Ther sits on a small peninsula to the northwest of what was once the Dulama Empire, a fairly poor and undeveloped corner of the world. It originated in the flight of a few aristocrats from the dying Tollanaugh Empire during the conquest of that state by Cairl the Great of Dulama. These men settled a stretch of coastline, subjugating what peasantry lived there, and expanding the relatively minor city of Ther that already existed there. Trade revenues funded an expanding state, though it could hardly match the peoples around it -- to this day, Ther remains a rather minor player. It has in recent history typically operated as a client state of the growing Noaunnaha, though the presence of a large minority faction preferring closer ties with Naran has sparked tensions between the two larger powers of the Morana Sea.
By around 1450 AR (616 SR), enterprising agents from Naran prodded this faction into open civil war, and fighting soon raged across the small country, with the threat of intervention from either larger power looming large.