The discovery of CORUM, a never-before-seen energy source, led to a bloody world war for its control. After years of constant death and destruction, the Lords of the lands agreed to stop the fight and negotiate an agreement. The BLADE FORGERS TREATY was born from that meeting. This treaty established that the centralization of the Corum exploitation would be done through one central government led by a neutral Emperor. The Emperor would have to be a BLADE FORGER, a mystical swordsman, and defend the title in a tournament called The Tournament of the Five Rings. Every five years, Blade Forgers from every corner of the Empire would fight for the possibility of becoming the new Emperor.