Blood Upon The Sand

Infidia was settled during the second age by the emissaries of Iskandar’s council of sovereign judges and the first expeditions to its shores brought only reports of wasteland and nearly inhospitable desert. It was deemed a forsaken realm and soon Iskandar began to send its criminals there as a punishment of death and exile. As the ages passed and more of the continent was explored by those who had been sent there to die it was discovered that Infidia was a in fact a lush, diverse land filled with mystery and untold riches.
All manner of gemstones and precious metals were found to be abundant among the western mountains and the deserts themselves hid below their surface deep caverns from which oil and iron could be raised up. Embroidering the desert and the winding rivers that trace Infidia like veins were found to be tropic jungles filled with rare flora and fauna that were easily manufactured into medicines and pleasures. These resources, however, belonged to natives of Infidia whom had long guarded them and thus to lay their claim the new settlers of the continent delved into the darkest and most unspeakable weapons of war.
Having arrived as outcasts and exiles, those new arrivals to the land pledged their allegiance to the powers from below. Through blood ritual and magic they summoned the hosts of the Abyss and the fire-eyed soldiers of Hadesl. What ensued from these bargains was the rise of the Seven Kingdoms, realms owing soul-debts to the fiends of the lower planes led by Sultans in thrall to archdevils and demons. The contracts signed in that dark era continue to be honored to this day, ensuring generation after generation falls to damnation.
When the council of paragons in Iskandar learned what fate had befallen Infidia they quickly drew a declaration of war and amassed an armada of ships to cross the Sea of Mithris. Their crusade lasted forty-eight years and in the end it was the most devastating defeat in the history of their nation. Over thirty-thousand paladins perished in the conflict, their bones lost among the shifting dunes. In the final battle of the war the lords of Iskandar were forced to forfeit Allorran, the Sapphire Crown (one of the twenty relics of power), to the Sultans of the Seven Kingdoms so that they would be allowed to retreat with the remainder of their forces. Thus the conflict is recorded in history as the War of the Broken Crown for the Sultans split the artifact amongst themselves when the last of Iskandar’s army had fled their continent.
Having fought his own wars against the armies of Iskandar, King Drin was the first to offer the Sultans his congratulations and began a tentative alliance. While Infidia and Drin have never aided one another directly in times of conflict, the rich resources of the continent have allowed Drin to wage many campaigns in his quest to lay his domination upon all of Orr. In exchange the Seven Kingdoms of Infidia have gained many incredible marvels of machinery and weapons of destruction. This alliance has caused great concern for the other nations of Orr who sense that it is only a matter of time before Infidia and Drin amass enough power to conquer the world...