The Fall of Grieg

Combine historian Aliane Rainmist, an Elven druid of Tunare, tells the tragic tale of the Combine's collapse and its survivors' flight to Luclin:

Grieg found no refuge with us, for we knew his nature and that he cared nothing for the lost glory of our Empire. Besides, we had learned that, as a result of another error in his calculations, we were trapped on Luclin for the foreseeable future, for the moon would not approach Norrath again for millennia.

While we built Katta Castellum, expanded our defenses, and learned of our new and dangerous home, and while the Shadow Haven folk recovered from the damage he had done, Grieg wandered Luclin, at last arriving on the light side of the moon, where he raised up a new citadel south of the Dawnshroud Peaks. Here, in the fortress called Grieg's End, he settled down to learn more of geomancy, and to seek solace from the lunar refuge that had become our prison.

Grieg's quest ended in despair, for Luclin, the goddess who rules the moon, drove him mad for his presumption. Today, Grieg's End is a foul and cursed place, haunted by strange ghostly creatures and plagued by spells spawned by Grieg's madness. It is said that those who venture there are transformed into strange shapes and appear different to all who observe them. It is also said that Grieg himself still lingers on as a tormented spirit, ever seeking knowledge that he can never attain.

But Grieg's fate was not relevant to us, not then. For we learned all too soon that our enemies had followed us. Seru's bid to take over our realm had failed — instead of controlling the Empire, he merely destroyed it, and now Norrath was in a turmoil of chaos and death. Yet even in defeat, Seru burned for vengeance when he learned that we had escaped. Surely he did not know that Katta still lived, else his anger might have been even greater.

Upon learning how we had fled Norrath, Seru set his pet wizards to duplicating our feat, and after some time and great effort they cast a similar spell, one that transported Seru and a good number of his Inquisitors into Shadow Haven. Seru and his followers arrived at the Nexus, but were shocked to see the fortifications and armed forces that Shadow Haven raised against them. After long negotiations, the Shadow Haven folk allowed the Inquisitors to depart, though many of Seru's people also remained behind to aid in researching the Nexus, determined to find a way to escape from Luclin's pull.

As time passed, the Inquisitors who stayed behind ended up mingling with the folk of Shadow Haven, while the others journeyed to the daylight zone of Luclin where they constructed their own citadel, the city of Sanctus Seru. Their magic sustains the wicked Lord Inquisitor Seru even still, and he lives in perpetuity, spurred on by his desire to crush the last remnants of the old empire. Thus we remain in a continual stalemate with the Inquisitors, but I fear that this will not last forever. Our spies report that Seru trains his Inquisitors to march on Katta Castellum, and that he seeks alliance with the dark powers of Luclin. The people of Sanctus Seru are harsh and evil, holding gladiatorial games for entertainment, and reveling in death and slaughter.

Yet we are prepared to defend ourselves and to preserve our way of life for as long as we are stranded on the moon of Luclin.