The Reign of Ash

The Spark of the End of the Age of Dragons

Also known as the "Assault of the Interloper" or the "Invasion of Ythrynaar", the Reign of Ash took place over the last two years of the 2nd Age of A'arde, the Age of Dragons. The Interloper Dragon, Ythrynaar, escaped from his Planar Prison by latching onto the Call of the Beacons and pulling himself out of the demiplane into A'arde. As Ythrynaar was not of A'arde, nor of the Plane from which Dragons were originally from, the Dragon Gods saw fit to offer Ythrynaar a chance at redemption. However, Ythrynaar soon began to spark conflict, whispering words of conquest into the ears of any Dragon who would listen, and building an army from those who were unhappy with the peace built upon co-operation. For a time, the dragons did their best to keep the impact minimal, and fighting was predominantly small spats amongst fellow Dragons. However, Ythrynaar attempted to tempt the young Dragon God, Eron-Enis to his cause, and failed. This failure enraged Ythrynaar, and he killed Eron-Enis, sparking a war that reshaped the world.

Amongst the flames of destruction and shifting ash, Ythrynaar's death resulted in the creation of an entire new mountain range, which split the main landmass in two and shifted the continental borders to those we know today. This range, which spans from coast to coast north to south, became known as the Spine of Ythrynaar and saw the continent of Eirinn emerge in the west, while Duraloth took the east. For centuries, Mortals refused to travel across the Spine of Ythrynaar, considering it cursed lands and choosing to move between Eirinn and Duraloth by crossing the newly established Bay of Shattered Teeth in the south.

The Conflict

Outcome

With Ythrynnar's death, many of his weaker loyalists scattered and went into hiding, while the more powerful among them attempted to continue to fight "in his name". However, their last-ditch efforts were short lived, as without Ythrynaar to guide them or assist them in controlling their volatile powers, they were easily overpowered or ended up destroying themselves in their hubris. Only two of Ythrynaar's known Generals survived; Alket the Black Flame and Vjollka the Arcanist, with Vjollka submitting herself to the Draconic Pantheon for the sake of her unhatched egg after the death of her Mate, and Alket going on the run and into hiding. Alket was eventually caught and slain 200 years later, but Vjollka's fate remains unknown. It is believed that her hatchling was raised by an adoptive family.

The shock of the loss of Eron-Enis at the beginning of the war continued past the conclusion, particularly among the Faithful of the young God, who suddenly found themselves without a Deity to answer their prayers. Spiritualists who relied on Eron-Enis for their abilities found themselves powerless as they struggled to reconcile what had happened, and ripples of errant Divine magic spread across the world, causing chaotic sparks of energy to erupt without warning. As the effects of his death died down and the Divine Rain stabilised, followers of the dead God had to make the choice as to whether to lay down their faith and turn to another, or to mourn his loss and remain faithful, if powerless. Many chose to honour Eron-Enis by turning their faith to his Mother and Father, Anisa-Elma and Cestilav-Elseid, or to his former Mate, Aria-Ardita, while also maintaining a Mourning Shrine for him. The few that decided not to shift their Faith maintained Eron-Enis's shrines for centuries before many of them fell out of use and were reclaimed by other Deities of the Pantheon.

Aftermath

Parts of the world were irreparably changed following the conflict. After Ythrynaar was slain and fell to A'arde, his body was turned to stone and became the Spine of Ythrynaar mountain range. The continents of Eirinn and Duraloth were remapped to take into account the new mountain range, and the Gods made the decision to destroy the Beacons, so that similar tragedies could not happen again.

Eron-Enis was lifted among the stars by Boone, becoming the Dragon constellation, and the Dragon Gods decided to take a less active role within the realm of A'arde, considering their presence amongst the Mortals to have been a big factor in Ythrynaar's decision to attack A'arde.

Conflict Type
War
Conflict Result
Ythrynaar slain

Belligerents

A'arden Defenders
The Hordes of Ythrynaar

Strength

Casualties

Objectives


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