Neantir Canodin, once a virtuous Shaman of the nomadic Kargalyish tribes, stumbled upon some dark artifacts left by some long-forgotten necromancer and started studying them. These studies eventually led him to the evil practice of Necromancy, and he was exiled by the Kargalyish Khan, Arou Mlezzar. Neantir fled into the southern swamps of Avrolia, where he increased in strength, building up an undead army with which he planned to take over the continent. Canodin was helped by the arrival of Narak Stonefist, an neophyte dwarven wizard who had been rejected as an apprentice by the reclusive Mountain Mage. Meanwhile, the Kargalyish had not been idle. They sent envoys to the most powerful nations on the continent to request aid against Canodins dark forces. And thus a titanic struggle broke out, which was later to be called the Magewar. When the dust had settled, both Canodin and the Mountain Mage had been killed, and much of the Avrolian woods had been destroyed. The council of Mages and the Kargalyish were firmly ensconced in power, and they eventually formed a stable and just government.