After the Time of Strife, the elven clans of the north existed in an uneasy peace with orcish nation to the south. The two races were complete opposites, the orcs had been gifted with prodigious strength and vitality; the elves were graceful intellectuals. There was also a third race, humanity. They were young in comparison to the other races, and though they lacked their strengths, the humans proved to be adaptable and quick learners. They lived nomadically on the Great Plains, or in small communities in the mountains but, unfortunately, most of them were slaves to the elves.
For several thousand years humanity survived under their ruthless elven masters, until one clan chieftain stepped up against the elves. This man was El'din Duskrider, born of the Warsong barbarians of the Ironhold Mountains. He led Clan Duskrider into insurrection and put the city of Quel'Athas to the sword. The movement spread quickly, and city after city along the southern elvish border was liberated. Though skilled in the art of war, the elves were outnumbered 10 to 1.
El'din had been born into slavery, his name assigned by an elven overseer. When the other clans unanimously decided to make him Emperor, he took the name of the previous Emperor, Selseras.
The new Emperor did not last long. The elves sued for peace and received it, on the terms that all humans are released and the human nation recognized. Selseras made the mountain city at Ironhold his capital and proved to be an even-handed ruler. After a mere three years of prosperity he was found dead on his throne.
His council, consisting of three clergymen, three generals and the three ministers of economics, magic and the Inquisition proclaimed to the people that orcish assassins had slain their beloved Emperor. Humanity rose to war again. The orcs were weary from their own conflicts and could not fight against soldiers willing to meet their Emperor in the Land Above. The final battles at the crossing to the southern continent began five years after the assassination. The Karnath River Conflict was the bloodiest battle ever witnessed, and due to the magics released there the river still runs red to this day.
The council, now in complete control of the Empire, lacked the Emperor's vision or incorruptibility. The southern "Wildlands," as they came to be known, received little attention and was treated more like a colony than part of the nation. The large groups of ex-soldier settlers revolted in protest of the crippling taxes, but were crushed by the armies loyal to the council. Humanity had traded one slavery for another.