The Valmith Schism

Disbandment

In the aftermath of the Silent Invasion, the surviving Valmithians rallied around the three powerful organisations that had been key to ending the invasions. As it became time to rebuild, however, it became clear that each of the organisations envisioned a very different future for the Valmith empire. Tension, and outright distrust rose between the organisations until a high level meeting between the main members of the organisations erupted into a violent civil war. After most of the fighting had ended, the organisations carved up the remains of the Valmith to found the three seperate nations of Nestur, Ithleon, and Vindraxos. Each of these considers themselves the true heir of the Valmith empire and they have been in a state of war since.

With the Silent Invasion ended, much of Aynir, the capitol of the human empire of Valmith had been left in ruins. Over time it also became clear that the demon influence that had seeped into the material plane from the portal to the Abyss had scarred the epicentre of the invasion and caused worrying phenomena in a large area around the former portal. The sky became thick with dark clouds, that allowed little sunlight to penetrate, the clouds would also produce an unnatural amount of rain and everything within the affected area - from plantlife to stonework, and even the health of people and animals - appeared to decay at a much faster rate than normal. As worrying as the effects of the demonic influence were, however, most Valmithians were instead worried about the leadership of the Empire. With the entire royal family and the emperor's councillors killed during the invasion, there was no one left to give direction to the rebuilding of the empire.   Most people looked to The volunteers, Avellisse Vindraxos and her necromancers, or Marius Ithleon and his followers for guidance, because of the key roles they had played in ending the invasion. It quickly turned out, however, that each of these organisations had a very different view of which direction a rebuilt empire was supposed to take. The volunteers envisioned a meritocracy where the empire was ruled by a council of individuals that were the most capable, despite their race, gender, wealth or upbringing. Vindraxos and her necromancers, at the other hand, wanted a society that would be ruled by those who possessed the highest intellect and the strongest magical capabilities. A nation that would be similar to Athis Val, but where necromancy was practiced freely so that the undead would provide a useful and socially accepted labour force that allowed the living to pursue other, higher rated avenues like arts, politics and scholarship. At the same time, the vision of Marius Ithleon and his followers was most in line with the old empire. They wanted to keep most of the old system intact, except for the power structure in which they believed the clergy should have have full reign. Since they believed that Helm himself had saved the empire by turning Marius into the deity's avatar. Marius and his followers therefore assumed that Marius himself, naturally had to rule as the new emperor of the empire.   These ideological struggles weren't the only matters that barred the saviours of the empire from working together towards a rebuilt Valmith empire. Marius Ithleon and his followers acknowledged the role that the undead and the devil-infused volunteers had played in fighting the invasion, they considered them a necessary evil that had fulfilled it's purpose. To them, the Tieflings and undead were a blight upon the material world that should not exist. The volunteers and Avellisse Vindraxos and her necromancers in their turn did not take kindly to the bigotry of Ithleon and his followers. They also resented the idea of a return to the strict and repressive morals of the old empire. Allthough this might have allowed the two factions to form a united front against the conservative followers of Ithleon, the necromancers and volunteers differed too much in their outlook and most couldn't help but feel mutual unease towards the influence of the nine hells or the presence of undeath respectively.   As most of the remaining Valmithians started to align themselves with one of the organisations and their accompanying view of a rebuilt empire, tension and hostility arose between the three factions. Eventually, on the 28th of Mirtul, a summit was called between the three organisations to find a workable solution. As none of the three factions was willing to give way towards the realisation of their ideal empire, arguments quickly got heated and as tempers flared, Lanfre Grant, a high ranking follower of Marius Ithleon stabbed and killed Avellisse Vindraxos. In the ensueing chaos, Lanfre was quickly dispatched by armed members of The volunteers while Vindraxos' followers quickly grabbed the body of their leader and retreated. The other factions left the summit shortly after as insults and accusations were traded off between members of the various factions. The most powerful of Vindraxos' followers inmediately set out to save their leader, eventually raising her as an arch-lich and sacrificing a number of themselves as part of the ritual. As news of the assassination attempt spread, however, it sparked a civil war within Aynir in which the three organisations battled in the streets of the city to gain supremacy.   Even though the fighting only lasted a tenday, it caused more destruction to Aynir then the invasion had. Fires had raged through parts of the city and streets were strewn with rubble and barricades. Much of the population had tried to flee the city or they were hunkered down in makeshift shelters. With none of the factions gaining a clear advantage over the others, the leaders called a ceasefire to hold another summit outside of the city. The leaders concluded that none of the factions would back down, and further fighting would only cause more destruction and weaken each of the organisations, making what remained of Valmith an easy target for other powers. And so, they decided to disband the Valmith empire and carve up what remained of the territories into three seperate entities. Aynir was abandoned and left as a buffer between the seperate nations. With this act the current nations of Nestur, Ithleon, and Vindraxos were founded, each named after it's (spiritual) founder. The buffer zone surrounding Aynir has since degenerated into an abyssmal swamp known as The Endless Marches. Though it has little strategic value, each of the three nations wants to monitor the epicentre of the silent invasion for demonic influence while, at the same time, none of the three nations is willing to suffer the others to gain an upper hand in the marches. The area is therefore prone to skirmish activities and small scale battles as the survivor nations use the marches as an outlet for the perpetual state of cold war amongst themselves.   There are scholars who argue that the animosity between the three factions and the ensueing civil war were caused by the demonic influence that radiates the epicentre of the Silent Invasion. The power of the abyss is known to corrupt individuals and the current unnatural phenomena within the Endless Marches are a clear sign of the danger that demonic magic can pose. Others deny this theory however, or claim that it's simply impossible to tell to what degree the demonic influence itself was the catalyst that caused the Valmith Schism.