Shardmind

Seven hundred years ago, the empire of Estorium was devastated by a surprise attack by the mind flayer empire of the underdark. Unable to achieve victory against the mind flayers' powerful psionic powers, Estorium's mages studied the mind flayers and ultimately created living psionic constructs called shardminds. With the help of the shardminds, they were eventually able to turn the tide and defeat the mind flayers. Unfortunately, their own once-grand empire lay in ruins; it was estimated that perhaps only ten percent of the population survived. The mages knew that the mind flayers would someday return, and so they placed the shardminds into hibernation until such a time as they were needed once more. Twenty years ago, a shardmind is sighted by travelers - the first shardmind seen since the end of the mind flayer war. Since then, steadily increasing numbers of shardminds have begun waking from their long hibernation.

Individual shardminds may or may not remember the war, and those that do remember it to varying degrees. They themselves are unaware of precisely why they have begun to wake up.