Whereas the Hundred Kingdoms and the City States might claim to be the main bastions of human civilization, one should not assume that this means they are the sole bastions of human might. Far to the north, beyond the monster infested Northern Seas, lies Manheim, home of the Nords. These people have led a savage and relentless war against their southern cousins; it is a war of raids and plunder, a war of countless battles and bloodshed, but above all it is a war of vengeance.