At the beginning of the Fourth Age, when the high winds calmed and the earthly fires cooled the Illuminar, Ancient Guardians of the Upper Realm, spoke the Crystals of Power into being. Set in place on the four continents of the West, the Crystals of Sea, Sky, Earth, and Fire brought order to the land and fueled the desires of common folk to grow and prosper. The four stones were powered by the Great Crystal which pulsated in the deep caverns below the impregnable fortress at SeaReach on the Sunrise coast of WindGate Isle.

In the third millennium of that age, the long reign of King Elwan WindGate, guardian of the Great Crystal, had come to a tragic end. The old king had succumbed to the great plague of the Southeast Coast. Meanwhile, forces of discontent were raging among the Western Lands and Korack, Mighty Lord of Darkness had dispatched forces of conquest across the Eastern Sea. Elwan’s son Geoffrey had sent an army of 30,000 troops to aid the Grand Duchies at the advice of the Wizard Galan. Geoffrey himself remained at the side of his beautiful young queen, Louisa, who was about to give birth to a brood of quadruplets.

Louisa was also gravely ill from after effects of the great plague and many feared for her life with the difficult birth only hours away.

Unbeknownst to Geoffrey, the Demon Lord Santora sat only a few leagues off the imposing cliffs of the WindGate coast. With him was an armada of more than 500 warships and 50,000 creatures of destruction. Santora relished in the prospects of seeing his enemies slaughtered at his feet while he absorbed the awesome power of the Great Crystal. Finally, he would be in control and could thrust this land of puny humans into darkness and chaos. All would be made to serve him in utter and absolute slavery, giving their life’s energy to his growing thirst for strength. Only the four crystals stood between him and his goal, and by capturing the Great Crystal he could gain the power of all. Then, not even Korack would be able to stand against him.

The ships heaved and sails bellowed in the rising gale. Drums reverberated with a deep and steady boom as ten thousand oars dipped into the sea. With groans of waterlogged wood the armada moved towards the coast.

From the seaward tower of SeaReach castle, the powerful wizard Galan watched the flotilla approach. Galan’s powers were far beyond those of any mortal. However, even with his special knowledge Galan remained silent, knowing that the great prophecy must be fulfilled.

Santora continued to push his force forward through the mounting waves. His powers brought raging storm clouds from every direction. The northern flank of 100 vessels sailed up the Far Sea Estuary towards the quiet town of SeaReach Bay. With its unsuspecting populace asleep and unprotected, the small community would be easily trampled underfoot by the demon force.