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Author: Harken
Date Added: 1/10/09
Last Modified: 5/28/09
Third Age: Age of the Alliance Wars
Discovery of the Gates / The Beginning of the Alliance Wars
Malkur returned to the Turúva Roughs, unlocked, and became the master of Sharrum Gate. As master, he alone determined with whom the powers of the Gate would be shared; this concept would become the source of many alliances and wars throughout the history of Aedolyn. Malkur returned to Bavkür and taught his subjects the grand art of magic transforming Bavkür, overnight, into the most powerful of the nine nations, for they held the ultimate power. This has solidified his control and never again would Bavkür question their God. As a final note, Malkur betrayed the Golden Conclave by not sharing this power thus obliterating any future global peace. The Conclave had failed, so it was dissolved and the Hunt for the Gates began. A balance of power was necessary and so, to prevent Bavkür domination, the other eight nations of Aedolyn set out to discover the remaining four Gates.
The opening of the Gates not only intensified mortal greed, but it destroyed the uncanny prosperity that had flourished in Aedolyn. Conflicts began springing up everywhere; the most infamous of these was the massive Elf Civil War that quickly followed the dissolution of the Golden Conclave.
Malkur was determined to win back the support of Bavkür, so it was he who launched an attack on the Nívak capital of Zal’Garish. This marked the first use of magic in a battle and it overwhelmed Sephria who ended up calling for the aid of Calill of the Telgin Republic. Together, with mass one-sided casualties, the alliance of Nívak and Telgin forces were able to beat back the meager Bavkür attack. Prosperity had officially dissipated from the land and the hunt for the Gates intensified. Immediately after this display of supremacy, Malkur offered to share his power with Viscerra of Galstrom and Halvak of Angard. Viscerra accepted this call for alliance happily and without any contemplation; whereas Halvak questioned it. He eventually joined the alliance out of fear of a Bavkür invasion of Angard. The first major non-global alliance was formed and they called themselves the Sharrum Alliance.
Shortly after the formation of the Sharrum Alliance in the Third Age there was a revolt in the northern region of the Galstrom Badlands. The humans who lived there were in opposition to forming an alliance and so bluntly ending the reign of prosperity. They hatched a plan to march into Haar and overthrow Viscerra; however, when news of this revolt and their intentions reached her ears, Viscerra quickly smashed them down. She went one step further and unleashed a plague upon their lands which completely destroyed the badlands and Zul’Caer and cursed all the people transforming them from humans to Galstrans. Their appearance worsened and their lifetime decreased, but, staying true to the balance of Aedolyn, they also gained a few abilities. The land would forever be barren and would be referred to as the Northern Plaguelands or the Barren Lands.
It was only a few years later when Sephria discovered and unlocked the Toleriar Gate in the southern region of the Nívak desert. She immediately formed the Toleriar Alliance with Calill of Telgin and their power rose enough to counterbalance the dominating powers of the Sharrum Alliance. Constant battles on land and sea erupted again between Nívak and Bavkür forces as well as forces from Galstrom, Angard, and Telgin. The four southern nations of Bäros, Mirodo, Nâvirfëll, and Maelar were dealing with their own internal affairs as these wars raged in the north.
The Elf Civil War
Uprisings and revolts were not only present in Galstrom and Bavkür but also among the peaceful elves of Nâvirfëll. Avandor felt it was necessary to unite the elves in this time of war and unrest, and to do so he named himself King of the Elves, not just of Nâvirfëll but also of Mirodo, Sauvale, and Calacirya to the north. He also proclaimed that the high elves were the most noble of all elves and that they would preside as his mediators. This aggravated the low elves and wood elves and it was they who staged the Illúvëa Uprising on the grounds of equality of all elves in Aedolyn. They marched on the palace of Avandor and demanded recognition. To avoid an immediate conflict, Avandor took advantage of his moment to suppress the uprising, he did so by promising them recognition but as soon as the people had dispersed. As soon as the resistance had complied, Avandor ordered the city of Illúvëa to be purged of all non-high elves. Hundreds of elves were killed in this purge and thousands more were forced to leave the city and seek shelter elsewhere. In doing this Avandor hoped to solidify the nobility of the high elves as well as use force in an attempt to unite the elves of Aedolyn. This strategy failed and the Elf Civil War began.
There were four centers of the elf world at this time: Illúvëa, Taldëon, Eysswë, and Morimaltë. The Capital of Nâvirfëll, the seat of Avandor, and the center of the high elf world was in Illúvëa; the wood elves and low elves gathered in both Taldëon and Eysswë, the seat of Tólsimir of the Mirodo Republic who was quickly named the leader of the elf resistance; finally Morimaltë was the ancient city of the dark elves which was destroyed and rebuilt, restoring it to its former glory. The dark elves didn’t want anything to do with this conflict in a far off land but they were unfortunately pulled into the war. The only group of elves who managed to stay out of the conflict for a majority of the war was the mysterious elves of Sauvale whose center was the northern city of Selinyetillë. Both the dark elves of Calacirya and the sun elves of Sauvale were under the jurisdiction of other gods who were preoccupied with the Alliance Wars.
Battles raged on for years, and as the months passed the battles only intensified. Avandor and Tólsimir became bitter enemies but neither one would be the first to ask for outside support, this was an internal matter and would remain so. The few dark elves who resided in Mirodo, Nâvirfëll, and Galstrom allied with the resistance under Tólsimir; the war essentially became high elves versus all other elves. The majority of battles didn’t take place in either of the two forests but in the lands between; so the elves fought in conditions that were foreign to both sides in the Dvorian River Valley and Sylinian Plains. The battles were all far away from Triam so the Bäros authorities paid little attention to them, and they were also contributing to the slow destruction of Dvoria and Sylinia which would turn out to be in the favor of the Kingdom of Bäros. Both Tólsimir and Avandor would be present and fight at most of the larger battles for they easily fought against the mortals; if one were present at a battle and the other wasn’t it would be a clear victory for the side of the deity. Tólsimir and Avandor, however, never clashed in battle.
Many towns would be destroyed on the faults of the battles in both Mirodo and Nâvirfëll. There were three fronts: Mirodo and Arvand, Taldian and Arvand, and Zul’Caer and Arvand. The forces of Arvand laid siege to the southern elf city of Taldëon and the siege would continue for years to come. The tables turned when Avandor finally, after years of searching, discovered the Iminye Gate deep in the center of the Nâvirfëll Woodland. Avandor unlocked and became the master of the Iminye Gate and quickly bestowed its powers on the noble high elves, it was this action which began the end of the long Elf Civil War. The siege of Taldëon was intensified and even the best forces of Tólsimir were no match for the high elves with their new powers. He had no choice but to call for aid from his neighbors, Calill and Sephria. They willingly accepted Mirodo into their alliance and shared the gift of magic but it was too late. In a final attempt to end the war in his favor, Avandor set fire to Illycia, the Taldian region of Nâvirfëll, and the entire southern half of Nâvirfëll burned for months. The fire Avandor used was no ordinary fire, but a magical dark fire which forever darkened the southern forest and would prevent it from ever growing again. This created the Illycia Darkwood where anything that died would remain dead forever, nothing new would ever grow, and slowly the forest would die out. Every day at dusk for a hour or so the forest would seem as if it were on fire again, the sky would be a deep red and flames could be seen occasionally through rays of the setting sun to remind the resistance of their history and the dominance of the High Elves.
The opening of the Iminye Gate and the burning of Illycia are two of the three key events which led to the end of the Elf Civil War in favor of the High Elves. The final battle between Avandor and Tólsimir would mark the end.
The Struggle for Southern Autonomy
Part One: The First Plains War
To the south lie the less organized lands, plagued by ancient rivalries and revived conflicts. When Durin came to the plains of the south, during the end of the first age, he took up residence in the ancient city of Triam and forged his affiliation with the humans of the Bäros lowlands who had been fighting their two neighbors since the Days of Aratar. During the Age of the Nine, a rickety peace was formed between them but it held for hundreds of years as Durin ruled over the lands he called the Kingdom of Bäros. All was well until the first Gate was unlocked by Malkur. The world saw an immediate revival of conflict and war and this was definitely felt in the southern plains.
The Dvorian people had fought gallantly in the First Age but nevertheless faced the destruction of their capital. During the fragile peace of the Second Age, the people of the Dvorian River Valley migrated west in the hopes of building a new capital on the Sylinian frontier. It was generally known that all land south of the Finmar River belonged to the Bäros people, the lands and tributaries of the northern Finmar River was Dvorian territory, and everything that was left, including the western coast, was the Sylinian Plains populated by the nomadic Sylinian people. The Dvorian people travelled across the plains and built a new city on the coast called Dunn Bálik. This new city grew and quickly became a major port city forging close relations with the goblins of Maelar. By the time the Third Age arrived and the first two Gates were opened, the mass civilization of the Dvorian people had been revitalized. They were able to effectively match the grand army behind the controlling arm of Durin in Triam. Military clashes raged on for years surrounded by other conflicts across the land. To the north was the dominating rule of Bavkür countered by an alliance between Nívak and Telgin forces. To the east was the Elf Civil War which raged in the northern province of Bäros and further east was the chaotic battlegrounds of Galstrom under an oppressive rule by Viscerra.
There were three fronts in the First Plains War, Bäros/Dvorian, Dvorian/Sylinian, and Sylinian/Bäros. It was a free-for-all and these battles ripped apart the land. It didn’t take long for the Dvorian and Sylinian people to form an alliance against Bäros in order to tip the scales and for many years this alliance proved to be successful in pushing back Durin’s army. The Dvorian and Sylinian people both soon dominated Dunn Bálik which became a major military town and the center of all Bäros opposition. Durin’s defeat seemed inevitable and soon unless something drastic happened. He appealed to Malkur, Sephria, and Avandor but none would support him for they knew of his reputation and tendencies. As soon as he had control, nothing would stop him or protect others from him; plus, they didn’t want to mingle in domestic affairs. Durin was helpless.
A combined force of Dvorians and Sylinians marched on Triam to capture the city once and for all; and in a last desperate attempt to secure victory, Durin rode out on his horse to the north. Everyone thought he was running from the battle, but he was instead riding out in search of a lost Gate. The Gates had secured the victory of Nívak as well as Nâvirfëll and he was convinced that it would save him too. He had heard rumors of the Gate being in the Dvorian River Valley and that was the first place he tried. Back at the battle ground, the morning had come and the attack was launched. Leaderless and hopeless, the Bäros forces were feebly pushing forward but were still being practically slaughtered. Right before a surrender was to be proclaimed the Bäros forces were somehow revitalized and also discovered that they had newfound powers. Durin had done it, he had discovered, unlocked, and became the Master of the Ravmin Gate. The scales were tipped and the battle instantly swung in the favor of Bäros. A few hours later, Durin came riding in on his steed and charged through the enemy forces, killing hundreds. He rallied his troops together and they trampled over the enemy, killing every soul.
The First Plains War was over in a heartbeat; that is the power of the Gates. Bäros forces swarmed the plains to contain the rebels and to also protect the Ravmin Gate from enemy forces. Dunn Bálik had thrown everything they had into the First Plains War, so they were no longer a threat. Durin sent envoys into the city to take over the upper ranks and run the city in a way which pleased him. He intended to use the in place Dvorian and Sylinian society to help develop the Bäros Kingdom and eventually integrating them into his glorious kingdom; however, that was completely against the will of the people of Dunn Bálik and they would resist Bäros control until there was nothing left of them.
Part Two: The Galstrom Uprisings
Of all the areas of Aedolyn, the Galstrom peninsula is the most diverse, serving as a home for Humans, Orcs, Trolls, and Divaraks. After Viscerra crushed the human revolt in the northern Galstrom coasts and cursed the land, the realm of Galstrom was relatively quiet for some years. Underground opposition was brewing among the humans and trolls without the knowledge of Viscerra. The Orcs were the loyal subjects of Viscerra and proclaimed authority over the entirety of the Galstrom lands; they were based in Haar, the port capital of the Galstrom Alliance. Trolls tend to live along the coast among the cliffs and caves as well as inland a bit; the largest purely Troll city is Arthin. A very notorious group of trolls live in the Haar Caves along with some Divaraks. Humans, after being pushed out of their homeland and home city of Zul’Caer, are scattered about the peninsula mostly in cities and across the hills and highlands to the south. Dák'mitorë is one of their major settlements in the hill country. The Orcs dominate the badlands as well as the highlands that surround Haar. And the Divaraks live among the Orcs in the highlands and plaguelands and tend to ally with Viscerra.
For years there would be sporadic uprisings all across the Galstrom lands, not of just Humans, but Trolls and Orcs as well. They would always be violently slaughtered by Viscerra. She ruthlessly burned entire villages to gain revenge as well as many other vicious acts. Luckily her authoritative grip couldn’t reach to the far south, thus protecting a majority of the Trolls from her vise; however, the Trolls she could reach would take refuge in the south bringing horror stories of her wrath and rage.
After several years of oppression the Trolls and Humans of Dák’mitorë amassed an army or militia and prepare to march on Haar. At this time, Viscerra had left Galstrom and had traveled to Bavkür to answer the call of Malkur. It was at this time that the army of Dák’mitorë marched on Haar. There was a short skirmish but nothing too serious before the Orc general summoned the leaders of the militia army to a discussion. In this discussion they discovered that Viscerra was just as oppressive at home as she was abroad but the Orcs fueled her passion for the sacred magic that she grants them via Malkur. The leaders come to a peaceful agreement on autonomy that everyone agreed to, referred to as the Haar Peace Accords. The armies dispersed and the first steps towards and actual Alliance began.
When Viscerra returned from her travels to discover what had happened, she was infuriated and immediately called for the complete eradication of all Humans and Trolls. She also publicly executed the generals who help come to that treaty. Unfortunately, the general whom she executed was a very popular military figure, loved by almost every soldier. This act backfired on her original plan and her Orc and Divarak army overran the city. She kept them back for several hours, killing hundreds of her own people, but she was eventually overrun herself and imprisoned.
The new leaders of Haar summon the opposition leaders from Dák’mitorë and Arthin to a roundtable discussion. There they official formed the Galstrom Alliance in accordance with the Haar Peace Accords. They also decided that Viscerra would be publicly executed. When they went to the dungeon to summon her to her execution they discovered that she was gone. She has escaped though a series of caves that stretched the length of the Badlands and came out at Haar Caves. She had fled to Bavkür to seek assistance since she had lost the loyalty of her army. There are many conspiracies as to how she actually escaped, but the most popularly accepted one is that there is a parallel underground movement of radicals who support the actions of Viscerra, many call this group the Veiled Serpents.
Part Three: Illycian Succession
The burning of the Taldian region of Nâvirfëll infuriated the Elves that lived there. Avandor had killed their homeland! No new plants or trees would ever grow; basically, the forest had only less than a thousand years of life left before it would just be an expanse of dead trees. Relations would never be patched between the north and south of Nâvirfëll ever again, especially since there was a daily reminder of their hatred. Out of anger, the Taldian region, proclaimed independence from Nâvirfëll and became their own region of Aedolyn called the Illycia Darkwood. Tólsimir recognized their independence and the officials from Taldëon agreed to become an autonomous province of the Mirodo Republic. Tólsimir now infuriated Avandor by challenging his authority and claiming rule over more territory than Avandor, the self proclaimed King of Elves.
Tólsimir and the elves of both Mirodo and Illycia were granted the gift of magic through their alliance with Calill and Sephria. Tólsimir would meet occasionally with the two other leaders of the Tolarian Alliance. He now, in repayment of receiving magic, had to fight two wars: the Elf Civil War as well as the Alliance Wars. Following the succession of Illycia, most of the fighting had shifted to mainly the Illycia/Arvand front freeing up Mirodo to partake equally in both wars. Calill and Sephria felt that Fâlivrin was a key strategic position in the Alliance Wars when it came to fighting the dwarves. Also, having a place to seek quarter and safety in the south was crucial, especially a forest which was foreign for dwarves. Mirodo would quickly become of great service to both the Telgin Republic and the Nívak Federation.
Avandor, humiliated by Tólsimir’s growing authority and threatened by his never ceasing presence, challenged him to a duel. The stakes of the duel would be control over both Nâvirfëll and Mirodo and they would fight to the death. Tólsimir accepted and their battle would take place on the border of the Illycia Darkwood and the Arvand Region of Nâvirfëll. This duel would end the Elf Civil War and determine the ultimate authority over both Mirodo and Nâvirfëll; however, peace was not guaranteed and definitely not expected after the duel but without a leader, one side would have to suffer the consequences of the other’s rule. Essentially, the Elf Civil War had come to a standstill and this was the only logical solution in the eyes of both Avandor and Tólsimir.
The Alliance Wars
After years of battling for the Sharrum Alliance with no real benefits, the twelve dwarf clans of Angard held a summit in the peaks of the highest mountains south of Gávalik, lead by Halvak, to discuss a unified strategy. Halvak’s Summit resulted in strategy that would guarantee dwarf neutrality. Halvak would withdraw his support from the Sharrum Alliance and retreat to Gávalik which he could personally protect from outside forces. The city itself had the best natural defense in Aedolyn and would be almost impossible to overthrow. Gávalik was safe, and the twelve dwarf clans of Angard could easily thrive on the fact that they were small and dispersed across the mountains. Essentially, there was no central target of the Angard Empire that could be destroyed. In response, Malkur sent envoys to negotiate with Halvak, but he turned them away at the gates of Gávalik. This infuriated Malkur, who sent several thousand soldiers into the Angard Mountains to force Halvak to reconsider. However, these soldiers never made it to Gávalik and they were never found. Rumor has it that Halvak went hunting for them and summoned up an avalanche which buried the troops, no one knows. Following this incident, it is said that Malkur himself travelled to Angard to speak with the orc leaders of Kval’tar to secure an alliance. The Kval’tar Allegiance was signed, a document that swore the eternal allegiance of the orcs of Kval’tar to Malkur himself as long as he lived. This officially resulted in the Division of Angard where the shared leadership of the Empire by orcs and dwarves was broken; the departure of the orc elders and people from Gávalik was a tearful sight for those who still held onto hope for a return to the time of prosperity. It now seemed as if peace would never be restored. The orcs left Gávalik without any resistance, Halvak himself was said to have bid the elders farewell, extending his hope for future cooperation. The orcs filed out of the city and traveled through the mountains for a month until they reached the gates of Kval’tar.
With the loss of the support from Halvak, Malkur sent envoys to secure allies elsewhere. His negotiations proved successful in Keldorak, but Asvel of Maelar was reluctant to abandon his neutrality. Durin and Avandor both had no interest in the affairs of the north and respectfully rejected Malkur’s proposition. The new bond formed with Keldorak would not help Malkur recover from the loss of soldiers in Angard and it would also do nothing to help close the window of vulnerability. The Toleriar Alliance saw this as an opportunity to do great damage to Bavkür. They launched a full on attack on Svaalgor Keep. Humans from Nívak and Telgin plus Elves from Mirodo presented a strong threat. Their ships landed just north of North Aratar and from there, they marched across the desert and encircled Svaalgor Keep and laid siege to the city. Sephria and Calill themselves were leading the attack, switching off as they had matters to attend to in their own nations.
The Siege of Svaalgor Keep raged on for months but as long as Sephria of Calill defended their troops, Malkur could do nothing to stop it. Hundreds were starved to death within the walls of Svaalgor Keep. The walls that were originally meant to protect the city had imprisoned it. Toleriar forces infiltrated the fortress more and more each day as they positioned themselves within the mountains surrounding the city. People would not even emerge from their homes for fear of the snipers. A year after the siege started, Viscerra was smuggled into the city after she had fled from a prison in Haar months before. Malkur sent Viscerra to Morimaltë to rally up a large force to come to the aid of Svaalgor Keep. In the meantime, Malkur emerged emerged from the city and confronted Calill on the battlefield. The clash of Malkur and Calill raged on for days and Calill fought gallantly but in the end, she was fled from the scene and used what was left of her power to protect the Toleriar troops as they marched back to the sea. By this time, Viscerra had returned to Svaalgor Keep with an army of several thousand dark elves who pursued the Toleriar troops to the sea. The dark elf army finally caught up to Calill on the coast of the Sea of Turúva. At that point, the Toleriar army was only halfway loaded onto ships. What was left of the crippled and exhausted army was slaughtered by the dark elf forces of Morimaltë. The surviving ships sailed to Zal’Garish and to the protection of Sephria.
Soon after Calill arrived in Zal’Garish, she received word from Tólsimir of a growing number of maritime clashes along the Telgin Channel. It seemed as if orcs under the jurisdiction of Kval’tar were launching attacks on all ships not flying the flag of the Sharrum Alliance and were also attacking Gratis and Edorâs on a daily basis. They were close to forming a complete blockade stretching from Mörag Camp to Edorâs which practically covered the entire coastline of the Mirodo Republic. Tólsimir sent several waves of elven ships to counter the growing orc threat, no matter how many ships they sunk they simply could not even put a dent in the massive orc armada. He was unable to launch a full on attack since his forces were also needed in the east as the Elf Civil War continued. Pressure on Tólsimir was rising as Mirodo was being attacked from all sides and his presence was soon due in Taldëon as the date of his duel with Avandor approached.
After receiving this news, Calill knew what she needed to do; she had to revert to her last resort. She revealed to Sephria her secret: the knowledge of the general location of the fifth gate. According to an ancient legend of the elves of Sauvale, a sacred gate of some sort existed deep within the northern region of Telgin. She would travel to the Gaalvar Mountains to unlock the fifth gate, which she had sworn to protect. Neither of them knew what would happen after all five gates had been unlocked, but they hoped it would somehow put an end to the Alliance Wars. In the middle of the night, Calill commandeered a ship and sailed north to Selinyetillë where she would enlist the help of her elven allies to locate the final gate. To protect the secrecy of this plan, Sephria would have to pretend to have no knowledge of Calill’s whereabouts or intensions. As dawn broke the next morning, the Disappearance of Calill was quickly noticed and the morale of the Toleriar army dropped significantly. It was widely perceived that Calill had abandoned what many began to refer to as a hopeless cause.
Back in Bavkür, Viscerra returned a hero and her ego was bigger than ever. Over the next couple of months, she began to step on Malkur’s toes more and more, contradicting his authority and publicly humiliating him. Eventually, Malkur hatched a plan to rid himself of Viscerra who gradually did less and less for the Sharrum Alliance. He sent her back to Galstrom to patch relations and conjure an army to prepare for a massive final joint attack on Zal’Garish in two months.
Resolutions
The day of the Duel for Illycia between Avandor and Tólsimir had arrived. The two met each other on the border of the Illycia Darkwood at a split in the L’iorma River southeast of Sillmar and not far from the Iminye Gate. Each was accompanied by officials from both sides who would be witnesses to one of the greatest battles in Aedolyn history. Both Avandor and Tólsimir presented themselves and went though the traditions of formal duels. Finally it was time for it to begin. Tólsimir took the lead right off the bat which plunged the duel into full out fighting. It was a spectacular sight to see two deities fight. The skill, complexity, and elegance they portrayed were beyond anything imaginable by a mortal. The duel carried on well into the night but finally came to an end when Avandor summoned his legendary rapier and impaled Tólsimir in the heart. Avandor immediately returned to Illúvëa to arrange things to incorporate Illycia into the Kingdom again, leaving Tólsimir’s body at the spot of the duel. Being stabbed by an immortal blade gave Tólsimir only hours left to live, despite the intricate healings preformed by the wood elf elders. His last wish was to return to Mirodo to die in his homeland peacefully. At that moment, the fabled wolf brigade of Mirodo (a pack of magical white dire wolves) came to Tólsimir’s side and sped him back to Mirodo where Tólsimir placed an enchantment that would become called the Veil of Mirodo over his homeland. He used every fiber of his being to cast the enchantment, and it was that which finally drained him of his energy and killed him. Since Tólsimir died casting the enchantment, no one, not even a fellow deity, could counter it or render it ineffective. Essentially, the enchantment forbade any foe of Mirodo safe passage through the forest, a trait that would characterize the small forest forever.
Back in Nâvirfëll, Avandor infiltrated Taldëon and had the elders swear allegiance to him, those who didn’t were exiled. The high elf rule that was placed over Illycia was weak but still strict. Avandor had no interest in Illycia, and as long as they didn’t bother him, he would leave them alone. The wood elves and low elves of Illycia accepted this oppression only to put an end to the Elf Civil War. They no longer had support from a deity and could no amount a strong defense, they were helpless.
Returning to Galstrom would inevitably result in Viscerra’s death. Malkur knew that and so did Viscerra; however, if she refused she would be banished by Malkur, her only ally, from the Sharrum Alliance. She would die for her cause even if it meant being humiliated by her own subjects. Her final attempt to restore relations in Haar proved, as expected, unsuccessful and she was again imprisoned. This time, it was taken much more seriously than last time and Galstrom government, under the Haar Peace Accords, scheduled an execution for dusk of that very day. As the time approached, Viscerra was taken to the center of Haar where she would be decapitated by means of an axe. Viscerra wore a long red silk dress and during her final address to her people she proclaimed her loyalty to the Sharrum Alliance and cursed the corrupt lands of Galstrom. “Mark my words; I will make sure no sovereign will ever rule here peacefully. An eternity of struggles and death will teach you to kill Viscerra!” With that, Viscerra, the Plagued was killed. The Execution of Viscerra marked a new era in Aedolyn history. The people, for once, had finally risen above a deity to overcome tyranny and rule their own land. To prevent making Viscerra’s body some sort of gathering point for the opposition, it was thrown into the rocky sea at the entrance of the Haar Caves never to be seen again.
The Alliance Wars had excelled beyond anyone’s intentions. Two of the Nine had been killed and one had seems to have abandoned Aedolyn. Times were dark.
Up in the northern region of the Telgin Republic Calill had finally discovered the final gate. She had travelled deep into the snowy and treacherous Gaalvar Mountains with the aid of the blood elves. Once there, she unlocked and became the master of the Elspeth Gate. All five gates had finally been opened. This sent a wave across the lands of Aedolyn which granted the gift of magic to all denizens. This also negated the purpose of alliances and somehow sparked a brief period of ceasefire. Malkur called off his grand attack on Zal’Garish now only because Calill had returned, but because he didn’t have support from Galstrom. Sephria and Calill were both weakened to an extent where continuing the Alliance Wars would be unwise. Angard had reached a relative peace within their divided Empire. To the south, Durin had obtained control over the Kingdom of Bäros and Avandor had seized the entirety of the Kingdom of Nâvirfëll. The Galstrom Alliance and the Mirodo Republic would begin to rebuild their great civilizations after being crippled by war. The ninth of the Nine Nations was the Maelar Trade Union which somehow managed to uphold their isolation from world affairs throughout the entire Third Age. A fragile balance had been achieved, but not for long. The smallest controversy could easily tip the scales and plunge Aedolyn back into utter chaos, but for now, Aedolyn had passed into a Fourth Age, an age of hope.
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