“The Azmeri were consummate survivors. They had to be, having been sired in the most inhospitable range of mountains in all of Wraeclast. Unfortunate, some might say. I do not. I believe it was the making of them. And of us, their descendants. So it is no wonder that they developed the Lord’s Trial. With survival being a moment-by-moment concern, that harried people grew to understand power quite intimately. Strong leadership is able to bridge the chasm between existence and extinction. Poor leadership might see an entire tribe vanish into that same chasm. When the Azmeri descended from their mountains to conquer the fecund lands of central Wraeclast, they thrived and multiplied with utmost alacrity in those more forgiving climes. For is it not poverty that teaches us how we might excel in times of plenty?” - Emperor Izaro Phrecius