These are lands where the great tide of an empire has drawn back, leaving its old provinces to fend for themselves but still trying to hold its ancient grip upon them. Unlike the Ivory Duchies to the east, the Borderlands are not enjoying a period of relative peace. It is an eternal truth that gaps left by the slow retreat of a decaying and decadent civilization are inevitably filled; either by young and vigorous new civilizations rising to offer new hopes and aspirations, or by a self-devouring maelstrom of war, pillage, plague, and barbarism. Such times are the knife-edges of history, where the deeds of heroes may shift the course of entire kingdoms. They are times of struggle and fear, times of desperation and wild hopes, times when legends are made. And these times have arrived