182 EE

Spanstorms are nothing anyone in the Shards are unaccustomed to, the arcane storms destructive and intimidating. While modern Vasselern has adapted to weather these storms in relative comfort and confidence, the ancient humans of the shard were less developed - particularly in their ability to predict and prepare for the tumultuous events.

More than 600 years ago a particularly powerful storm, now known as the Scathing Storm, wreaked havoc on Vasselern. Raging elemental winds of epic proportions enveloped the Shard for nearly three months - destroying farmlands, driving prey into hiding, and washing away the homes of the coastal clans.

The humans living on Vasselern during this storm had few options but to go to ground and try to ride out the worst of it. Some found refuge in the mountains, others in caves and caverns. Most of them, however, found their way to the Tidehold - an ancient Caretaker ruin in the western limits of the shard, discovered and occupied by the Morandi Clan.

Within the shelter of the Tidehold the rival clans of Vasselern were, for the first time, forced to face their differences and work together. Under the guidance of their Morandi hosts, the varied clans joined together and survived the Scathing Storm in relative comfort.

When the Storm finally lifted and the clans found their holdings shattered and broken, they looked to the Morandi for guidance. The Morandi proposed the 'Vassellia' - an agreement between all clans, to work and rebuild their Shard together. A leader of this new budding nation was selected by the people, and the first sovereign of Vasselern - Sofia Vincenzo DiMorandi - was crowned.