Heritage War

The Heritage War, named after its instigator, was a foundational conflict in Dandoleon. It marks the only successful invasion of a Birdtower, which was waged to remedy the overextension of its residents' authority over the surrounding region. Parishioner Heritage, a mortal who colluded with the Birdtowers, developed and utilized chemical weapons capable of eradicating entire populations. While the demigods within the tower are of questionable guilt, the horrible achievement wouldn't be possible without their records and cooperation.   Heritage destroyed the city of Alo Knocksis using chemicals akin to pesticides, which he developed for three years. He created them with Biomancy, which he claimed could revolutionize agriculture and disease resistance, though it was ultimately a guise to desensitize the populace to his arcane experimentation. Following the genocide, several neighboring settlements united to confront the Birdtower that Heritage had often visited; the residents were unreasonably hostile when questioned on the matter, leading to a successful siege. By the matter's conclusion, one guilty Disciple was executed, and a covenant was brokered regarding the use of Biomancy. Heritage, however, was never found.    

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"An unexplainable tragedy has befallen us: a Birdtower glider, the make intended for pesticide distribution, flew overhead today. It made an innocuous lap of the crop fields before turning inland to our colony. Horrid yellow clouds funneled to the ground, suffocating alleys and canals alike with the ferocity of a hundred dust devils. Most took refuge inside as the contrived wind swept wagons to the wayside. The powder had built upon our cuticle, which could give an ignorant observer the impression that we had burrowed through sand. Accompanying the foul smell was a faint burning sensation, more akin to acid than fire.   The sheer sound of slicing wind above portended lap after lap after lap. In the unending bombardment of chemical warfare, we scarcely mustered the bravery to take to the streets and find the nursery chamber, and determine the status of our larvae. Traversing the alleys was an eerie, lonesome experience. We heard the glider above, making its final passes as we crawled against the loathsome yellow mounds and entered the nearest nursery; to our relief, it was penetrated by the chemical but seemingly unharmed. The larvae wriggled in resistance of their yellow coats, but we promptly cleaned them and initiated our search for the Queen to ensure her safety."

— Eclosiant Plolepis, Victim of the Alo Knocksis Strike

The Attack

The war was incited by the catastrophic "Alo Knocksis Strike," in which Parishioner Heritage stole a Birdtower glider and used it to wage an aerial attack on a Formican city of the same name. The operation initially appeared harmless, as he used the glider to spread a yellow cloud over crops in an apparent routine treatment. Instead of pesticides, however, Heritage had developed a chemical weapon by taking advantage of recent Biomancy research.   While the initial symptom was only minor chemical burns, the long term effects damned Alo Knocksis to extinction. Nurseries fell victim to developmental plagues, as larvae failed to grow properly or metamorphose. Adults began degrading, as their exoskeletons flaked and softened- eventually, their interior bones followed suit. The queen and her loyal guard lost all reproductive capabilities and pheromonal signals. While attempts were made to crown a new queen, it appeared that none of the actively degenerating Knocksians could rear a new brood themselves.   Alo Knocksis had become uninhabitable, buried beneath feet of burning dust that easily spread by wind. Swathes were lost in the initial attack due to suffocation, but as exoskeletons and bones softened, the Knocksians gradually passed away. Several had escaped and spread the word to nearby settlements, which met the tale with disbelief until seeing it for themselves.  

Parishioner Heritage's Manipulation

Under Heritage's "cooperation, not competition" campaign, he developed the pesticides that became commonplace in Formican agriculture. Common Biomantic pesticides functioned as "growth regulators," preventing insect development and metamorphosis. By keeping insect pests in nymph or larval stages, they failed to reproduce, and future populations were subsequently diminished. Due to Formica's close ancestral relationship with these less-evolved species, the leap to pesticides affecting their own physiology was trivial.   Once Biomancy had become so commonplace that locals took it for granted, Heritage began targeting his insatiable admirers with superficial products. These ointments, intended for de-aging and beautification, were a series of trials and proof of concept, illustrating that more evolved species could be affected by such poisons. Heritage performed his experiments behind the walls of a Birdtower, an allowance granted to few Formica throughout history. Some surmise that he was the only Formica to gain access to the Disciples' private records. Heritage's interactions with the Disciples of Thanatorum granted him reverence; none had achieved an equal partnership with the demigods before. This relationship, however, was the sole circumstance incriminating the Birdtowers in the genocide, which brought the war to their doorstep.