in the east. Humans lead the alliance from the walled city of New Targonor, a melting pot of different cultures and races. Bordinar's Cleft, the last stronghold of the dwarves, stands as a first line of defense should the undead renew their attack. The proud vulmane have been forced to ally with the varanjar barbarians and lesser giants against a horde of gnolls, cultists, and magic-warped beasts that threaten to overtake their highland homes.
Thestrans have spent a generation strengthening their defenses and preparing for the coming struggle. To repel the undead and cleanse the land of corruption and strife, Thestra needs heroes.
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