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Many centuries ago a great wizard-invoker named Ipsar led the armies of another mighty empire, precursor to your current government. Ipsar's power and leadership brought his Empire to the brink of world domination, but it was not to be. A barbarian assassin stabbed him treacherously while he rested after a battle, sending Ipsar's soul to Hell. The forces he dealt with for his power were there to welcome him into the lands of eternal torment and damnation. His Empire's armies failed in that Age, and not until recent centuries were Ademis' armies again in a position to try for the ultimate conquest.
Two hundred years ago, Empire armies were again poised to conquer the Prime World. To insure success, the priests of Ademis resurrected Ipsar from Hell to again lead the armies of Empire to victory. This time there was no assassin to stop Ipsar's march, and his campaigns insured the Empire's total conquest and domination in the generations which followed. No significant opposition was left to challenge the Empire's inevitable rise to world domination.
Now the Empire enjoys a Golden Age, but the wisest and most powerful men in the Empire see a hidden unrest. Without the threat of war, and without new lands to invade and colonize, the people are slowly becoming jealous of the wealth of their betters. This is why, in an Age of incredible wealth and security, the Empire is secretly seeking new frontiers.
Before Ipsar died a natural second death following his very unnatural second life, he left a record of his experiences hidden deep in the Caves of Corundum. Years later, and just a couple years before the present day, a scribe at the Temple of Ademis in the new city of Ipsar discovered the legendary general's journal. After months spent decrypting this anagrammatic text, one entry greatly excited the industrious scribe. The entry in Ipsar's journal describes several audiences with a being on Hell's sixth plane. The being was a giant of immense power, but imprisoned in miles of chain and iron bands. He was completely hidden under the enveloping weight of iron.
When the journal's text was shown to the current emperor Akmid Jamar VIII, this description and other passages convinced him that Ipsar was describing none other than the god Ademis in his hellish prison. As a consequence of this knowledge, the emperor has commanded a magical gate be constructed, large enough for the invincible armies of Empire to invade Hell and bring the god Ademis back to the Prime World.