From Introduction:
When the ancient city of Zom Urduk was destroyed, the scribes wrote that a corrupted, demonic angel descended upon it and wiped it off the face of the Earth. The land has been cursed ever since, and only recently have explorers dug away the sands to explore it remains.
When the very same being came again to destroy the city of Koressia, the people who survived returned to their homes much sooner. But they could not stay, for they found the place polluted and unlivable. It took centuries before the city was rebuilt.
But scholars and scavengers were able to feast upon this tragedy much sooner. In the academies, professors compiled accounts of other cities so destroyed, and made connections between them and the strange arcane meats that were harvested by brave or foolish adventurers. But only the written words still remain.