Much of the time before the Entente has given way to the space of myth and legend, only known from disparate folklore and ancient relics. What can be gleaned from these inheritances tells the tale of a land first held by a wrathful nature, full of mystical wonders and horrors. As nature was beaten back, it was replaced with an age of petty kings, hillock lords, and lesser princes each serving nothing but their own desires.

It is in this landscape that the first recognizable Entente precursors emerge. In the Lamic Dale, the Assembly of Votha began building new holds from their already ancient stronghold, the first unified Dwarven city of Ovdalam. In the Tassone Headlands, Thidrek the Varimanian carved out his kingdom by driving out the old gods of men in favor of the new beliefs he preached. And as the age began to come to a close, Araen the Westerwind began to unite the disparate city states along the Straits of Belgethor to carve out the Araenic Kingdom. It would be these nations that would begin to reign over the lands of Imeris, leading to rising tension and the oncoming clash.

The first form the Entente took was far different than its modern incarnation, with treaties that promised peace and trade, though how long any of these were expected to last is unknown. However despite all odds the peace held, and as the security and prosperity of these agreements grew, the agreements began to become more complex and binding as each party sought to secure greater wealth, security, defense for themselves and their future generations. This gradual buildup and interlocking eventually creating a united, if decentralized, confederacy of states that was one of the most prosperous in its world.

As the centuries passed, other states would be brought into the fold, though it was never a simple matter. Many territories were annexed by military expansion, such as Jorfith while others, such as the Ascensionist League were invited when war was an untenable option. This expansion was rare and slow, but those who found themselves underneath the Entente's banner in this age found themselves in a bright golden era of the Entente where Dwarves were free to refine their crafts, Caeli left to peer deep into the heavens and the Varimanians to further expand their theology.

The Varimanian Civil War was viewed by the greater Entente at first as an internal succession crisis due to the diplomatic deceptions of Prince Lethis. While interventions were prepared, these diplomatic stallings led to them never being committed to cross the border in force with only minor militia units supporting the bordering human regions before they were recalled. By the time the severity of the events was known, it was too late, and with the Houses of the Archons sundered, the Dwarves and Caeli had no chance to save their human allies. At the height of the passing of Calan Gaeaf, the cult of Eris performed a ritual on Lethis' royal blood, condemning the bloodline of man to sickness, possession or as the Entente would later discover, banishment deep into Gehenna.

In the aftermath of the Varimanian Civil War, the remaining people of Imeris were left reeling by the swift and sudden destruction. The Elder of Clan Lam at the time, Dunan Grayback Lam, as a self imposed penance for his role in blocking intervention is said to have recorded the history of the civil war in stone before taking his own life at its completion. There was no time left however for recovery as outlying northern territories, held back by the Varimanians, rose up seeing their chance for gain. What people did survive and remain in the Varamanian heartlands were maddened by demonic blood curses. With no other options, the surviving Caeli and Dwarves cut down these twisted versions of their former allies, and allowed these northern territories to plunder the fallen kingdom. And with uprisings among the dwarves pointing to a similar corruption, suspicions began to rise between the varied parties of the Entente as each feared the other becoming the next Variman. Eighty years of this decline saw a fall from grace like no other. Then the undead came.

The undead came from both the east and the north, each waves of their own. They brought plague and pestilence, and where they trod the dead rose from their graves. The Entente, while weakened, brought what fight they still had left, delaying the undead as best they could. However the years of decline had deprived them of many of their resources and allies they'd needed against such a foe. Defeat was inevitable. In the north, the Vothan Clans of Ral and Deler suffered the brunt of the initial invasion, buying crucial time for an escape to be planned. It is widely believed that this led to their total downfall, with their sacrifice being honoured by the dwarven survivors. Many precious cultural touchstones, such as grudge books, sculptures, holy texts and similar were lost in this period.

To ensure that not all was lost, the fleet was marshalled in a desperate attempt to evacuate what people they could. Every ship that could be considered seaworthy was mustered for the endeavour, though it was not enough for the tides of refugees. The unexpected challenge of humanities return in the form of the Lambent Front at Orderly Rock complicated matters further. While they were formidable fighters, they were few in number, scattered by arrival and not prepared for the hostile greeting they would receive. The fleet, a disorganised rabble, would eventually spread far into the Western and Southern seas, attempting to find any home safe from the undead.

A portion of the refugee fleets sailed far into open ocean, with many of them losing all sense of direction. It was commonly believed that the outer seas held nothing but ocean, as no previous expeditions had ever returned. While many entered despair or worse the desperation pushed them to keep sailing. The weather began to turn as thick fogs from an unknown source rolled over them. After days within the mists, a horrid storm raged, impairing vision so much that one could not see the end of their arm. No ships are known to have made it through the mists unscathed, leaving the passengers aboard to wash up on the untamed shores of Nebelloren.

Amongst the first to land were the scattered remains of a flotilla led by Caerwyn de Nebelloren who would claim the new shores for the Entente. On this landing they happened across the first of the Myriad, stirred awake by their coming, and became fast friends as they worked hard alongside the survivors to ensure both parties thrived. In recognition of this undue kindness that the Myriad showed the Entente, the self titled Marquis de Nebelloren, granted all Myriad citizenship within the Entente. This new, Nebelloren Entente would go on to lay the first stones of Parravon as directed by the Myriad Bastide. Bastide and his kin brought with them a large strange machine, of unknown origin, for the Entente to keep safe in the heart of their town.

The Entente as a whole was ruled by a council of representatives from the primary kingdoms and states that made it up, and had a central administration which served as the focal point of the institutions that worked across the whole Entente, organizing construction, defence, trade and other joint projects.

The member states of the Entente all retained their traditional court structures in addition to this overarching council and were free to enact local laws as each state wished.

Dwarven holds were led by hillock lords in a decentralised system who were overseen by councils of elders. Frequently when operating as a whole nation an Elder of each clan would be nominated by his peers to work in tandem with the other four.

The Kingdom of Variman was ruled over by a royal family, descendants of Thidrek. Below them sat the Judges and Heerser who managed local lands and oversaw enforcement of secular and religious law. The holy orders of the Seskantige Preke also held significant political sway in their local lands due to their institutionalised power.

The Areanic kingdom is a maritime bureaucratic state that is led by the regent for the enlightened Araen the Westerwind. While the government in theory holds a centralised power, in practice it is divvied between Magisters and bureaucrats who use intrigue and politics to gather as much power and wealth for themselves and their territory. Similar to Variman the Akarist church holds much institutionalised power due to it's deep ties with the monarchy and bureaucracy. So too does the navy hold much sway between the disparate isles of the Belgethor strait.

Other Caeli were frequently labelled as the Ascensionist league. Whilst these city states and pocket kingdoms keep no formal allegiances to each other they have held this name since their communal bargain to join the Entente. Their systems of governance are as varied as the peoples within them from the Nadir Matriarchies to the sage councils of the Udarists.

On Nebelloren, the Entente is a small feudal society organized under the March of Nebelloren, a title which has passed hands several times.

The Entente did not have a universal code of laws that applied across its member states, though some policies and laws were adopted across borders to ensure fair commerce and general safety. The finer details however were left to each state to define with their laws applying in their domains, and this was generally respected by all other parties. Centuries of cross cultural exchanges did lead to similar thoughts of justice being spread, but the dominant values of each society would usually steer them in varied directions. The nominal arbitrator of the law across most of the Entente were the Magistrates though frequently in dwarven holds it was respected that Elders would be looked to for legal arbitration through moot.

• Imeris - The Western Peninsula of Imeris as well as its original heartland, home to the Kingdom of Variman. It was more temperate in climate, with cold winters in its north. The Peninsula was divided by the Darigen Spine.
  • Ordaly Rock - The cultural heart of the Entente, as well as its defacto capital. The mountain itself has been untouched by Dwarven settlement or mining.
  • Mount Votha - Another untouched mountain, this one located in the Dairgen Spine, its peak is said to have been where the Dwarf Lam first swore his people's grudge against Morkith. A small memorial is the only structure to touch its peak.
  • Rimerock Isle - A small island that hung off the western shores of Imeris.
• Tassone Headlands' - A hilly cape off the eastern side of Imeris, the headlands were the heartland of Variman.
• Lamic Dale - The low lying lands east of the Darigens, the Dale was an agricultural centre for much of northern Imeris.
  • Orner Estallas - In the heart of the Lamic Dale, the Orner Estalles was the largest body of water on Imeris. Because of this size, it was oft debated on whether it was a lake or an inland sea, from which its name was source, being known in traditional dwarvish as the "Small Lake, Little Sea"
• Straits of Belgethor - The span between western Imeris and the eastern Penhira, as well as the islands that stretch across it, which are part of the Araenic Kingdom.
  • Lasiima - A holy island to the Akarist's in the straits of Belgethor
• Penhira - The Eastern Peninsula, home to the first Konos hold and the main bulk of Caeli kingdoms, including the Araenic Kingdom. Divided north and south by the Durthnol Range, it was more Mediterranean in climate, with more arid lands in the far east.
  • Vimnir - A mull on the northern half of Penhira, Vimnir is primarily known for being a largely rural hinterlands.
  • Udarah - A river sacred to Udarahist Ascenionists, the river served as a travel hub and settling ground
  • Ishlum - A large lake in Penhira.
• Faisah - While not a part of the Entente directly, the Faisah were the desert and savannah regions beyond the eastern ends of Penhira, and were considered culturally and spiritually important to the Caeli, who originally migrated into Penhira and Belgethor from these regions.
  • The Ivory Pass - A feat of High Entente engineering, the Ivory Pass was a series of tunnels, bridges, ledges and valleys that connected Penhira to the Faisah, named for the more readily accessible ivory
• The Brun - The Brun was the western and southern ocean that was once thought to have been the edge of the world, as no known lands laid beyond it.
• The Dymur Seral - Literally "the Mirror of Stars" the Dymur Seral was the ocean most frequented by Entente sailors, being used for trade and travel between the many coastal territories of the Entente

The Imeris Entente was a geographically diverse realm, and while nature held its threats these never grew beyond the merely mundane, with things like bears, wolves, mountain lions, and similar posing great dangers to outlying settlements and wayward travelers. Despite this, in the most outlying regions tales of great beasts would often flourish, with little regard for the truth of the matter.

The modern Entente shares a common language to aid in trade and communication, a blend of all its respective cultures. Beyond this Common Tongue, the original Varimanian tongue holds sway for the more devoted of its people, while Runes still hold cultural significance among the dwarves and Caeli recorded their names in their own ancient forms.

The Entente has no single religion, with a diverse number of theologies and philosophies dominating the varied lands. The four most prominent of these faiths were:

These beliefs largely stuck to their races of origins, but occasional conversions and mixings led to strange syncretisms as Dwarves swore upon the Archons, Caeli sought to cast down false gods, or Men followed the path of the Grand Design.

Cau Haf Calan Gaeaf or, more commonly Calan Gaeaf; originally a Caeli tradition centred around a strange celestial alignment that only comes about every 6 years when a large comet approaches. It is believed to be a series of days where spirits and ghosts return to plague the living.

As a nation with many distinct cultures, the folklore of Imeris was often distinct depending on what region you spoke of. Each Dwarven Hold had sagas of its founding, every Varimanian village a story of a distant monster.

An example folk tale would be the story of the Wyrm of Kaildain Hold, a common folktale in the mountains of Penhira. Set during the mythic past, two dwarves of the Clan Konos set out with a Caeli to restore the ancient hold of Kaildain, once a great jewel of the Konos' that was lost to the fearsome Wyrm of Kaildain hold, who made its lair in the still waters in the deepest levels of the fortress.

Entente architecture was highly diverse, with the Kingdom of Variman favoring simple but cozy timber framed homes, the Vothans favoring elaborate and intricate stonework, and the Caeli favoring tall and ornate structures.

Each member of the Entente had unique art forms and styles as one would expect. The Dwarves of Imeris were famed for their detailed carvings and beautiful sculptures, merging aesthetics with functionality to create towering works of Art. The Dwarves of Penhira meanwhile were masters of finesmithing and gem cutting, creating crafts of intricate beauty unrivaled anywhere. Both groups also claimed mastery over the area of their rivals of course. The Kingdom of Variman was famed for its dramatic theater culture, originating first from its religious ceremonies that recounted their mythic past. The Caeli of both Akarist and Ascensionist backgrounds were known best for their detailed and realistic paintings, with natural landscapes being a favorite in most schools. There were of course famed outliers such as the surrealist painters of Variman, the epics of Nadir theater and storytelling, the songs of Arelbel performers, and as the Entente grew in prosperity, the various arts began to merge and evolve, only further blurring the lines. However as the Entente fell into decline, the arts too fell away and by the time of the flight, it was considered that it would take decades to even recapture some of the glamour of the past.