The story of Kainus the Unconquered
Over a hundred years ago there was a small kingdom in the Ebongard Mountains in the northeastern Dalelands. The king at the time was old and frail, but he had a son named Kainus. Kainus was born under the Star of Ares and the soothsayers present at his birth said that he would never be defeated in battle. When Kainus’ father passed away the newly crowned king discovered the old prophecies. And indeed there was truth in them. Kainus had fought minor battles against orcs and goblins and had never lost. So Kainus gathered up his warriors and bearing his sword, the Scepter of the Land, he began his conquest. He began by conquering some of the nearby lands. Whenever Kainus conquered a new area he took all the treasures back to his stronghold. He kept increasing the size of his army as he conquered more lands until he had a mighty warhost. He led his mighty warhost out of the mountains and into Dalelands bringing city after city, kingdom after kingdom to their knees. This time is considered one of the areas darkest times as his cruel and despotic reign ravaged the land and treasuries of those he conquered.
Kainus the Unconquered was finally stopped at the Battle of Coldwell Valley on the Western Cyrillia border. The forces of the Duke of Scottsdale allied with the gnomes, men from Volkraad and other Dalelander allies met his warhost and decimated it nearly to the last man. Under such a crippling loss, the mighty juggernaut stalled. Slowly, the empire which had been built on fear and constant military expansion crumbled, leaving in its wake a legacy of stories. Tales still abound concerning Kainus’ string of ruthless victories, the atrocities that occurred under his rule, and, most importantly, the huge amounts of treasures taken by his armies as spoils of war.