The baronies
For ages this land was ruled by the imperial throne in the city of Cardosia. During the reign of the emperors the realm faced many challenges and rose above them, but 400 years ago a great threat appeared in the far north, past the plains of the Than.
A necromancer had been gathering power and had sent his undead legions forward from the northern lands. The struggle against the undead went on for years and culminated in a final battle, where the emperor lead the armies of the empire against the necromancers horde. The necromancer was defeated but the emperor also fell in the battle. Unfortunately the yearlong struggle had taken to much of the emperors time, and he had sired no children.
By some malicious and vindictive plan, or accident the war had killed all of the direct descendants of the imperial line and none of the existing baronies could claim the strongest claim to the throne. The herald of the emperor took over the mantle of ruling the empire but the barons continued to struggle against each other in an effort to claim the throne. Despite the best efforts of the Herald, in the end the barons renounced the authority of the herald and seized power for themselves. The Barons sited that they had sworn to the emperor and once the imperial line was reestablished they would again respect the law of the throne.