With the recent election of a new High King by the council of Irin, a thing that has not happened for centuries, the realm is once again set into motion. The High King, a charismatic dragonborn by the name of Harkuun, has set his sights on the places beyond the borders, where no one has dared to venture since the founding of Irin roughly a millenia ago. In particular the Westmark was founded and reinforced with the sole purpose of serving as a forward command post to venture into, and beyond, the desert known as the Eternal Sands. What the High King is hoping to achieve with this is something he alone knows, and there is much disturbance growing in Irin because of this. What is known, however, is that together with the Westmark a new research facility has been build in the east of Irin, between the Devil Marshes and the Free Forests, the great woodland home of the the Elves. It has attracted mages from all over the realm and even beyond, but its true purpose has yet to be revealed.