"From the writings of Scholar Martyn Ravenstaff.

'It is known to many that the origins of the Riftland kingdoms are a mystery to even the wisest of scholars, shrouded as their ways are to the foreign peoples of this world.

A common theory stated by scholars suggest that many of the first men inhabited this place, settling in it, finding new ways to improve such a simple way of living. As is the case with civilization, these groups of early Riftlanders spread out and took territory for their own. Over many years, these kingdoms flourished and fell by way of war and their dissolving goverments. As was and is always known, human pride grows more with each patch of grass he owns. Petty arguments turned into full-scale wars, turning many of the land wracked by war. Forests burned, mineshafts were stripped bare, and so on goes the many resources that were once in the earth. Some could say that there was always one war a year, ne'er a time of peace that would last a full year. Thus was the term Riftlands coined.

The next few statements are the stuff of legend and myth, not to be trusted, given the lack of proof to prove and disprove. The naysayers say that the Riftlands were once one whole landmass, without the Great River Rift to separate the already strife-driven land. But what could perchance cause this river to appear in merely the timespace of over a couple thousand years? The rumors tell that a number of battles took place all at once in the central part of the landmass. During that time, shadow magic was the ultimate way of gaining power, and thus most of the soldiers were aspiring shadow mages and the like. This much magic occuring all at once wracked the earth, setting off a chain of disasters that can only be described by works of fiction. Many scholars despise this so-called "fallacy" and are trying to find sensible proofs to stop the rumors. However, if one looks closely, one can see that there might be some truth to this legend. Techmaturgicians have proven that excessive use of magic can have minor effects on the geological aspect of the earth. How exactly it happens, they have not found out yet.

After this catastrophe had occurred, it seems that the warring kingdoms had finally opened their thoughts and saw the unnecessity of the bloodshed they have caused over many years. It took the wrath of nature itself to wane the bloodthirst. Over time, diplomatic meetings were becoming more and more frequent, and eventually a time of peace had come, and it has for many years.

Another cloudy topic is the dynasty of the Shadow Lords. Even more so is how they came to be. Despite the peace between the kingdoms, many still harbored slight hatred toward other kingdoms. The only plausible hypothesis is that the first Shadow Lord was a very eloquent rhetorician and shadow mage, and through many years, won most, if not all the kingdoms by way of diplomacy. After gaining complete domination over the entire Riftlands, he had made many changes to Riftland politics, and soon kingdoms were made into cities. The once war-driven people were united into one single kingdom with one goal, all with the leadership of one person. Thus, many rhetoricians and diplomats look up to the first Shadow Lord, whom they call the Shadowspeaker for his supposed quick wit and way with words.'"