The year 79,500 was the last Good Year for the Empire of Saltar. For three millennia it had reigned supreme in North Amrica, ruling the lands from the Atlantic in the East to the eaves of Aldacan in the West; and from the arid borders of Mestom in the South to frigid Urguth and the Vales in the North. But discontent was growing, especially in the provinces. The people of the central region of Saltar - the home provinces south of Lac Olith and north of the Gulf of Mexico - were growing increasingly distant from their fellow citizens in the border provinces. The latter still had to contend with raiders from the orc lands and barbarian realms to the north, giants from the western mountains, and Mestom to the south. Perhaps being adjacent to wilderness areas imparted a certain dynamism to life in the border provinces which was lacking in the heartland. For whatever reason, the central area of Saltar became more removed from the affairs of the rest of the Empire, more complacent and - at least by the standards of the outer regions - increasingly decadent.
Then came the War of the Stones, which led to a massive upheaval in the religious hierarchy of the Empire. The Old Gods returned, and the Rhior Power deserted all but the Wizards. The human clerics of the Triad were suddenly powerless, and the new clerics of the Old Gods were vying for power and prestige. While the Empire was thus preoccupied, the people of the most prosperous of the border provinces - Nlad - saw their opportunity and rebelled.
At first it was a popular uprising spawned by the inability of the small garrison of a border outpost called Sandas to stop orc and goblin raids out of the Mountains of Nlad. The uprising soon spread, though. Then, a group of opportunistic nobles saw a chance to gain power, and provided the leadership and guidance that the rebels needed badly. Preoccupied with a lesser uprising closer to home in the area now known as the Small Kingdoms, along with a series of devastating coastal raids by Calacoon, the Imperial leadership was slow to react to the threat posed by the rebels in Nlad. When they finally did it was in a brutally halfhearted fashion. The leaders in Atlantia were still coming to terms with the new religious status quo, other provinces to the northwest and northeast were also restive, and enemies from outside of the borders were trying to take advantage of the disarray. The armies sent to Nlad were half trained and led by second rate officers who found it more expedient to slaughter, torture, maim and rape the populace than to fight the increasingly powerful rebel army face to face. On the few occasions that they did, they were beaten badly.
On Midsummer's day in the year 500 of the Third Age, Saltar reluctantly granted the province of Nlad its independence. With Nlad out of the way, the Empire turned to the task of shoring up its faltering border defenses and restoring order and control to the areas it still ruled. Saltar virtually sealed off Nlad from the rest of its lands.
This suited Nlad. The people of the new kingdom bore a grudge against the old Empire and anything Saltarian; quite justifiably so in view of the way the Empire's armies treated them. Anything pertaining to Saltar was rounded up and destroyed. This included artifacts, magical items, art, and books and scrolls. Any that the mobs could lay their hands on were destroyed. To this day the effects of these purges are felt by the intelligencia. It is virtually impossible for the historian, scientist, mage or sage to do any research into matters dating prior to the founding of Nlad, for the reference materials no longer exist. One must travel outside of Nlad to conduct these studies.
Perhaps worst of all, though, is the way in which the history of what came before the founding of Nlad has been suppressed. Most common folk know little of the Empire of Saltar. Most think it is long gone. Few know that it still exists.