Six of the eight seats in the conference room were now occupied.
Two kings had yet to arrive, and they were the two kings Karin was somewhat less familiar with.
Aiden Perenolde, king of the Kingdom of Alterac, and Thoradin Trollbane, ruler of the Kingdom of Stromgarde.
As Karin pondered, a tall, rough-looking man walked in... He wore a thick coat made of fur, clearly meant to withstand the harsh weather of the Arathi Highlands; his shoes were covered in dust, and he looked travel-worn.
When he saw the banner bearing a black shield in the center of the conference room, hot tears spilled from this rugged, iron-willed man's eyes...
"The people of Stromgarde... have not seen the empire's royal banner for a very, very long time!" Thoradin, dressed in a red tabard, choked with sobs.
More than three thousand years ago, humans still lived in small tribes, in settlements scattered across this continent.
Forest Trolls were their greatest threat, and countless humans died at their hands each year... During the long struggle against the Forest Trolls, a human tribe called the Arathi rose to prominence. Its leader united the human tribes and proclaimed himself Emperor Thoradin...
In the Arathi Highlands in southeastern Lordaeron, Emperor Thoradin established the first nation in human history-the Arathor Empire-with its capital at Stromgarde.
Afterward, Emperor Thoradin allied with the Elves and drove the Forest Trolls back into the depths of the forests once and for all... At the same time, through exchanges with Dwarves, Gnomes, and Elves, the empire continued expanding outward and establishing new cities!
Dalaran, Lordaeron, Gilneas... These famed human cities of later ages were all founded by migrants from Arathor.
Yet as the empire expanded, decline became inevitable; over a thousand years, many nobles gradually left the barren lands of