Over five hundred years ago, in the aftermath of the Gathering of the Gods in the Year of the Dawn Rose, the Triad, fearing the increasing incidence of darkness spreading throughout the land, hatched an idea to create a series of portals.
Enlisting the aid of Helm, who favored the idea of guarding Faerûn in this manner, the Triad fashioned four portals to aid the forces of good and law to move quickly to better stem the tide of darkness and chaos.
Sadly, as in the case with so many good things, the portals fell into increasing disuse as the centuries passed.
Other beings, entities of less principle and more ambition, eventually discovered these powerful magic sources and tacitly claimed them for themselves.
From the cold rushing waters of the River Chionthar, to the barren windswept wastelands of Thar; from the lush, serene forests of Cormanthar, to the border between Cormyr and Sembia, the portals await . . . as do their new guardians.