The War of the Wendigoes
The War of the Wendigoes is a crucial event for understanding the dynamic between Altairus and Earth, as well as many customs within Altairus. It only lasted 2 years in Altairus time, but over 30 years in Earth time.
The Conflict
Prelude
The War of the Wendigoes coincides with the First and Second World Wars on Earth. Starting around the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, widespread distrust and civil unrest made many in Europe susceptible to the temptations of Null magic.
The abundance of human misery in this area attracted wendigoes through a previously unknown rift between the Flipside and Earth, leading to more destruction as they attached to humans and filled their minds with destructive feelings and ideas. It wasn’t long before they jumped through the Altairus portals and began wreaking havoc there as well.
Deployment
As destruction raged on both worlds, it became apparent to many Altairians that the old paradigms for dealing with the threat were ineffectual. Reluctantly, many government leaders in Altairus opened the temples to the public, having no time or resources to train new guardians and desperate for the destruction to end. It was out of this that six new heroes emerged:
San (Air Champion)
A tengu peasant with no name save for the number in his clutch. He became a magus (sorceror class) and wielded Stormbringer, imbuing a staff made from blackmetal and Air crystals with the pure power of the Air element.
Mallow the Maelstrom (Water Champion)
A siren who was training to be a guardian when the War destroyed the temple where she was training. She became a monk (fighter class specializing in hand-to-hand combat) wielding the Seastone, a sea gem bathed in her native Sea of Forever that can control the tides. Mallow Lake on the continent of Pandora is named after her.
Adamant Ironjaw (Earth Champion)
A troll in the tree spirit Ygdrassil’s personal guard who was rewarded for showing initiative in the fight against the wendigoes. Ygdrassil blessed him with Terra, an axe formed from her branches and infused with the pure power of the Earth element. He became a berserker (barbarian/tank class) in the fight against the Heart of Darkness.
Altairia of Foxfire (Fire Champion)
A kitsune who was originally a low-ranking priestess in the Temple of the Four Flames. When the wendigoes infiltrated the nearby village, she forged the katana Yuuki in the temple’s flame and became a warrior (samurai fighter class), saving the village and the temple from the threat. She joined the team of heroes soon afterward.
Puer Aeternus (Light Champion)
An isolated, genderless child-demigod of youth who couldn’t sit idly in his/her grove surrounded by his/her worshippers while the rest of the world burned. He/she poured his/her magical power into Excalibur, a broadsword capable of both offensive and healing magic. This caused him/her to age into a young adult, and he/she set off to prove to him/herself that he/she deserved the worship that he/she received every day as a knight (paladin class).
The Great Strombolio (Dark Champion)
A talented harlequin gremlin performer at the Circus of Shadows who created the Lethal Joke, a Dark-powered grenade launcher made from scraps of dismantled carnival rides at the circus. Originally, the Lethal Joke was made for firework shows, but when the wendigoes invaded, Strombolio was able to fend them off using the Lethal Joke as a makeshift weapon. Victorious, he refilled it with laughing gas-filled grenades and bathed it in Dark magic to make it more powerful. He joined the team of heroes as a sharpshooter (artillery/mechanic class).
Conditions
On their journey, the six heroes faced many troubles.
When they began their quest, the six heroes did not anticipate that it would consist mostly of going from battle to battle with little time for rest or even nourishment. Most of their time was either spent making arduous journeys to places far away or battling wendigoes to liberate the places they had arrived at. By the time the War was over, all of the Champions of Altairus were completely battle-weary and a few wanted little to nothing to do with guardianship or war ever again.
On top of that, the six of them had to face harsh conditions caused by the War. They spent many months just scraping by, barely on the brink of starvation, because not only were they forced to eat travel portions, but all of Altairus was suffering from famine due to crop failures and supply chain breakdowns caused by mass Anima depletion. In the summer, they faced sweltering temperatures and the risk of heatstroke, and in the winter, they faced the sheer bitter cold and the risk of frostbite and hypothermia.
In addition, a severe influenza pandemic broke out all over Altairus only a few months after the War began. With the conditions the War had created, the flu spread quickly, killing many. Influenza deaths constitute the greatest percentage of the War of the Wendigoes' death toll.
Even so, the lands the heroes liberated did all they could to help. As poor as they had become, many were more than eager to share their resources with their saviors. This is what gave them the strength to keep pushing on through these conditions.
The Engagement
The six heroes travelled from town to town on their quest, liberating their citizens and lessening the hold of the wendigoes over them. By inches, they weakened the Heart of Darkness, the prime wendigo who had absorbed all of the negativity from both worlds and conducted their destruction. Over time, this inspired a faint hope in the Altairians.
In their final confrontation, the six heroes were able to banish the Heart of Darkness back to the Flipside and save Altairus and Earth. However, life on both worlds was never the same.
Outcome
After the Heart of Darkness and all the other wendigoes had been sent back to the Flipside, the rift sealed with a massive explosion. This sent the Anima Fragments flying, scattering them all across Altairus, where they wait to be discovered.
Aftermath
Trust was the biggest casualty for Altairus. Many faeries blamed the humans for causing the war in the first place, since the wendigoes were initially attracted to the unrest on Earth. Earth and Water faeries in particular saw the humans’ invention of nuclear weapons as the last straw, and still others were appalled when they discovered the sheer magnitude of the cruelty the humans had inflicted on each other and their world. It was for this reason that the Altairus portals were permanently sealed. Humans trapped in Altairus (all children) formed their own societies within the faerie world while faeries trapped on Earth became cryptids such as Sasquatch, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Hopkinsville Goblins.
The temples that were once reserved for private study were converted into dojos, public libraries of magical study and training located throughout Altairus. Many faeries came to realize that the best way to prevent something like this from happening again was to get information into as many hands as possible. Young faeries learn the wendigo banishing spell as early as possible in their magical training, and they learn many more spells to defend themselves and their families as they learn and grow.
Historical Significance
Legacy
Earth and Altairus no longer interact with each other, and perhaps that is for the best. After some time, the land of Altairus came to be regarded on Earth as something of a fairy story, to borrow a term. That, however, may soon change...
Technological Advancement
Death Toll Statistics
Direct Casualties (Wendigo Attacks): 25,839,600 (4%)
Influenza Pandemic: 374,674,201 (58%)
Malnutrition/Starvation: 129,198,000 (20%)
Lack of Sanitation: 77,518,800 (12%)
Other (Includes Non-Pandemic Infections, Violence, etc.): 38,759,400(6%)
Total Death Toll: 645,990,001
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