(ii) The New Realm of Men

The War of Darkness left indelible changes on the kingdoms of Thaeìn also. The populations withdrew into their towns and cities, and men travelled less and less. The edges of their territories grew wild, and the creatures of darkness encroached on their lands. The trees and forests grew and expanded, and the dominion of men grew ever smaller, until there remained in each kingdom only one place worthy of being called a city. Many of the other towns were abandoned and left to ruin, or inhabited by such sparse populations that the town was barely kept alive.

Out of the gladness of their victory grew eventually a kind of grim resignation; little had changed since before the War, and much was worse than it had been. The kingdoms of Thaeìn grew apart, and then grew bitter. Sadness filled the hearts of men, and the ages of glory seemed lost forever.

The Fall of the Dragon Lords

In the North, the realm of the Dragon Lords found itself in ruins. They too felt the decline of Thaeìn, and the loss of their king and his Dragon was a blow from which they did not recover. […]

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