WHen the Naugiri emerged from the dark places, crawling like insects from the broken earth in what was the grandiose Kingdom of Bethaladirn, they began a full assault upon the humans who lived there. The Kingdom had stood strong for centuries, battling against the mad Lindiri of the jungles to the south, warring with the warriors of Kalaiydan, the black skinned warriors who fought like demons - they had survived and prospered in the face of multiple and constant threats, even against other humans and kept the horrors of the Dusts away from their borders.

Bethaladirn was one of the strongest of all human kingdoms, challenged only by the EMpire of Valerian at it's height, the EMpire that lay in the unknown lands beyond the maelstroms of the deeper waters, vast whirling sea storms caused by the Deepwater Ildiri in their homes.

Then the earth split asunder, and the Naugiri came in their tens of thousands. It was a war of extermination, but the King of Bethaladirn could not grasp this for some time. They fought them in fields and forests, across rivers, where the great Rune Carapaces breached their lines, and knights and men fell in heaps. In the forests they were slaughtered, in the lowlands and fields they held for a time, but villages fell, city walls were broken and the kingdom fought for several years before the hope faded - they had won battles, but were losing settlement after settlement, and the King devised his desperate plan after the nobles began to leave to die with their families instead of holding as an army.

He took a large portion of his forces that remained and marched south. What he could gather of his people, he sent north, and he died on a nameless hill whilst they fled. Many would not leave, and many argued against the madness that was become reality - they all died. Some survived for years, some died quickly, but the son of the King moved northwards, gathering what he could of the people that lay in his path. Behind him, the Naugiri thundered, and the kingdom was being splintered at an increasing rate as they moved, yet they kept ahead of the Naugiri.

He moved to join the fleet that had been sent to Aederis, but found that destroyed, huge Rune Carapaces towering above the burning waters. The pace was slow; he had women, children, frail, elderly, and they were forced to slow to a crawl. Ever the orcs harried them, and many died in delaying actions, but they were joined by nobles of the east, who had finally realised that this was the only hope. His numbers bolstered, the Prince began to fight more heavily in his sharp-minded battles. The host that had become simple refugees edged northwards, and the Prince fought every day to stem the Naugiri. Thankfully, the rest of the Kingomd held in places as they moved north, and he felt no sadness that they foolishly resisted; this simply bought him more time.

After a year and a half of retreat, they finally reached the end of their journey; snow and ice awaited them, and the King had reasoned this would stop the Naugiri, as it held no value. He was wrong, of course, but the refugees celebrated.

The next two years saw the refugees pushed ver further into the ice, but the Naugiri were not made for these conditions - however, neither were the men of Bethaladirn at first; they however, at least proved more adaptable, and the weak had already died long before.

The Prince died in the Ice, caught by three armies of Naugiri at last, his clever strategies at an end. All that remained were seven noble families, and they took the train of their people northwards. All seems lost when scouts reported having discovered a large ice structure that was hollow, leading into a dip that held a strange city, a thing of metal and ice...walls of the two combined, intertwined, fused by the cold.

This city bore a massive gateway, heavily fortified, but the gate lay open, it's housing bearing words in a an alien tongue...simply unintelligable, yet the characters and strokes that made up whatever it was the words said simply looked to the scouts like 'Iryn Than'. It was, most importantly empty, as far as they could tell, and the Nobles pounced on it like feral cats. Swiftl, they moved their people to the city, and the gates slammed in the face of the naugiri that followed.

The city was besieged, but it was an odd place. Water ran hot throughout the houses, and in wells in streets; there were strange plants that mostly appeared to not be poisonous and the refugees spent the first months of the siege simply exploring. The Naugiri could not find a way in, for so much beyond the walls was closed off, the ice gripping the land like iron; even their run carapaces were rebuffed. Then the men of this new home found the massive graveyard under the city, and they were joined by the Yaga Dai. Not much is told of this, but it appears that the ghosts of the dead came to aid them. Many declare them sent by the humans' old gods, which is entirely possible, but they came to aid the humans of Iryn Than, host materialising in places all over the city. Like shadows, they fell upon the Naugiri, and they were pushed out. However, they returned; the entirety of the old kingdom was gone before they returned, and their numbers were appalling.

Yet the people of Iryn Than had hope, for they had made strange allies. To their cause had come the Kith of the Ice...Leopards that could be ridden, ones that walked like men; great white Bears that bore riders of the Iryn Than. Many beasts of the Ice came to them in lasting alliance, and they began a new kingdom - the intelligence and wit of the beasts were a wonder, and they became firm friends, fighting for this new world, for the beasts of the Kith could not see the Naugiri as friends.

Now, a century has passed since they found the city, since hope was rekindled, the people of Iryn Than have forged a nation...a small nation, yet a strong one in it's roots. The Orcs have been beaten in many battles, yet they still come - not all battles are won, but enough have been, and the Naugiri bleed heavily for their victories, few as they are. Danger remains constant, yet there is life here in the ice. There is warmth; of friendship and of food and water - of strange herbs and tastes, but it is an acceptable existence for the folk of Iryn Thaan.

sorry for typos, will expand on this too