Gather you faithful citizens of Balor,to contribute your many talents to the reenactment of the events that brought us to this point. The Battle for Balor that formed the world we live in today is a matter for the historians and scribes of the Templars, the Mages, and the Scaleforge. The story begins – and some say will end - with the Ancient Powers of the Elementals and the Undead. Before the opening of the Shadow Portals; Before the disappearance of the Aldmor leaders into the Shadow Realm; Before the invasion of the Shadow Forces into all corners of our world; And Before Rothem recruited a great many of them to his coalition; The Ancient Powers loomed.


Elementalis, Praxix, and Zaladar drew their power from the very elements that make up the universe, while Gravebone and Banebow drew theirs from the inescapable forces of death. All who study the history of our world know that these great primal powers, these truly Ancient Powers lie in wait to greet he who emerges victorious in the petty political battles of Balor.


But our focus for now is the apparent start of our conflict. The seizing of the Shadow Crystals at mount Balor, and the organizing of Rothem's Army. Powered by the influx of creatures from the Shadow Realms, the Shadow Crystals pulled from the ground by Rothem's engineers, and the force of Rothem's ambition to become the king of all of Layar. He organized the single greatest fighting force in the history of the world. Rothem's Coalition was comprised of like minded cohorts like Vess Swifthands, Logan Stonebreaker, and the Dark Hunter Baduru. But Rothem knew this wouldn't be enough, and so, through coercion and bribery, promises of future glory, he added to his numbers the armies loyal to Majiya the Queen of Fire, Ter Adun the child of Asyn, and the venomous avenger Skervox. These additions were made of necessity, but proved pivotal in the pursuit of the consolidation of power on Balor's largest continent of Layar.


It was this coalition of under Rothem that stole the initiative against the sitting kingdoms of Balor. The Layarians and their Yari allies stood as a pillar of stability in the heartland. Their reigns, each guaranteed by their spiritual allegiance and devotion to the Seven deities of Layar, and the brother gods Ellos and Vozit. This allegiance of course meant that in times of trouble, the Layarian Yari Alliance could depend on the steadfast protection of the Templars from across the sea. This alliance and its Templar protectors formed The Organized Resistance to Rothem's aggression.


But not all the people of Balor joined the major political alliances. Many distrusted those who would project their will on those with whom they shared neither a home, nor a creed. These were referred to by those in the higher echelons of man as the vagabonds, or rabble –barely worth acknowledging. In truth these forces were not that different from those of the major civilizations. They were simply Anti Federal, and believed that no power outside of their local keep was a legitimate authority.


Perhaps during times of peace, a point was to made that those like Markus who chose to live isolated behind the man-made walls of Kyber could never threaten the powers of Layar on their home turf. Nor could Eladwen Frostmire project her will from the Frost Isles. Ythan and Victor and their army of woodsmen were a mere annoyance to the major powers at best. Likewise, during times of regular order, those who lived behind the wall of silence created by the Rogues Guild such as Lance Shadowstalker, Serena Thoughtripper, and Garth Ravensoul could never field an army to challenge the will of the Templars or Rothem's hordes. But these were not times of peace, and there was no regular order.


Still, even with the great civilizations of Balor pre-occupied, another hierarchy had grown in parallel but separate from the forces of man. The kingdoms of Nature which raised no flag, rallied behind the magi – both human (Aramia) and shadow (Raikka) – who took to the forests to seek oneness with nature. In contrast, was the savage Wulven packs who answered to their master Dark Claw. Bloodfang, Moonstalker and even those who followed She-Lah the Unifier held allegiance only to their own. These groups, referred to as Naturalists by those arrogant enough to attach such labels, each believed that becoming one with nature was the true path to glory.


These two sets of independent forces saw their opportunity to spread their version of fierce independence across the lands. But before they could challenge the supremacy of the castles that dotted the landscape of Layar, they first had to determine which independent force would carry the ironic banner of self-rule against the heralded flags of the greater civilizations.


All the while, watching the carnage rage across Balor, still the Ancient Powers waited. They knew the time was coming for their bid to bring the world full circle and restore the primal order dictated by the elements. They knew the time was coming, and that death waits for no man or beast.

(tournament format and rules to follow below)