Long ago the Zwerginn lived on a massive fragment which they referred to as Zwergar. It was a wonderfully prosperous nation; the fragment seemed to rise and fall in perfect unison with the harvest cycle of their crops, and fragments looking like they were going to collide with them veered off course at the last minute. Then an event occurred that had never happened before; the fragment shook violently. The various settlements sent people to investigate, and they found in the dead centre of the fragment a huge chasm going down into the depths. On a pedestal at the bottom was placed a Helm that was desired by all who laid eyes on it, that drove men mad with their lust for it. It drove the whole race into a bloody civil war; hundreds died in the years after, as it moved from owner to owner through theft and war. Farmers left their field to the deserts, fleeing from bandits and armies; sometimes distinguishing between them was hard. The prosperity the race once had had all but disappeared, but out of the darkness a hero arose. Seeing what this artefact did to his people, he raised an army and marched on the kingdom that had the artefact. He stormed the palace, and entering the treasure room he drew his sword and cleaved the helm into two with one fell swoop. Another earthquake followed, much bigger than the last and the fragment shattered, pieces flying off in all directions.

The power of the helm was broken, but so was their world. Fragments with cities on could no longer support their population, hunger became wide spread, but then peculiar things began to happen; the fragments seemed to move with purpose towards other fragments disgorging raiders who would plunder the fragment for resources, and flee on their now-retreating fragment. Over time they learned to control fragments better, enabling them to aim for more affluent fragments. Reluctant to leave their once proud cities, they would organise lightning raids on fragments they encountered, while the lands around their home became encroaching desert and the palaces decayed around them.