Revocation War, The

War is terrible.

The cost in lives unconscionable to a rational mind.

But what if the cost of not fighting was the eradication of all life by the Will of a genocidal God? Everyone, everything, everywhere; would you die in the hope, however remote, that at least some life may persist?

That was the situation confronting the peoples of Aeon in the year 2048 of the Age of Reformation, the final year of that age.

Envoy Manipulation; the Betrayal of Gods

The Envoys, mortal agents of the Prime God The Overseer and supposed liasons to the various heads of state across Aeon, had been exposed as usurping the leaders and advisors of key nations by murdering them and assuming their forms by way of an inherant ability to alter their physical shape.

One such leader was Edgar Brightstar, king of the Northern Humans who had effectively disregarded the 'advice' of the Envoys and impeded the forced relocation of swathes of the populace. His murder and replacement was exposed, the Envoys across the world were banished or hunted down and the free Nations convened a Council of Self Determination, a direct challenge to the Overseer's Will.

Of course the Overseer had to react, and that they did with a brutal escalation that shocked the subordinate Gods to intervene as they could, however subtly that might be. The Contingency of Last Resort was released by the Overseer, guided by the remaining loyal Envoys; the Harvester, leviathan in scale, a threshing beast obscured by roiling clouds of darkness, the end of all things so that a new Plan could be set forth.

The Harvester is Unleashed

Word of a darkness scouring the land came to the nations of the North, East and South with refugees fleeing from their Western homes. They were few and they all described the thrashing black monster as a devourer of all things living, leaving only scoured rock in its wake. Priestly visions sent by Leigha warned of the Harvester set free by the Overseer to reap all life so that new could be seeded in its place. The visions were heeded and the Council reconvened to discuss fighting the beast.

The Revocation War

The first engagements did not go well for the Unity forces, mundane means had no discernible impact on the creature of writhing darkness and many fell before the merciless onslaught with nothing remaining after the beast moved by. A saving grace was its ponderous pace, the Envoy army was slowed enough that the series of delaying actions hindered the enemy sufficiently for settlements in the path of the attacks to be cleared. Refugees poured across the land, their lives saved for a while longer by a heavy price.

A further consequence of these battles was the gathering of information about the composition of the army that travelled with the Harvester; vile abominations that were the corrupted remains of the people who had disappeared from the destroyed relocation caravans and towns. Horrifying creatures shambled with multiple limbs and heads, with claws and tentacles and fangs and horns. Twisted and mutilated with no Will of their own they were commanded by the Envoys who were lead by Ules-eel, the greatest of their generals.

The Battle of Greengrass

For months did the Unity forces retreat from the onslaught, before Khiro Arkadian, a young agricultural mage accidentally caught up in the battle of Greengrass, discovered he could enrapture the Harvester. The Unity forces were thus free to concentrate their attack on the army of the Envoys and destroyed it completely. This was in no small part facilitated by Ules-eel and the other Envoys fleeing the battlefield in shock when the Harvester was unexpectedly halted; they and it disappeared leaving their army headless.

This was the turning point the mortals so desperately required and the Unity army found little resistance as they marched Westwards to The Creator Plain and the Twin Spires, seat of the Envoys and their connection to the Overseer. Progress slowed as the army travelled over a newly barren landscape devoid of any vegetation, but they pressed their advantage in hopes of a speedy conclusion.

And we know where this tale tragically ends, do we not?

The Unity forces assailed the Plain and as they neared a final victory over the Envoys the Overseer released the Great Flare, ending the lives of countless beings across Aeon.

But life did persist.

That remote hope was not in vain, their sacrifice saved many.

So I ask again, given the experience of history, if your reality was at stake would you fight and die in the hope, however remote, that at least some life may persist?

Iaro Gaunt

Conflict

The Revocation War

Date

2048^R Age of Reformation

Location

Western and Northern Aeon

Belligerents

• Envoys of The Overseer
• Corrupted creations
• Harvester
• Shadows
• Oryx
• Humans (enslaved)

• Unity Forces of the Council of Self Determination
• Humans
• Dwarves
• Minotaur
• Avians
• Free Oryx

Leaders

• Gro-an (Supreme Envoy of the Overseer)
• Ules-eel (Envoy General)

• Edward Brightstar (Human King)
• Feldspar Bloodstone (Dwarven Chieftain)
• Karr Kess (Minotaur Empress Regnant)
• Hashaa (Avian Highlord)
• Lamlesh (Free Oryx Head)
• Khiro Arkadian (Mage)

Outcome

• Overseer and subordinate Gods go silent.
• Envoy numbers seriously depleted, lack of direction.
• Many heads of state killed, political instability rises.
• Much of the world population killed, displaced, missing.
• Famine and disease affect many of the survivors.
• The nature of magic radically changes, The Tether is torn into the Veil and Shroud.
• Major geological and climate changes affect regional habitation.

by jplenio - Pixabay

The moment the Flare connected with the Twin Spires, as seen from the Leviathan Ocean.

by Desa81 - Pixabay

The Flare expanding from the Spires across the Creator Plain.

Conflict Type

War