In the year 930, a new demon invasion struck the allods, though it was far less massive than the first. It seemed as if the demons were merely testing the defenses of Sarnout. This time, however, both the League and the Empire were prepared. Their response was swift and decisive, forcing the invaders to retreat.

Though they never launched another full-scale assault, the demons remained a constant threat. Time and again, they emerged — sometimes from portals, other times directly from the Astral — but the defense forces patrolling the allods were ever vigilant.

Thirty years later, the frequency of demon raids began to rise once more. Around this time, troubling rumors surfaced — whispers of demon cultists. These were humans, orcs, the Arisen, and other beings who welcomed the demons, each for their own reasons. Some saw them as divine punishment for past sins, others as saviors, and still others as harbingers of dark forces whose favor might spare them from an inevitable doom.

Then, in the year 965, a League patrol ship scouting the area near Hypat discovered a small, previously unknown allod — a remnant of the long-lost Cursed Lands. There, the ship’s captain uncovered an ancient manuscript: The Revelations of Tka'Rik, a text penned by the Great Mage of the fallen Džun civilization.

The manuscript revealed a terrible truth: the demons had been summoned by the Great Džun Mages in their pursuit of power. They had opened a gateway to another world, unleashing the horrors upon themselves. Though the Džun had managed to repel the invasion by sealing the gate, they did so at a catastrophic cost—their entire civilization was lost. And now, The Revelations warned, the gate had been reopened, a consequence of the Cataclysm. Skrakan made this knowledge public.

A year later, in 966, Nezeb and Skrakan met face to face and forged a historic alliance. Together, the League and the Empire would march to seal the Džun Gate once and for all.
A combined fleet, led by Nezeb and Skrakan, set sail into the distant depths of the Astral in search of the Gate. In their absence, Aidenus and Yasker were appointed to oversee the capital allods.

The journey was grueling. Fighting their way through endless waves of demons, the allied forces suffered catastrophic losses. But in the end, they reached their goal — the allod upon which the Džun Gate stood. As the armies of the League and the Empire fought to contain the demonic horde spilling forth, the Great Mages began their work, attempting to seal the portal.
According to The Revelations of the Damned — as the manuscript came to be called — the method to close the Gate was clearly documented. And yet, their initial attempts failed. As the demons' numbers swelled, the mages were forced to abandon their efforts and join the battle. Only Nezeb and Skrakan continued the ritual, determined to see it through.
What happened next remains a mystery. The Gate was sealed — but in its wake, the surrounding Astral erupted into a violent storm. Few ships survived the cataclysm. None who remained on the allod — Nezeb and Skrakan among them — were ever seen again.
When the surviving vessels, their sails dyed black with mourning, limped back to the shores of Igsh and Kvatokh, the world of Sarnout was forever changed.
Nezeb’s death sent shockwaves through the Empire. A wave of suicides swept the land, and mourning gripped the nation for years. But grief soon gave way to ambition. With the throne left vacant, the struggle for power began.

By 967, two Great Mages emerged as rivals for leadership. Gurluchsor, an old and seasoned mage who had faithfully served Nezeb for centuries, had the backing of the Hadagan elites. Yasker, the young hero of the War for Kyrah and Nezeb’s chosen ruler of Igsh, rallied the orcs and the Arisen to his cause, promising them true equality within the Empire.
In the end, Yasker prevailed. Declaring himself the new leader of the Empire, he kept his word, elevating the orcs and the Arisen to equal status alongside the Hadagans.
For a time, there was an uneasy peace between the League and the Empire. Both factions were consumed with rebuilding after the war, recovering from the Great Astral Crusade, and settling their internal disputes. But peace was fleeting.

In 1008, war ignited once more — this time over the Holy Land.

And in 1010, with the conflict at its peak, the great journey of the "Heroes of the Empire" campaign begins.