In the longer history of things regarding the rulers of our realm. (Short and Sweet Version)
Lord British disappeared - on some shards it is whispered a dastardly orcish clan accosted our most favored lordship. On others there is a belief that Blackthorn had something to do with it. Depends upon who you talk to.
--- IRL RG and EA had a divorce.
The lands became quite chaotic. Without a central ruler, several of the shards vied for self government. Then these godlings appeared and to this day still work hard to bring a sense of cohesion within the shards. These godlings some call "EMs".
As the powers of dark (meaning Minax, Exodus and the like) realized the vacuum created by Lord British's absence grew, so too did their boldness. Eventually, a young girl from Yew stepped forward - this be
Dawn. She did her utmost to fight for all of Sosaria, and paid dearly with her life to destroy the daemon Virtubane. Her memorial can be found on the Yew coastline across the little bay from the Empath Abbey.
During Dawn's time as Queen, she created a sort of relationship with the Gargoyle Queen of Ter Mur.
Dawn was valiant, but ultimately did not destroy the darkness of Minax. Again, the witch stirred sensing a void in the leadership of Sosaria. And out of the blue stepped
Blackthorn. One time Lord British's best friend and "best kept enemy". Knowing the shards of Sosaria need a central figure for rulership, Blackthorn basically set himself upon the thrown, declaring hisself king with the help of Dupre.
Now... some loyalists to Lord British find this to be an atrocity as the Virtues are something Blackthorn never really supported - his philosophy is that Chaos rules supreme and the Virtues are just there to help keep the sheep calm. Although Blackthorn's rule has been so far "successful" - Minax is still not in control of the Shards - several of the eldest citizens of Sosaria question Blackthorn's motives.
And then the Time Lord showed up and we all know when he appears things get a bit, frisky.
Now a gateway to Minax is opened via Eodon. Hmmmm....
I'm waiting for the Shadow Lords to show their faces again.