The line expanded and drew in fans, and was thus given a proper ongoing story, with the creators wanting to appeal to fans of science fiction and animation. The two nations' conflict turned into an ongoing series of stories included on the boxes and published in various magazines and books. History of Zoids, published in 1985, covered Zi's history as a planet wrecked by natural disasters and conflict, King Helic's uniting the original tribes and formation of the Republic, the Empire's bitter splitting off after his son Helic II took over and the younger Zenebas was betrayed by the era's politicians, and much of the earlier battles in the resulting war over territory on the Central Continent.