Eclipse Extermination

All attacks happened at night. Weather was not particularly a factor in most of the battles as the attacks were swift and decisive strikes against nearly the entirety of the population.

The mercenaries and small military detachments all attacked under the cover of night within a single evening. There was no warning, and as such, the Guardians, though powerful, were caught unaware, and most lost their lives. The Guardians started very much on the back foot, and though they inflicted considerable damage on their opposition, the damage to their numbers and morale had already been done.

Collateral damage was also high, as the enemy did everything they could to crush their enemy before a move could be made, including bringing houses down on people as they slept.

The attack seemed to have an additional component of a supposed bounty against Guardians in areas that were harder to send forces to, leaving mercenaries to 'clean up the leftovers'.

by Kranjax via Midjourney

The immediate result was the near-total annihilation of Guardians.

As members of all species were victims of the attack, there we calls for punishment the world over for whomever was responsible. This nearly resulted in a world war, until it became known that the country of Razanden's royal family was responsible for this.

To avoid being attacked by other species, all other nations and regions with a sizable human population mobilized against Razanden, along with the forces of other countries and species. This resulted in the end of the Razanden royal family and the collapse of the nation.

Razanden's royal family was swiftly captured and put to death. Those who could not escape Razanden were either killed or otherwise cursed in some manner, not only by mortals but even some of the gods themselves decided to get involved. Famine was widespread, as was sickness. Fires scarcely burned, and even the wind seemed to want nothing to do with the region for several years. Razanden became a nation only in name, and no country wanted to claim its lands as it seemed even the gods were against it.

An Era that was previously unnamed ended the day it was given one.

I weep for thee, god-touched children slain for vanity's sake. I weep for thee, children of a scorned country. I weep for thee, survivors displaced survivors, in a time no longer their own.

— Alma Rose

by Kranjax via Midjourney

Once partial discoveries were made on how and why this incursion happened, which entailed the invasion of several nations, new treaties were put in place that severely punished countries that violated borders in such a crass manner, either via military actions or by near complete economic isolation.

Humans were looked down upon (even more so) for being foolish and short-sighted. Most of the long-lived races would rather have had nothing to do with them for at least the following 200 years. To curb "the ignorance of humans" as the high elves phrased it, it was decided that certain aspects of various cultures would be included in human education. This saw an increased cooperation in global education initiatives, as well as a strong increase in human literacy. The remaining humans in power had no choice but to accept such terms, or they would face even more hostility, sanctions, political isolation, or outright combat.

Blighted creatures were far harder to deal with and became a more common sight in some areas, which consequently became nearly inhospitable.

Firearms, such as flintlocks, were banned internationally, and relegated to usage in hunting and defense of one's immediate home. No standing force, military or otherwise, would be allowed to have them. The weapon also had to be magically attuned to its owner, so that only they could use it. This was not a cheap process, and thus further raised the barrier of entry towards having and wielding one. Only Saints and the remnants of Guardians, who had been granted a firearm as a Celestial Weapon, were allowed to wield them outside of the aforementioned reasons.

The weather became more violent in some areas as if the gods themselves were angry over the attack. Razanden saw severe storms, droughts, and earthquakes on a scale never seen before. This eventually started to spread to other areas as the survivors of Razanden turned to... questionable deities. This change coincided with what some would call "the asphyxiation of the gods", in which people seemed to think the world's end was approaching.

This conflict also aligns with the beginnings of whispers related to the illicit bounty on golden-eyes which saw much of the remnants of Guardians attacked.

The conflict forever changed how humanity was viewed as a species, and also somehow fostered a never-before-seen level of cooperation amongst the other species.

An entire culture died because of what? Fear? Vanity? Make it make sense.

— Lunalee