The Eastern Empire

The region to the south east of The Spine of World is home to one of the most feared nations in the world of Percens, The Eastern Empire. Founded by the mysterious Emperor, for years, it seemed like the Empire's singular goal was the elimination of all magic from the world. However, it was soon discovered that the Emperor himself was one of those responsible for attempting to release Voloid, God of the Void, from his banishment, threatening life on Percens as we know it. Thankfully several groups of intrepid adventurers stepped forward to oppose the Cult of Voloid and stop their plans once and for all, including killing The Emperor in the process. However, that did not keep his heirs from continuing his original plans of eliminating "the plague" of magic from the world.
Having sired several sons before his death, the citizens of The Empire feared a civil war as they clashed to be one who took control of the throne in their father's absence. However, one of The Emperor's illegitimate sons stepped forward and was able to unite his brothers in their efforts to carry on their father's legacy. Prosecution of magic users became even more prevalent than before, forcing many to flee or face certain death. However, small bands of opposition still exist and work to protect those who refuse their homeland, working in whatever ways they can to weaken the hold the family has on the country.
The newly united House of Balain also quickly moved to mobilize the forces at their disposal and embarked upon a new round of aggression against The Free Lands of Men. Many of these forces were now lead by the Empire's elite group of mage hunters known as The Purge, who hypocritically use magic themselves to great effect in battle against their enemies. Unfortunately, The Eastern Empire has been relatively successful against the loosely aligned kingdoms of The Free Lands of Men and in just a few short years have taken control of all lands east of the Spine of the World but west of the Sapphire Lake, which along with the Swift River, now form the border between the two lands. The Empire has also pushed westward slightly, now having expanded the capital city of Burton across the southern pass by building a massive fortification on the western side of the mountains.
This has put both The Elven Realms and the Citystate of Winterfall on edge as The Empire's war threatens not only lands they control, but important trade routes with The Free Lands of Men. This has had an impact on the availability of some goods, especially the import of lumber from the Durstwood, driving the prices of new construction and certain goods to incredibly high prices. The Elves have gone so far as to establish a semi-permanent military camp near the new fortification on the western side of the southern pass to ensure The Eastern Empire does not get any ideas about possibly expanding further.

The Cult of Voloid

The Emperor, Balain, was an integral part of the attempt to bring Voloid back from his banishment, even serving as a Paladin dedicated to the God. One of the heroic groups that worked with numerous factions in Winterfall to bring about the end of the Cult of Voloid killed Balain in a epic final battle. The battle took place at approximately the same time that another group destroyed the Avatar of Voloid. The combined losses from these events allowed the Gods to band together once again, this time to rid the world of the threat of Voloid once and for all.

A Culture of Hate

The Emperor was a man of vast hatred, the targets of which were everything from magic, to non-humans. During his rise to power, he used his trained mage hunters, known as The Purge, to pursue his goal of removing or enslaving all spellcasters from the world.  He also instilled an environment where his citizens were comfortable treating those unlike themselves as little more than slaves, forcing all non-humans to flee before his armies or face a life of servititude.
Naturally, those who opposed those viewpoints rose to oppose him and created an underground movement to help or rescue those persecuted by the Eastern Empire whenever possible.  Feeling the members of the movement were traitors to his cause, he began hunting them as fiercely as he did magic users.  Only his involvement in the Cult of Voloid seemed to slow down his dreadful causes, although freeing the God of the Void threatened all of the world, including himself, maybe the true focus of his hatred after everything was said and done.