East of Watchman Fortress on the northern border of the Aldo Kingdom, stretching all the way to the northwestern frontier of the Gabella Empire, lay a vast desert.
For thousands of years, humanity had relied on underground water veins to establish several oasis city-states here, forming an important passage for merchants traveling between the north and south.
These city-states varied in size, with most making a living through agriculture, herding, and caravan resupply. In peacetime, their political affiliations were generally divided according to geography: those closer to Gabella were mostly influenced by the empire, accepting its protection or nominal suzerainty, while those near Watchman Fortress and the Nerodan Corridor generally maintained vassal ties with the Aldo Kingdom, relying on its military protection and trade.
However, over the past several decades, as Aldo's national strength gradually declined, domestic troubles mounted, and its military weakened, its control over the east continued to erode. At the same time, the orc tribes of the steppe rose rapidly under the unification of the powerful leader Alba, establishing a royal tent government and repeatedly raiding southward.
Against this backdrop, the oasis city-states east of Watchman Fortress fell one after another. Some were forced to submit under the threat of the orc armies, while others, isolated and helpless after losing Aldo's support, were conquered one by one. These regions were gradually incorporated into the steppe's sphere of influence, becoming outposts from which the orcs entered the human world.
The Aldo Kingdom lacked the strength to counterattack and could only contract its defensive lines, retreating to the line of Watchman Fortress and the Nerodan Corridor. The once-connected oasis city-state system was consequently severed, the central desert became a desolate region controlled by no one, trade routes were cut off, and settlements grew sparse.
Now, travelers heading north from