During the construction of his new Castle atop the highest mountain in the world, King Rothem's workers stumbled into a cave system. Here they found a special mineral, dubbed a Shadow Crystal, with incredible power. These crystals were protected my a massive being of pure energy which quickly corrupted the workers into mindless beasts of hate a rage, employing them to protect the cave from further exploration. This action, however, is what began the downward spiral. This new power could tip the scales of power in Balor, and made Rothem desperate to finish his new fortress to assert his people's prowess to the rest of the world. Nishaven was sent to fortress, where he was forced to fight the workers- but gained access to the Shadow Crystals in turn.
Rothem believed these new weapons would allow him to finish what his ancestors had begun in the Last War, and began experimenting with their powers, sending some to what few allies he trusted. Once he discovered that a select few people could control the power, and that he was among them, King Rothem gathered several together and absorbed all the energy he could. This power shattered his perception and sent him to a higher plane of existence for a brief moment. It was long enough for him to gain an understanding of past events-and what was coming.
These experiments with the crystals led to the world needing more negative energy to balance itself out, an energy which had to be drawn from outside the closed system of its universe. So portals opened to the darkest, most sinister worlds in existence, drawing the energy there into this one. Energy, and denizens. The first worlds began bleeding over small creatures and powers, causing the locals to fight back, worsening the issues. Eventually the main forces of the Shadow began to enter the fray, but without any organization or leadership.
Rothem, having seen the past, knew the only way to defeat what was coming was to unite an army of incredible power under one flag, and arm them with the power of the crystals. His plan was to use the crystals as the Aldmor had so long ago, but only the power of the Shadows. That would give him the power of an Other, the enemy the Celestials could not defeat, and an army capable of gaining the crystals to do it. Since power was his main goal, the new armies coming in through the gates was the perfect choice. So he donned the persona of the 'Man of Shadows', and began to form his army.
In the moment the crystals were opened another gained a glimpse of what was to come, but without the benefit of the past. Powerful but old, Wizent saw the path Rothem would lead his people to and knew there were few who could stop him. Among them, his adopted son Loest. So he gave the young man his journal with the prophecies in it, and sent him out into the world; sacrificing his own life to give Loest the chance to escape.
Next: Call of the Crystals