Once upon a time, the Spiran Empire dominated Ihlathi, putting most of it under control of the city of Spira in the west. The Empire eventually fell, due to a number of factors: overspending on a navy without naval conquest, a disastrous campaign to the south while spreading too much of the army north, and outright rebellion from within. When Spira fell, the lands around it became the Kingdom of Sakkomir, and the city itself was reduced to a ‘‘mere’’ center of trade, while the capital was Avara, farther to the east.

In 948, Sakkomir entered into war with Gelephia, a powerful landlocked nation to the east. This war was unremarkable by standards of Ihlathi and its millennia of conflicts...until Gelephia was wiped off the map in 949 by the Latewinter Doom, which brought the Great Shimmer. The shimmer consumed many lands, including nearly a quarter of Sakkomir, itself including Avara, the home of the royal family. Since then, Sakkomir has been divided into four separate areas, each claiming to be the true Kingdom (and each originally including members of the Sakkomir royal family). Each principality proved, over the centuries, to be wealthy and powerful enough to repel invasion attempts from north and south (other than some early losses to Nonoviga).

Centuries of infighting brought the rulers to a mutual understanding that it was in their best interests to cease hostilities, until such a time as a new capital is established. In 1469, they tentatively joined to form the Sakkomir Palatinate, led by a distribution of power across four capitals. Sakkomir now seeks to reclaim land, and re-establish Avara itself, from the Great Shimmer, though it is apparent that each principality would also settle for taking charge of the State.