The campaign centers on the fall of the Hadrianic empire. After 400 years of relatively stable rule under the emperors and their patron deity, Krom, civil strife threatens to tear the empire to pieces. Barbarians to the North, a revolt of Elven slaves to the West, and resurgent vassals in the exotic Eastern provinces all prepare for a power vacuum, and scheme how they will see their peoples liberated...or establish empires of their own.