Now, fast forward to ten years ago.
A Phase-7 Portal opened in a region that later came to be recognized as the Aether Claw. It was on the coast of the Southern Safe-Zone, tucked right inside one of the independent territories governed by the Southern Tribal Coalition.
An Unholy Spirit Beast known simply as the Serpent emerged from that portal and wreaked unprecedented havoc across the region.
Entire villages were razed in under an hour and thousands of people were brutally murdered.
The tribes were forced to abandon their lands for months before they finally broke and pleaded for help from the current Southern Monarch.
But, predictably, Kaelen Halfborn Starless — the Immortal King and Monarch of the South — refused any aid unless the Coalition swore fealty to him.
You can guess how well that went, right?
The Coalition practically spat on the offer.
But proud as they were, they still needed help from someone. Someone as strong as the Southern Monarch himself, preferably.
