The Sun’s Crusade

The first official holy war, launched to reclaim regions claimed to be “lost” to heresy and darkness. Spearheaded by Emperor Varros the Zealous, a fervent believer in Solenara's absolute light, the crusade became a symbol of the Empire's divine right to rule.

Key Events:

• The Siege of Dawnspire: A brutal campaign that saw an entire city burned to the ground for refusing to convert. Survivors were either enslaved or forced into re-education monasteries.
• The Conversion of the Southern Principalities: Entire regions were forcibly baptized in the sun-blessed waters of the Grand Solar Basilica, with dissenters facing execution by fire.
• The Founding of the Inquisition: Established as an independent arm of the Church, tasked with rooting out heresy within conquered lands. Its agents operated with near-absolute authority, answering only to the High Cleric.

By the end of the Sun’s Crusade, the Empire had doubled in size, but the seeds of dissent and rebellion had been sown among the subjugated peoples.