The Great War

The Great War marred several centuries of life on the Continent, and one of the biggest transformations in the political landscape of this Age. In the run up to the war, known as the Wizard Rebellion, the once great and singular human kingdom was fractured, and gave rise to one of the greatest and longest conflicts in the history of the Continent. However, with its resolution, a new era of peace and prosperity dawned. From the ash of the fallen Empire of Evruzudal was built a new nation, and the foundations of a golden age of trade and industry, race relations strengthened and the best minds of the age coming together to forge a new future.

The Wizard Rebellion

There once was an age when all races lived side by side in harmony, but years of civil unrest lead to the eventual fracturing of the great human kingdom of Azmarin. In the years that lead up to the wizard rebellion, there was great tension between the mundanes, wizards, and practitioners. The mundanes, threatened by the power of the wizards, over many years put in place sanction upon sanction to control the use of wizard magic, as the rise of industry replaced the reliance human society had on magic. The mundanes were fed up of this inequality, and the power imbalance in favour of magic users, and investors and scientists spent years developing technology on par with their powers. This gave ground for the systematic oppression of wizard communities, and these same investment corporations spread dangerous propaganda of the supposed hidden motives of magic users. The wizards protested this oppression, going on strike, rebelling. On both sides, propaganda, misinformation and manipulation drove a growing rift between them. The wizard protests grew violent, and their punishments harsher. Wizards were made example of, executed publicly for crimes against the crown. From the mistrust and chaos rose a figure to unite the wizards against the mundanes, by the name Elvruzahl, a figure who gave them hope and demanded they took their "rightful place" in society. Elvruzahl was head of a power wizard House, the House of Erexis, and held great political sway despite his status as a wizard.

At the same time, growing civil unrest between the rural farming communities of upper Azmarin, and the expanding industrial cities in the south added to the political turmoil. The techgiants and corporations appeased the working class, vastly underpaid and working in dire conditions, with the promise of vast wealth increases and improved living conditions as their technologies advanced and expanded continent wide- but the farming communities of the north, who built their livelihoods upon the fertile ground of the area was strongly against the expansion of industry, as were the magical communities of elves (who saw technology as crude and dirty and against the natural order). This heightened the friction and divide between Azmarin and Eziris, and over the next decades Eziris campaigned for independence from Azmarin. This split the human kingdom in three: after years of campaigning, Evruzudal was pronounced an independant nation, ruled by Elvuzahl.

The Seeds of War

What the public where unaware of at the time was Elvruzahl's hidden motivations. The dark god Omen was awakening, and came to Elvruzahl in his dreams, praying on his doubts and patriotism for his nation. Omen promised that he could help- if Elvruzahl sided with him, he could help them build a great empire, and the could rule the Continent and beyond side by side... Elvruzahl was not satisfied with independence. He didn't just want independence, to rule their own seperate kingdom of wizards. Elvruzahl fell victim to Omen's promises- he wanted an empire. He wanted a return to the old ways- when wizards ruled and held all power. An end to the villinisation of his people, and for them to take their rightful place as rulers. He spread the belief of 'Esvelen's chosen', which caught on like wildfire amongst the wizards tired of their suppression. Humans, the first race, the divine Creator Esvelen's race. But they were no ordinary humans- they were humans of magic. Esvelen's chosen few. And with this manifesto, Elvruzahl readied his empire for war. During his life, he lead the first invasions of Eziris, laying waste to the outer villages and expanding their territory. Soon, much of the northernmost front of Eziris was occupied by wizard armies, governed under wizard rule.

When his father died, Elforin took up the mantle as Emperor of Evruzudal, and figurehead of their holy crusade. The war against Eziris had long become a standstill, the wizard armies unable to pentrate the thick walls of Eziris's outer city, but Elforin had grand plans. He ended the sieges on Eziris, and turned his sights northwards- to the elves and dragons. With much of Nuyanem under his control, he would be in prime position to attack the dragons. A dangerous move, but Elforin believed if he could get his hands on dragon eggs, and raise them under his command, they could be a powerful asset to his military, and may finally allow him to take full control of Eziris. The elves were a proud people, living in secluded and divided communities across the Ancient Heights and into Vreria. Too proud to realise the intentions of the wizards.

The smaller, and unsuspecting, wood elf villages were decimated by the wizard attacks. While the high elves in their cities of white stone and thick walls withstood fiercly, Elforin's mind was set. The attacks on the city of Meledir was one of the first steps in Elforin's campaign, for the city was vulnerable and a key location for attacking Vreria (territory of the dragons) as well as for their prized gem which the wizards used as powerful focuses for their power. Valcite, only found, or as the world believed, deep beneath the Ancient Heights, and refined by the elves of Melendir, was a powerful magical conductor used by wizards atop their staffs to channel their powers. With Melendir under their control, they would have access to all the Valcite they needed, and the best gemsmiths the Continent had to offer to forge their staffs. The seige on Melendir lasted several years, due to its strong fortifications and self sufficiency, but Elforin was determined. When the city fell, this was a turning point in the war- no one believed it could be conquered. This caused the wizards significant losses, but was a symbol of the strength of their empire. The genocide of the elves was one of the biggest atrocities of this war, countless settlements destroyed by the onslaught of fire. Those left retreated deep into Entheas forest; dense and magical, the wizards held no sway here.

The Two Princes

The wizards occupied Melendir for many years as their base during Elforin's siege on Vreria. The dragons for a long time paid little heed to the wizards, and for the most part easily defeated any battalions Elforin sent. But Elforin grew greedy. He threw everything he had at these assaults, and began leading the charge himself when other generals were too afraid. Elforin battled many dragons during their attempts, and was greatly renowned for taking down one dragon on the council- Krafaris the Slayer. But never did he get close enough to the nesting sites to retrieve the eggs. Elforin then changed tacks. Instead of brute force- stealth. They would be short of time, and would not have time or the men to do a full raid, but they could steal a few, and that was all he needed. He had three specific eggs in mind; his scouts informed him that Asimore, one of the only female dragons on the council and by far the fieriest of them all, had lain three eggs. Three eggs; a dragon each for him and his two sons, Elvarune and Elphius.

On Elvarune's 18th birthday, Elforin invited his sons to join him in Melendir, in time to join him in his attempt to steal the eggs of the most powerful dragon to ever live. And now of age, when Elvarune arrived, Elforin also informed him of the true nature of this war. Of Omen's involvement and his plans to escalate the war, beyond territory expansion and growing their influence, and making their empire strong and respected- like the old days. He told Elvrarune Omen's plan to rule the universe with them by his side, and when he became Emperor, Omen would come to him in his mind, like he had done for Elforin, and Elforin's father before him. Elvarune, already unsure of the righteousness of this war, was outraged. He refused to join his father on his mission, and spent days in his rooms, unsure how to move forward with this information. Elforin, also outraged by his son's behaviour, was glad to leave him behind, and went alone with Elphius to steal the eggs.

My father, Elforin the Magnificent, was a wizard of immense power. He defeated Krafaris the Slayer with his bare hands. He has battled a great many dragons in his time, but he made one grave mistake. He went up against Asimore. She is one of the only female dragons on the council and by far the fiercest of them all. Her fire has been known to burn with the heat of a thousand suns, incinerating hundreds of innocent people with no mercy. Some say she has no soul, others say it has been corrupted, withered and blackened by centuries of fighting and murder. His mistake cost him his life. He never stood a chance against that level of power. But I have recovered the eggs…

— Extract from Elvarune's Diary, in The Fallen

But the mission went tragically wrong. Elforin was killed by Asimore, and Elphius narrowly escaped- although he suceeded to take the eggs. Elvarune, when Elphius returned, confronted him, only to discover his father had been killed. Elvarune, while devestated, insisted on telling his brother everything, intent on convincing him that they could change things- it didn't have to be this way, they could rule together, and bring an end to the war. Elphius can't believe what Elvarune has told him, and that his father would keep this from them. Part of him wants to believe his brother but he loved his father so much and saw the best in their Empire. He believed every story his father fed them, and about the righteousness of their crusade. Elvarune knows no one would believe him, and he didn't want to rule alone without his brother's support. He remembered too his father's words about Omen- a dark god speaking in his mind, corrupting him. Not wanting to become a puppet to his will, Elvarune makes the choice to leave. Elphius tries to stop him, but in the end lets him go. Elphius still loved his brother, and despised the fact he would disgrace their name this way- a traitor to their kingdom, so he made a choice. No one had seen Elvarune for days, and no one saw him and his father the day they left... He spread the lie that Elvarune went with them to steal the eggs, and died too. At only 16, Elphius was crowned the new Emperor of the Wizards. The rest of his life he served his father's cause, and lead the war efforts of his empire, until the war was finally ended.

The Final Battle

Ereqia, Elphius's loyal advisor, when she learnt the truth of Elphius' ambitions and his loyalty to Omen, betrayed him, and lead a rebellion against his regime. Many wizards, already doubting the righteousness of their crusade, on learning the truth Ereqia shared with them, joined her, and together they formed an alliance with the human nations. In the legendary final battle of the Great War, immortalised as the Battle of Omen's Keep, where elves, dwarves, dragons, and men stood together and launched a united siege upon Mount Eresven, the dark fortress where Omen resided, Ereqia confronted her once idol and killed him. It was this act, alongside the fall of Omen, that brought an end to the centuries of tyranny and bloodshed, and marked the beginning of a new era.

She raised her staff and muttered an incantation. A fork of purple lightning struck Elphius on the chest. His heart. He could share her pain. Blood pooled around him, his face ash grey. Frozen forever in a naive, malicious smile, an apt effigy. The Wizard King was dead.

— An extract from our novel, The Fallen

A New Nation

With Elphius' death, it would have been easy for the wizards and their fallen empire to dissolve once more into turmoil, but under the wise leadership of Ereqia, a new nation rose from the ashes of Elphuis' rein. To sever the nation's ties to the ideology and cruelty of the fallen empire, she renamed they nation Antora, derived from 'after torment' in their dialect. Under her reign, a new era of prosperity dawned, alliances reforged between the races, and careful treaties crafted to lay the foundation of a golden age of peace. It marked the beginning of an industrial boom like never before seen, the technologies of humans and the magic of wizards and other races combined to forge and craft innovative and highly efficient new tools and processes, transforming the lifestyle of peoples across the Continent.