For most of its history, Yunnon was a landlocked desert backwater constantly warred over by bloodthirsty Khans. Thirty years before Shun He's discovery of the Lun Islands (30 BD), a Khan named Goyan united all the tribes and went on a conquering rampage. Kingdom after kingdom fell before his armies of horse archers across the plains. At its height, the Yunnon empire covered millions of miles and ruled over millions of people. Its power had no bounds… until it hit the Great Wall of the Lotus Empire.

Stretching hundreds of miles and over a hundred feet tall, no army had ever breached the Great Wall. And Goyan's horse archers, who proved so effective at routing kingdom after kingdom, were powerless against it. So Goyan had a choice. He could turn back and rule the largest empire the world had ever known. After all, the Lotus Empire was no threat to him. The Lotus Dynasty was weak, old, and riven with intrigue between its great families. This was an empire on a slow decline. Its Great Wall was more to keep people in than keep armies out.

But Goyan was arrogant. He charged his advisor and alchemist, Shun Loa, with breaching the Great Wall. Over the course of his travels, Loa had heard of a substance that -- in high enough concentrations -- could trigger a huge explosion. So he collected it across Yunnon's vast holdings and managed to build a bomb. This was the first (human) recorded use of Lun as a weapon.

And it was devastatingly effective.

The wall was breached, and Goyan's horse armies streamed through. They burned and pillaged every imperial village they rode through, hoping the shock of their brutality would bring the Lotus Empire to its knees and hasten its surrender.

In fact, this had the opposite effect. The Yunnonite assault shocked the great families of Lotus Empire into action and they put aside their differences. The aging Emperor was forced to abdicate, and name his dynamic nephew, Lotus Wei, as his heir. Wei's bravery, youth, and brilliance inspired the people and awakened a sleeping giant. Goyan's army, by contrast, consisted mostly of recently conquered peoples. When they saw the tide was turning, they deserted him.

Wei took the fight all the way to Yunnon and killed Goyan in battle. With the Great Khan dead, his empire died with him. But Wei was not a killer. He did not murder the Yunnonites, but made them all slaves. He even spared Shun Loa's son, Shun He, and allowed him into imperial service.

Deep inside, Shun He sees the same arrogance and danger in Wei as he did in Goyan. But he's not motivated by revenge. He wants to free his people, not destroy their captors. And he believes his father's dream is key to doing it. Tap the Spellsource, and you will free your people.