Chaos and disorder reigned after Gwaum's fall. Kingdom strove against kingdom in a deadly quest for power. The wizards of the Six Kingdoms faced their own peril. The mysterious Order of the Mind Readers lurked in secret places, plotting their own rise to supremacy. Compounding the crises, the refugee Raiders of Gwaum emerged as pirates, raiding the emerging commerce of the Six Kingdoms from their hidden lair. Mired in chaos, the Six Kingdoms risked plummeting into anarchy.